Hey everyone, I'm currently on a busy two week trip and so I won't have much time to respond to comments. However, I'll try to respond to as many as I can. At the very least, I do read all of the comments you've made and I do enjoy scrolling through them!
Can you make a video on what Universal Studios Hollywood should do with minion land/secret life of pets area? I know it’s unrealistic, but would they be able to add diagon alley and a gringotts ride?
Weird that you specifically can't respond to this one video when you featured the alt right symbol without noting it? Here's background if anyone doesn't know how mac tonight was co-opted by hateful cowards: ruclips.net/video/xmhE_B6o6SI/видео.htmlfeature=shared
Mac Tonight at Entertainment McDonalds in Florida DOES still work. I was there earlier this year, and he was still talking, playing music, and tapping his foot. If you're in the area, swing by and check him out!
i wish more animatronic shows still existed, especially in one-off chuck e cheese style locations. producing basic animatronics is so much cheaper now and a lot of the cost issues cec themselves went through were due to running old animatronics and never upgrading them to modern systems and instead choosing to struggle with the fact that replacement parts stopped being produced. i also just feel that it'd at least draw in a fun nostalgia crowd for animatronic-based dining (and with fnaf's popularity maybe if someone wanted to lean into an animatronic horror theme it could turn out really well). honestly i just wish themed dining past tiki bars still existed more, i miss experiences like the rainforest cafe as a kid even as tacky as it was.
To be fair, I think that Rainforest Café has survived better than most. I know they're not as plentiful, but there's still a lot more around than I would have thought. I would like to see them really expand on the concept just like they did with T-Rex.
Maybe not an animatronic show but I have this distinct memory of some type of show happening in one of the corners of the Ontario Mills mall in Ontario California during its opening years I don’t know if this is real or not. I was hoping that somebody could tell me for sure because I have this memory and I’m not sure it with you. It’s was a real show or not anybody else remember what I’m talking about
One of the strangest animatronic shows I've ever seen is a Pigeon Forge breakfast restaurant called Frizzle Chicken Farmhouse Cafe, which features dozens of animatronic chickens clucking out parodies of pop songs while you eat. A fever dream of a restaurant.
That sounds vaguely familiar, as in I saw a video of it a few months ago but couldn't find it again to include it here. I'll start a list of other attractions like this because it might make for an interesting part 2 eventually.
@@PoseidonEntertainment It seems like it's an odd little subcategory of the genre, because the animatronics are definitely simpler/lower budget than the ones usually found and they're more the soundtrack of the restaurant rather than a true show. I'll definitely be checking it out when I'm down there.
5:24 I believe she's singing "Hopelessly Devoted to You" from "Grease" which makes sense because Olivia Newton-John herself (who originally sang this song) was Australian
I love when you cover more obscure topics like this. This channel has quickly caught up to Defunctland and Yesterworld in terms of being a top tier theme park history channel and also in terms of unique video topics.
I grew up going to Chuck E Cheese, which never bothered me (well, except the window frame animatronics), but i have vague memories of going to a Showbiz Pizza when I was 6 or 7 and being really unsettled by Rockafire Explosion. And for years, I thought the memories were bad dreams, until about 15 years ago when I started looking up creepy animatronics for fun.
I only knew Chuck E. Cheese in the early 2000s, so that was the only version I ever experienced, but I do remember being fascinated by how rough everything was. I would like to go back in time and see some of the Showbiz Pizza restaurants though. I didn't even really know of their existence until I saw some other people's videos on their history.
Animatronics in restaurants can do a lot in bringing the places to life, especially if the restaurant has a theme to go along with the animatronics. The fad of animatronic dinner shows deserves another chance
I think that themed entertainment has kind of died, in that overtly themed restaurants have declined or that theme parks have moved too heavily into just shoving movie IP into everyone's face. It's a video topic I'm thinking of doing.
I totally agree. This is one of the reasons that I find it sad that Chuck E. Cheese is phasing out their animatronic shows. The idea of live entertainment through animatronic shows was such a unique concept back when it was introduced, and the animatronic shows at CEC brought so much life and vibrance to the restaurants. Without the animatronics, I’ve noticed the remodeled CEC locations just feel so soulless; like the magic and uniqueness has just been sucked right out of the business. Oh well.
