Rare Footage of a Chuck E. Cheese Retrofit in 1987: Banjoe's Family Pizza Playhouse, Bloomfield, CT!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 มี.ค. 2023
- Travel back to 1987 with me as we celebrate a birthday party at Banjoe's Family Pizza Playhouse in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Banjoe's was a retrofit of a Chuck E. Cheese that closed in 1984. This is my own home movie of a family member's birthday party.
Also, stay to the end of the video to see what the place looks like today!
The video stars me, my brother, my sister, my mother and a bunch of kids whose names I can't remember. My dad was doing the filming. You may recognize my mother from my flea market videos. See if you can figure out which one is me!
Information on Banjoe's is fairly hard to come by, but from what I have heard, Banjoe's was open from about 1985 to 1987. It was located at 48 Jerome Ave, Bloomfield, CT and was formerly a Chuck E. Cheese until about 1985. As far as I can tell, the only difference between Banjoe's and the Chuck E. Cheese that was there previously, is that they changed the skins of the band members, changed the names of the band members and removed some, but not all, of the Chuck E. Cheese branding.
Banjoe's band members were: Corporal Crunch, Ted T. Bear, Banjoe, Sgt. Pepperoni, and Polly Parton.
If you enjoyed this video, please give me a thumbs up, subscribe to my channel, leave a comment and hit the notification bell! If you want to see more arcade videos at places like Dave and Busters and similar places, let me know!
#chuckecheese #cec #arcade #arcadegames #arcadegame #fnaf #pizzaparty #fivenightsatfreddys #fivenightsatfreddy #animatronics #connecticut
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actually a rare sight of seeing a retrofit that actually looks good
From my recollection, the retrofit looked virtually identical to the way it did when it was a Chuck E. Cheese, other than the characters getting new skins and names. Thanks for watching!
i am obsessed with rare retrofits and this made my day
Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching!
The noises from the game machines are both nostalgic and overwhelming, lol. The tokens and the tickets bring back fond memories. It's not quite the same today, most places now work off of cards that store credits/tickets digitally, but that helps cut down on jammed machines at least!
Yes, I now understand what my mom always said about arcades being too noisy. The arcade was so loud you could barely hear the show on the stage and that same ringing noise repeating over and over was a bit much. Still brings back a lot of great memories though.
Chuck E Cheese held onto the token system a lot longer than most arcades did. I was really bummed when they switched to cards because it looked like they might have been intent on preserving the classic arcade feel.
I worked in the kitchen and arcade at Banjoe’s from the summer of ‘86 until it closed around the first of July ‘87. The Chuck E Cheese franchise hadn’t lasted more than a couple years because in the late seventies and perhaps a bit into the eighties this location was a two screen movie theater. I saw Rocky II, The Empire Strikes Back, and Kramer vs. Kramer there in ‘79 for $.99 before it closed.
I never knew it was a movie theater. From what I read, the Chuck E. Cheese was there from 1983 to 1984, then Banjoe's took over in 1985. As a kid I always thought this was just a Chuck E. Cheese, nothing else. Thanks for watching!
Awesome! Always nice to see a retrofitted pizza time theater show
Glad you liked it. I honestly didn't know it was a retrofitted Chuck E. Cheese until earlier this week when I was working on the video. I always thought it was just a Chuck E. Cheese. Thanks for watching!
@@fleabittenadventures Would you happen to know anything about Dandy Bear?
Even if it was a retrofit place I liked that they still kept the old pizza time theater kiddie ride
Me too, but I think they were probably just too cheap to rename some of the rides. Nowadays they would probably get in trouble for that type of thing. Thanks for watching!
12:41 so eerie and cool at the same time that you can still hear the arcade.
Also, I liked how you added the part of you revisiting it decades later too.
Thanks! Glad you like it
I noticed they switched Jasper and chuck e out and the retrofits still perform CEC shows
I remember my grandparents on my mother's side taking me here a as a kid as the memory of running through that tunnel under the stage sticks out. They only took me there maybe a couple of times as the Burger King Jester's courtyard in Meriden was closer as I grew up in Portland and better in my opinion (loved that ball pit), than one day they decided to take me to "Chuck E Cheese" as we always called it and it was closed down. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
I'm glad you liked the video! I have very similar memories about the tunnels. They stuck out to me more than the video games actually. I think I only went there twice, once when it was Chuck E. Cheese, I remember Chuck walking around, and then the time in this video. I also remember always calling it Chuck E. Cheese. I don't think I was aware of it changing to Banjoe's, but maybe I'm just getting forgetful. Thanks for watching!