The Tukwila, WA Bulwinkles still has their animatronics. They only perform on weekends, but they’re well cared for and the staff takes a lot of pride keeping them maintained.
Fellow Washingtonian here! Glad to hear the Bullwinkle band's still rocking down in Tukwila. We also had a Captain Andy Revue at Enchanted Village/Wild Waves back in the day, but it's gone now (I believe the stage used to be where Timberhawk is now)
And of course, the biggest irony is that Disney themselves have pretty much turned their backs on the whole AA 'revue' shows of late. (Even CBJ is about to get a 'refurb' that might not last very long).
Ah well I get it, I do think they're dated. I don't think Country Bears would be popular if it debuted today. I think it survives because it has decades of nostalgia and people that continue to hype it up specifically because it is a relic.
I was actually in Orlando recently and I got to visit the Mac Tonight McDonald's, including sitting in a seat where he was staring me down. He wasn't moving while I was there, but there are speakers installed under his piano that still play classic rock & roll music every now and then. And it sounds like they're still using his old audio for the intros and outros because at least once he mentioned he was going to take a break for a bit. On a related note, some McDonald's locations had a small animatronic show installed consisting of Ronald McDonald and a talking burger, fries, and drink cup he was holding. Customers had to manually press a button to start the show. I don't think any of them still exist anymore though.
I can’t lie, I clicked on this video solely bc of Mac Tonight😂 I became fascinated with him when I was 5, after my first ever Disney trip. I’d seen Sonny Eclipse for the first time, and I’d never seen anything like him. So to see this guy outside the park was mind blowing to my little self! The happy meal toy was Max on a red car that I still have to this day. The way I was absorbed into this deep dive was incredible, spectacular work!!!
I’m legitimately shocked you didn’t mention Jungle Jim’s international market outside Cincinnati Ohio. There’s 2 locations, one in East Gate and the original in Fairfield on the Dixie Highway. The store has a fascinating history, a lot of insane theming and Animatronics. They have a giant log of cheese, a refurbished Chuck E Cheese king animatronic branded as Elvis in the candy section, sherwood forrest with an animatronic Robin Hood in the British food section, a monorail and a bathroom that’s themed to look like a porta potty from the outside but is an actual bathroom inside amongst other things. Also the store’s owner, Jungle Jim himself, will at times show up to check on operations, WEARING A WIZARD OUTFIT! Jungle Jim’s is nuts and you should look into it.
There was one at church street station! My college BFF and I had our 1st date there! I still have the elephant foot glass our cocktails came in! They had little plastic animals to hang from drinking straws that u could play " barrel of monkeys"with!❤
The Chuck E Cheese near our house as a kid had the usual main show room, but they also had two other rooms with animatronics. One was a Dolly Parton (hippo, I think?) sitting behind a bar. The other was a huge, full body Lion that performed Elvis songs. I was a big Elvis fan as a kid so I was excited at first but seeing it in motion was TERRIFYING as a small child!
There's an animatronic display in a Mollie Stone's grocery store in Palo Alto, California where a farmer, his animals, and anthropomorphic fruits and vegetables sing songs. The weird thing is that many of the songs have nothing to do with food. One of them is about staying away from drugs, for example.
Excellent Vlog as always, I have been to Florida 14 times since 95, am from Liverpool UK. I can remember going to International Drive and staying in the Quality inn international next to the McDonald’s and I remember the Full animatronics show back in 95 it was in the downstairs section of the McDonald’s before the character was move upstairs to its present location. I was 23 years old back then and I am sure I even had it on a old VHS video I took but lost in time. Keep up the great work 👍👍👍
@@VirtuousHereticKristin Loved Florida even married a American girl still happily married. Met her on Daytona beach in 99, Me and my friends parked up and heard music from car next to us, she was with her friends and we both started talking and one thing led to another and a long distance relationship started. She is from Barnstable Massachusetts but moved here for her job as a teacher in mid 2009. Her family own a Villa in Florida “why I have been so many times” but we tried to get back to Barnstable a few times a year but since her parents passed not been back since beginning of 2020 also have not been to Florida for a good few years 2017. We found Dubai and love the place so that is our go to place now.
Some of my favorite childhood memories are from shopping at Stew Leonard's! It's such a strange and unique concept that no other grocery store has captured. Appreciate the shoutout 🙏
Animatronics in non Amusement Park/playplace locations is always a fascinating one. I remember as a kid going out to dinner at my local Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse and just being terrified of the talking trees right at the entrance right when you walked in. They had other various animatronic characters but those damn trees haunted my dreams like no other. Also there was a specialty store called the Christmas Loft in North Conway, NH that had talking animatronic animals and such throughout the store. Kind of a surreal thing to witness as a kid tbh.
I always tell people about the absolute horror that was the bugaboo tree. As a kid that thing terrified me too. It didn’t help that it looked like a normal tree until it opened its horrifying eyes and started talking. My dad would have to carry me out of the restaurant with my eyes closed because I didn’t want to go anywhere near it.
It’s always been weird to me that these weird animatronic dinner shows exist. I’ve always found the characters to seem a little grotesque and unappetizing
I’ve seen the Mac in Orlando, made a trip to Stew Leonard’s, saw The Rockafire Explosion perform and have seen Chuck E Cheese performances. Wish there were more still around and definitely have more on my bucket list. Something about older janky animatronics just hits different.
As someone who worked at Stew Leonard's for a decade, you mentioning those animatronics triggered PTSD in me. The Dole Fresh Vegetables will forever haunt my dreams.
I know I did not just see animatronic bouncing bear breasts. I know because, even if such a thing existed, and footage of it was captured, no one would put that into their video. I'll assume that I imagined it.
While on the topic of music-based animatronic shows at theme parks, I’d love to see some Halloween and horror-themed rock musical stage shows that feature a horror theme and horror elements, references to violence, some slight adult jokes and brief adult language, and a rock music soundtrack with live costumed performers and various animatronic monsters performing some Halloween themed tunes with a punk rock and metal twist like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” complete with a Michael Jackson Thriller zombie and various dancing zombies, a punk rock version of “Spooky Scary Skeletons” with a skeleton rock band, Warren Zevon’s Werewolves of London complete with some animatronic werewolves that howl and croon to the music, a punk rock version of Monster Mash with some horror vibes and adult jokes, a version of “Don’t Fear the Reaper” with the skeleton rock band and the Grim Reaper, etc. that’ll sure to be some enjoyable Halloween bangers that’ll have audiences screaming for more!
@@carminecdinoproductions Yeah, this is a good reason such shows are a bad idea. We've already seen what the FNAF franchise does for animatronic-based horror, we don't need any more than that example. See my point Mr. Fazbear?
At 5:22 the Koala is singing “Hopelessly Devoted To You” from the Grease soundtrack. I believe the Australia connection is that Sandy in Grease (who sings this song) is Australian
At my local children’s museum we have a tree that is animatronic and has a face that moves. He tells old stories. He’s pretty cool. He doesn’t work all the time, but he is probably the first animatronic I ever saw.
the great wolf near me still has the old show and animatronics just sitting there, unused for years. Last time i went a lot of the small interactive animatronics around the hotel were taken down too, i hope just for a refurb. its pretty sad tbh but maybe that's just my nostalgia bias
I love this topic. LOVE this topic. I have long wanted to go to Gold Coast to visit their theme parks but I'd make it a huge priority if they still had that show. I really miss the show at Chuck E. Cheese. And audio-animatronic shows at Disney parks are still some of my favorite attractions in their respective parks. And next time I'm in Oregon or Washington I'm definitely going to visit the Bullwinkle restaurant. Thank you for this awesome video! You certainly get a like for this one.
The Hard Luck Bears Show does still exist. Creative Engineering's CEO (and now only employee) Aaron Fechter regained ownership of the show and, while not operational, they sit idle in full cosmetics in his warehouse, formerly in Orlando now moved to Palatka.
When I was working on MagiQuest installs we had at Great Wolf locations, that clocktower show was practically my alarm clock. "There's nothing to be scared of here~" will be burned into my brain forever, weather I want it there or not.