I believe Corporal Crunch was a retrofit of Mr. Munch, Ted T. Bear is a retrofit of Chuck E. Cheese, Banjoe is a retrofit of Jasper T. Jowls, Polly Parton (the bird girl) is a retrofit of Helen Henny and Sgt Pepperoni is a retrofit of Pasqually.
I think they use Chuck E Cheese showtapes, as Banjoe sounds like Chuck.
Yes, I'm not sure how they legally got away with using Chuck's show tapes and also leaving up some Chuck E. Cheese branding. I guess the 80's were different.
@@fleabittenadventures they swaped the locations of the bots and when the balconly first came out PTT shows were programed on Reel to Reel tape mono audio the right channel had the movement commands. Cyberstar the computer assistted controls came out after PTT merger with Showbiz. they could really have just had cut the shows thy had on hand to remove the skit segments that use ther PTP names and just had the songs play. there much tighter now and have the bots filmed being destroyed and tossed in dumpsters to protect the IP.
I see a new Chuck E. Cheese retrofit has surfaced.... really interesting! I'm surprised they kept the Ferris wheel ride thing that had Chuck on it
I had no idea this was the only known video of this place! That's kind of cool! I was also surprised that the Ferris Wheel ride had Chuck on it. I'll bet if they did something like that today, they would get sued. Thanks for watching!
@@fleabittenadventuresyeah Mexico made a boot leg of CEC called Chucky Cheeze and the people who created it went to jail after reopening it twice
I can’t even believe that these children are now 40-48 years old
Me either and I'm one of them.
Yeah I bet they’re taking their kids to CEC now
I really like how Polly Parton (the chicken) looks exactly like Helen!
I really like how the characters look in this show and yes seeing all the scenery in the games and everything sure brings back some memories
Super nostalgic for me. I don't think anyone does animatronics in restaurants anymore... as far as I know.
Fun fact: Sargent Pepperoni is also the walrus from major magics name too
Heaven on Earth
Amazing footage! I've seen a pic of this stage on Instagram and now we finally got footage though I'll admit it seems a bit weird that this show is playing a PTT show tape I forgot which show they're playing but overall great footage
It’s the Salute to kids show
@@PasqAnimatronics thanks
Glad you liked it! Yeah, they didn't put much effort into the retrofit. It seems it was like a turn-key operation to them. I doubt any of us kids noticed that back then though.
Was that the name of the tape they were playing?
@@fleabittenadventures Salute to kids
this is really cool I haddent seen these retrofits before so for me this is a Third set ive seen First one was Called the Man and Dog show and then I saw Banjo Billys and now this one Jasper became a Dalmatian named "Hank" in that set this sure brings back memories of when I actually went and ate at chuckys 🙂
I went to the Chuckie Cheese in West Haven off I95. Same vibe on the interior. Another cool arcade in Westport was “Arnies Place.” It is long gone, but the place has a storied history you should read about.
Thanks for the info! The Chuck E. Cheeses and arcades today just aren't the same as they were back in the 80's... Thanks for watching!
It seems that they didn’t do much of the animatronics other than modifying the cosmetics and it seems they’re all swapped each ones of their programming swapped into other characters such as Jasper getting Chuck E. Cheese’s programming and it seems they just play the same show tapes but they’re probably edited to not have any of their voice acting just the singing but I still love their designs. Jasper‘s new design looks amazing with him looking bulkier just fits him very well and that one character Ted. T bear is literally just Freddie Fazbear, which is incredible. I know these are just retrofits, but their design still look incredible.
Amazing!! Nice video, Fleabitten Adventures!!
Thanks! Glad you liked it. We should thank my dad for taking the original video though!
You can still hear the games some 37 years later? Who's paying the electric bill?
That's the thing. No one knows.
In 2011 the Chuck E. Cheese in Chico ca was changed to fun zone and pizza
Do they have animatronics?
They have the animatronics but they put on mascot costumes over them and they couldn’t move
The parrot’s name was Polly Parton.
between 2018 and 2019 the bank it was closed or at least the sign was taken down which was Winsor Federal savings.
0:19 The bird's name is Polly Parton.
Thanks for the info!
I have a skee ball machine that was made in September of 1989 (on the manufacturer's plate on the inside of the machine). It also has chalk marks on the back that say "PlayHouse Pizza" and "4 of 8". It cant be one of the skee ball machines in the video as the date is wrong but it looks like there are 8 skee ball machines there. Banjoe's apparently went out of business in 1987. Did it move somewhere else? I would love to know the place my my original skee ball machine first lived in back then. Any help greatly appreciated. thanks !!