Thanks for mentioning Europa Park's Carnival in Venice. I have only just discovered this attraction despite going to Europa Park for almost 25 years. It was so fascinating to experience something that has been there for so long, but is mostly overlooked by park goers. Absurd theming and a bit dated but so much fun!
theres a retro fitted rock afire explosion in the uk thats called the hard luck bears thats just reopened after 2 years i live nearby and saw it many times growing up
I was going to say this! Is it at a Gulliver’s park? I heard they managed to fix and reopen one or two of the shows. Still waiting for my closest one (Gulliver’s Land in Milton Keynes) to reopen!
I don't know if they were covered in another video, but the arthritic, low-tech mechanical figures at Wall Drug, in Wall, SD were always an oddity for me. I won't go so far as to classify them as 'animatronic' as they were not really synchronized to the music they played, but as a child, they were my first encounter with full-sized, mechanical singing characters. I found them more fascinating than terrifying, but I haven't been back there in decades, so I don't know if they still operate today, or if they've been replaced with something else.
Great topic while not a animatronic musical revue the Evil Queen from that bygone attraction Snow White’s Adventures that ran from 1971 until 1994 at the Magic Kingdom was frightening for me as a kid. But on a side not I find funny is these terrifying animatronic music shows like Chuck E Cheese, Major Magic and Showbiz Pizza helped spawn horror movies like Willy's Wonderland and a horror version of the kid series called The Banana Splits Movie, finally the video game/upcoming movie Five Nights At Freddy's.
Damn, I miss Snow White. It was such a good ride in both MK and DL. I don't hate the new version of it in DIsneyland, but I do miss the scariness of it.
My family used to the fair circuit as a food cart. There was one we went to when I was a kid where the foster farms chickens had an animatronic little show booth. The two chickens would roll out and do a skit with each other. I was absolutely entranced, my family reluctantly let me go watch it by myself because I stood there a good number of hours on the first day and begged to go back the next day. The people who passed out the samples were really nice to me lol This was awesome! Musical reviews just seem to be able to have fun, no matter the set up or similar concepts. I have a whole new set of ones to watch. The Fantasialand video still blows me away, the two hugs carousels that came down from the ceiling amazes me.
That man sunny and his celestial angels or whatever they call themselves, let me tell you about that man! We went to mickeys not so scary Halloween once and they close all the restaurants early except for that one. It’s the only play to get real food without waiting in an hour line for seasonal specials. So we sat there and ate chicken fingers or something while that man crooned on and on! He wouldn’t give it a rest. We were literally a captive audience
The best animatronic music show i've ever seen was the haunted castle (spookslot) in efteling. It no longer exists, but it was based on the famous danse macabre from saint saens. The new show will be a combination of a ride and a show, using a dynamic motion stage from intamin.
Jungle Jim’s International Market is another store that features heavy theming and animatronics. Think they had a Robin Hood animatronic display above one of the wooded aisles with treasure hidden in the trees. I have fond memories going there on occasion back when I used to live in Ohio as a kid.
NO!!!!! Oh my god, I just started the video and you tell me right off the bat they’re ruining my favorite attraction in Disney World???? 😭😭😭😭😭 I went very recently for the first time in years, and even though I was never a fan of some of the “less exciting” attractions as a kid, I wanted to experience all the classics that were left now that I’m an adult artist and can appreciate them for what they are. I went and did everything in the magic kingdom and my very favorite thing was the country bear jamboree-I literally never would have expected it!! My dad was with me and he pointed out all his and his own dad’s favorite parts, and it was just the most magical experience I had all day ♥️♥️♥️ I doubt Disney can be stopped from changing it…but if there are any petitions out there I’ll gladly sign them all!!!
I'll bet that within the week, you will reach that magic 100K subscribers. It will be well deserved as it is obvious you put a lot of time and effort into your videos. Congratulations - I'm glad to see that quality and perseverance are paying off for your efforts. 🔥
In New Zealand, in a place called Napier there was a supermarket that had a animatronic show of singing fruit that hung above the fruit and vegetable isle. When we were kids we would always beg our parents to go there because of it.
When I was younger, there was a restaurant near me called bugaboo creek that had talking cartoon taxidermy moose and deer busts. There was also a talking tree if i remember right. I also remember hiding under the tables.
While on the topic of music-based animatronic shows at theme parks, I’d like to point out the idea of puppet-based musical theme park shows which are basically theme park animatronic shows, but with live performers and puppets with different puppetry styles for certain shows!
In Meridan Connecticut there is The Castle Burger King, which has an attached castle-shaped arcade and play area. I used to go there all the time as a kid, and there was a small animatronic show featuring two monkeys. While the burger king is still open, the Jester's Courtyard area has been closed for over a decade. Really too bad, but still worth a visit for the interesting interior.
My family went to Showbiz Pizza every Friday night, so I am very fond with nostalgia for Rock-Afire Explosion! I remember running up to the stage for every show when I was little.
I think Showbiz was phased out and turned into Chuck E Cheese before I was even born, but they do look fascinating for sure. I only ever experienced the Chuck E. Cheese shows in the early 2000s, but I was surprised to learn that there's such an interesting history between the two.
I grew up near Danbury CT and Stew Leonards was a big part of my childhood. There used to be a show with two dog animatronics singing country music that played on a balcony above the store itself and was actually very cute. I’m not sure if they’re still there.
Haven’t seen Bugaboo Creek Restaurant mentioned in Poughkeepsie, NY. Giant moose heads on the walls singing and cracking jokes and a very strange pine tree with a face greeting from the lobby. I’m pretty sure there was more than one location. Haven’t been there in years to know if it’s still there or operational.
I live a few minutes away from that Stu Leonards. We shop there quite often. As for their animatronic figures, most of them work by pushing a button on the display. The milk carton band plays at a set time. There's one pretty hefty problem that I've noticed with their animatronics for years now. They look rough. And I don't think they spend much to maintain or clean them. Cleanliness with them is a hefty issue. You can tell that several of the animatronics are just caked in dust. You can really see the issue with the milk carton band. Animatronics take quite a bit of time to clean properly. Any they should probably be cleaned daily. Stu Leonards definitely isn't investing employee time to clean them, and they definitely aren't spending the needed money to maintain them well. And that's sad because those animatronics really make the place a unique place to shop. But I'm willing to bet that I would go insane there as an employee. Kids LOVE pushing those buttons that activate those animatronics. And even as a shopper, you often have to put up with some kids pushing those buttons every second they can, causing you to hear the same dumb song about food over and over and over again. So that's my critique about them. It would really be nice if they invested more in cleaning and maintaining all those animatronics.
I am 62 and have never been to a Disney park but do kinda recall the Astroworld review and the Chucky Cheese show. I'm also a sci-fi fan so really enjoy robots. These animatronics just look hokey with their jerky movement and over the top kitsch. Guess should have seen them when I was 10?
I saw the circus themed one with the tightrope acrobat and lion ringmaster when I was 13 at a Incredible Pizza type place that had a Dominoes Kiosk for their food in Georgia.
I was really hoping that you would bring up Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse. I remember going there when I was young and watching the whole restaurant do its big number every 20 minutes or so. Sadly they all closed in 2016 but a big shout out to Douglas Fir.
Loved Bullwinkles as a kid! So glad that the Boomers by my house that started out as a Bullwinkles came back recently. I remember being scared of the villains animatronics as a kid
This subject fascinates me so much. Here in the UK we didn’t have animatronic band restaurants, but in the 90s a lot of these bands came over from shut down locations in America and were placed in theme parks. We had a lot of ‘Hard luck bears’ shows in places like Blackpool Pleasure Beach, and the Gulliver’s theme parks, and the Captain Andy band (now at Watermouth castle) was at Thorpe Park - the only one I got to see but had a lasting impact on me! Gulliver’s also had their own animatronic shows and rides, featuring their mascot Gully Mouse, which were very similar to the ones shown here at Europa Park, with their mouse mascot!
Ah, I didn''t know that Captain Andy had been at Thorpe. It's interesting how they keep getting recycled, although that's not necessarily a bad thing if they're still around to experience.
As Someone who loves Disney and is from the West Coast, I spent time in NYC and Connecticut. I stumbled upon Stew Leonards one day and was mind blown at what I was seeing haha.
you need yo do a video on wall drug, the black hills south dakota, and wisconsin dells there are so many gems that deserve recognition and love lol literally my childhood
Fun facts about the Texas Longhorn Review. 1. The opening act, the three you mentioned, are named the Utter Delights. 2. The show closed and almost all of the animatronics were moved to Six Flag New Orleans, before Katrina. The show was going to be resurected at SF New Orleans. Katrina hit and all were ruined. 3. For some reason the Utter Delights were not shipped with the rest. I own the lead singer from the Utter Delights. Still in great shape.