I remember more woodgrain too
I wonder if anyone has any photos of the outside of this place from back then. I think it had dark brown stained wood shingles or something like that on it. Thanks for watching!
I swear this feels like a early version of banjo billys pizza.
Where is/was Banjo Billys?
@fleabittenadventures it was in a strip mall somewhere and had a dog as the mascot, they closed later on and the mall is most likely demolished
@@fleabittenadventuresit’s quite known in the CEC fandom but it was a place that opened in 1994 in a strip mall in Houston Texas and they retrofitted the characters. They were the PTT ones with legs. Jasper/Banjo Billy was center/main character and they even reused Showbiz Pizza tapes and other songs. In 1997 the place closed alongside the other places in the strip mall
@@fleabittenadventures it was in Houston Texas I believe I was looking around for more videos of Banjo Billy's after I found out about it and think that's where it was at it closed in 1997 the one attraction I was mentioning above The Man and Dog show is still playing at Gillian's Wonderland pier in Ocean city New Jersey it is also a retrofit by Sally Corperation I love animatronics I used to work on some back in 1989 at a place called Ghost Town in the Sky in Maggy Valley NC was called the Country Critter Jamboree
@@gwenmloveskpopandmore whoops sorry didnt see you'd already answered 🙂
🎉
Thanks for watching and providing some of the history of this place for me!
Awesome Video!!😎👍
Also, am I allowed to use some of this footage in one of my videos?🤔
I will 100% give you credit in the video & in the description!
As long as you only take clips, not the whole video and comment on it and give me credit. Thanks.
😮
I agree. Thanks for watching!
Its hard to read the second part of Helen retrofit's name but i think the first part is Puffy, the second woord seems to have a P in its name aswell but i cant tell.
It’s Polly Parton
Yup, what he said.
Yes
*banjoes still lives*
Only in our memories.....
@@fleabittenadventures nah man literally, *banjoes still alive*
Don’t worry. I can look around and dig deep online I will alert you with my findings.
Thanks.
Why does banjo the dog sound like Chuck-E-Cheese and why does he look like Jasper
I think the company that bought Chuck E. Cheese, Banjoe's, cheaped out and basically just re-used the old Chuck E. Cheese tapes and moved the characters around on stage so that it looked different. I'm pretty sure that the bear used to be Chuck, based on his ears.
Did they take the fur off Mr munch or is it under the new retrofit cloth?
My guess is that they either entirely replaced the fur and just kept the metal skeleton, or they may have just altered some of them. I think the bear used to be Chuck, based on his round ears. However, Banjoe and Polly Parton look almost identical to Jasper and Helen, so I don't think they did much to them at all. I think they were too cheap to do a total makeover of the band members. Thanks for watching!
Cool. What is with the creepy chickens in the background
Do you mean the chicken lady on the stage?
@@fleabittenadventures no in the barn background I can see some eyes
@@PrimeStoneit’s the Warblettes
9:03 I hope bro is not roaming around the place at night💀
He kind of reminds you of Freddy Fazbear?
In my opinion, lol
2:12 Freddy?
Definitely the inspiration for Freddy!!!
No, just no
Why does this bootleg Chuck E. Cheese pizza time theater exist (it just looks weird) actually it looks cool because it has my favorite Chuck E. Cheese stage called the balcony stage
It was great when I was a kid. Too bad it's been gone for so long....
@@fleabittenadventuresnostalgia is for everyone.
@michaelbonner4126 well I think what they intended with all the different refits was since the clientell were all different and wanted/had different themes and tastes thats how they came up with different characters for the show as well as songs and programming so thats why there were so many of them
Plus its Much better fate then having those wonderful bots scrapped and destroyed too
@@richardvg7670 yeah, it’s basically banjo billy’s before it opened in 1994.
i think i know where the warmblette retrofits are
where ?
@@Wyattonigiri at the american treasure tour
Is this place still around
No it's not
Why did you not peek into the windows?
I wasn't sure if people were working in there or not. If people were working in there, they might find me peeking through the windows to be suspicious.
really hope that some teens dont put a kid in one of the animatronics mouth
Stop
Not much chance of that anymore.
220th like
Thanks!
They Still have this?
Banjoe’s Family Pizza playhouse Still exists?
No, Banjoe's has been out of business for 35 years or so. This building has been many, many other businesses since then.
Nope.
RETROFIT
Yup