@@BriarPatchProductionsuse the contact address on my RUclips homepage and I will email you a picture. I tried to put a link here but RUclips will not allow that.
we have a grocery store chain very much akin to Stew Leonards in southern ohio called Jungle Jim’s. I never appreciated how unique all their animatronics are until a store like it was mentioned here. makes me wonder how many other grocery stores incorporated animatronics into their store, and when?
If you ever do a follow up the fry organ at the mcdonalds at disney springs was awesome, and also max and maxine at holiday inn sunspree just for random animatronics placed in public
Great video! If you do a part 2 could you please cover the wizard of oz animatronics you showed in a few clips really curious on the story behind them!
10:10 I live in Seattle, Washington, and we have a location nearby in the city of Tukwilla! ive been going since I was a child, and at least for this location, the Rocky and Bullwinkle theming is still very present and the animatronics still do birthday shows! on the side of the massive building complex, theres two 20ft rocky and Bullwinkle portraits noticeable from off the highway. one of rocky and one of Bullwinkle. its really intresting! inside they also have 20ft banners from other characters like Dudley Do right and Mr Peabody and Sherman! there used to be two locations from the family fun center chain in Washington. it was one in Edmonds, Washington. but It didnt survive during covid sadly so it shut down. it was a smaller location for sure but still had a decent amount to offer. the only family fun center chains that are still open is the one in California, the one in my state, and the Oregon one if I remember correctly. anyways great video! im a huge fan of animatronics glad to see you talking about them!
I didn't see it, but I heard Six Flags over GA had a frog based musical band, only 3 or so frogs so a lot smaller, but it was apparently well loved. IDK if it's still around. Apparently, did more Blues/Folk style songs.
Jungle Jim’s in Cincinnati is another grocery store with animatronics some of them singing.It’s an international store and it’s mostly fun to go there because they do have a lot of stuff from other countries that would be hard to find elsewhere. It’s probably ripping off the ones in Connecticut since it started a few years later though. In terms of weirdness some highlights include monkey elvis (which I typed that out and realized some unfortunate implications there) and a band of licensed cereal mascots (like lucky charms, twix) singing sugar sugar. There’s also an anthropomorphic swinging campbells soup can which does not sing but would fall into the “creepy” category.
This is the first I've heard of the MK Country Bear Jamboree re-writes and whilst I'm not remotely surprised, it is very disappointing. At least they aren't being completely removed from the park... (yet)
I still remember there was a place, like Chucky Cheese, or Showbiz, but it was absolutely not either of them. It was either in Virginia, West Virginia, or Flint Michigan. Wish I could be more specific, but I was very young. The whole place had a slight country vibe. I think the show had mostly human type animatronics, like they were humans, and not bears. I remember the sound was awful. They played " I'm my own Grampa." but it was so bad it sounded like I'm my own transone. No idea what a transone is, but thats what I heard.
@PoseideonEntertainment I know of an obscure one. "The Confederate Critter Show" at Pigeon's Forge's jaw-dropping Magic World. Magic World itself was so amazingly weird. All of the attractions were locally hand-built by the park, generally ripoffs, and the weirdest theme park I have ever seen. And gloriously low-budget. Wow...a quick bit of research tells me that this was from Creative Engineering. And there is video. Magic World could use some love as the 70's and 80's version was all themed stuff and dark rides.
Hey everyone, I'm currently on a busy two week trip and so I won't have much time to respond to comments. However, I'll try to respond to as many as I can. At the very least, I do read all of the comments you've made and I do enjoy scrolling through them!
Can you make a video on what Universal Studios Hollywood should do with minion land/secret life of pets area? I know it’s unrealistic, but would they be able to add diagon alley and a gringotts ride?
Weird that you specifically can't respond to this one video when you featured the alt right symbol without noting it?
Here's background if anyone doesn't know how mac tonight was co-opted by hateful cowards:
ruclips.net/video/xmhE_B6o6SI/видео.htmlfeature=shared
Mac Tonight at Entertainment McDonalds in Florida DOES still work. I was there earlier this year, and he was still talking, playing music, and tapping his foot. If you're in the area, swing by and check him out!
Can confirm. Saw him working back in July.
I was there yesterday, he’s gone back to being static unfortunately. Audio still plays though
I was there August 20th and it was still working. Was disappointed he didn’t play his classic Mac tonight song 😢
He never seems to work when I go, but I also don't have a reason to go often. I haven't seen him work in years, but I suppose I'm just unlucky.
Is Entertainment McDonald's the World's Biggest McDonald's in Orlando?
i wish more animatronic shows still existed, especially in one-off chuck e cheese style locations. producing basic animatronics is so much cheaper now and a lot of the cost issues cec themselves went through were due to running old animatronics and never upgrading them to modern systems and instead choosing to struggle with the fact that replacement parts stopped being produced. i also just feel that it'd at least draw in a fun nostalgia crowd for animatronic-based dining (and with fnaf's popularity maybe if someone wanted to lean into an animatronic horror theme it could turn out really well). honestly i just wish themed dining past tiki bars still existed more, i miss experiences like the rainforest cafe as a kid even as tacky as it was.
To be fair, I think that Rainforest Café has survived better than most. I know they're not as plentiful, but there's still a lot more around than I would have thought. I would like to see them really expand on the concept just like they did with T-Rex.
Maybe not an animatronic show but I have this distinct memory of some type of show happening in one of the corners of the Ontario Mills mall in Ontario California during its opening years I don’t know if this is real or not. I was hoping that somebody could tell me for sure because I have this memory and I’m not sure it with you. It’s was a real show or not anybody else remember what I’m talking about
Don’t worry people still make some.
Lol great for a cocktail ( rainforest cafe) but even my dog couldn't eat their food!( unfortunately not kidding)
@@cmaden78I bet there still some of these somewhere.
One of the strangest animatronic shows I've ever seen is a Pigeon Forge breakfast restaurant called Frizzle Chicken Farmhouse Cafe, which features dozens of animatronic chickens clucking out parodies of pop songs while you eat. A fever dream of a restaurant.
All the best things are on U.S. 441!
That sounds vaguely familiar, as in I saw a video of it a few months ago but couldn't find it again to include it here. I'll start a list of other attractions like this because it might make for an interesting part 2 eventually.
@@PoseidonEntertainment It seems like it's an odd little subcategory of the genre, because the animatronics are definitely simpler/lower budget than the ones usually found and they're more the soundtrack of the restaurant rather than a true show. I'll definitely be checking it out when I'm down there.
I had the chance to go during a vacation but I decided not to
5:24 I believe she's singing "Hopelessly Devoted to You" from "Grease" which makes sense because Olivia Newton-John herself (who originally sang this song) was Australian
I love when you cover more obscure topics like this. This channel has quickly caught up to Defunctland and Yesterworld in terms of being a top tier theme park history channel and also in terms of unique video topics.
Obscure? You mean like the hundreds of similar videos that for years have been clogging up my recommendations?
@@mynameisworld I take it you’re not a fan
Glad more channels are covering animatronics! Great job on this one! 👍
Woah you guys! wheres the scary fnaf videos?
I grew up going to Chuck E Cheese, which never bothered me (well, except the window frame animatronics), but i have vague memories of going to a Showbiz Pizza when I was 6 or 7 and being really unsettled by Rockafire Explosion. And for years, I thought the memories were bad dreams, until about 15 years ago when I started looking up creepy animatronics for fun.
I only knew Chuck E. Cheese in the early 2000s, so that was the only version I ever experienced, but I do remember being fascinated by how rough everything was. I would like to go back in time and see some of the Showbiz Pizza restaurants though. I didn't even really know of their existence until I saw some other people's videos on their history.
Animatronics in restaurants can do a lot in bringing the places to life, especially if the restaurant has a theme to go along with the animatronics. The fad of animatronic dinner shows deserves another chance
I think that themed entertainment has kind of died, in that overtly themed restaurants have declined or that theme parks have moved too heavily into just shoving movie IP into everyone's face. It's a video topic I'm thinking of doing.
I totally agree. This is one of the reasons that I find it sad that Chuck E. Cheese is phasing out their animatronic shows. The idea of live entertainment through animatronic shows was such a unique concept back when it was introduced, and the animatronic shows at CEC brought so much life and vibrance to the restaurants. Without the animatronics, I’ve noticed the remodeled CEC locations just feel so soulless; like the magic and uniqueness has just been sucked right out of the business. Oh well.
The Tukwila, WA Bulwinkles still has their animatronics. They only perform on weekends, but they’re well cared for and the staff takes a lot of pride keeping them maintained.
Was going to come to say this! I went to that Bullwinkles a few years ago and I am glad to hear the animatronics still work!
Ohhh interesting. I don't think I'll get there any time soon, but I'm glad that's the case.
Fellow Washingtonian here! Glad to hear the Bullwinkle band's still rocking down in Tukwila. We also had a Captain Andy Revue at Enchanted Village/Wild Waves back in the day, but it's gone now (I believe the stage used to be where Timberhawk is now)
I am so going there on a weekend to see this
@@mathewevans9706What do you remember about the Capt. Andy RiverTowne Revue at Enchanted Village?
And of course, the biggest irony is that Disney themselves have pretty much turned their backs on the whole AA 'revue' shows of late. (Even CBJ is about to get a 'refurb' that might not last very long).
Ah well I get it, I do think they're dated. I don't think Country Bears would be popular if it debuted today. I think it survives because it has decades of nostalgia and people that continue to hype it up specifically because it is a relic.
I was actually in Orlando recently and I got to visit the Mac Tonight McDonald's, including sitting in a seat where he was staring me down. He wasn't moving while I was there, but there are speakers installed under his piano that still play classic rock & roll music every now and then. And it sounds like they're still using his old audio for the intros and outros because at least once he mentioned he was going to take a break for a bit.
On a related note, some McDonald's locations had a small animatronic show installed consisting of Ronald McDonald and a talking burger, fries, and drink cup he was holding. Customers had to manually press a button to start the show. I don't think any of them still exist anymore though.
For context on the gold coast part- its a reigon, not a suburb, so its called the gold coast. the suburb the place is, is coomera
I can’t lie, I clicked on this video solely bc of Mac Tonight😂 I became fascinated with him when I was 5, after my first ever Disney trip. I’d seen Sonny Eclipse for the first time, and I’d never seen anything like him. So to see this guy outside the park was mind blowing to my little self! The happy meal toy was Max on a red car that I still have to this day. The way I was absorbed into this deep dive was incredible, spectacular work!!!
I’m legitimately shocked you didn’t mention Jungle Jim’s international market outside Cincinnati Ohio. There’s 2 locations, one in East Gate and the original in Fairfield on the Dixie Highway. The store has a fascinating history, a lot of insane theming and Animatronics. They have a giant log of cheese, a refurbished Chuck E Cheese king animatronic branded as Elvis in the candy section, sherwood forrest with an animatronic Robin Hood in the British food section, a monorail and a bathroom that’s themed to look like a porta potty from the outside but is an actual bathroom inside amongst other things. Also the store’s owner, Jungle Jim himself, will at times show up to check on operations, WEARING A WIZARD OUTFIT!
Jungle Jim’s is nuts and you should look into it.
There was one at church street station! My college BFF and I had our 1st date there! I still have the elephant foot glass our cocktails came in! They had little plastic animals to hang from drinking straws that u could play " barrel of monkeys"with!❤
Oh..lol it was a restaurant not a grocery store. But that's awesome! I'd love to meet "jungle jim" my kinda crazy❤
@@cmaden78 hell yeah. If you’re ever near Cincinnati you should check it out
The Chuck E Cheese near our house as a kid had the usual main show room, but they also had two other rooms with animatronics. One was a Dolly Parton (hippo, I think?) sitting behind a bar. The other was a huge, full body Lion that performed Elvis songs. I was a big Elvis fan as a kid so I was excited at first but seeing it in motion was TERRIFYING as a small child!
I would absolutely LOVE to see you cover showbiz pizza in any capacity. Great video!!!
There's an animatronic display in a Mollie Stone's grocery store in Palo Alto, California where a farmer, his animals, and anthropomorphic fruits and vegetables sing songs. The weird thing is that many of the songs have nothing to do with food. One of them is about staying away from drugs, for example.
Excellent Vlog as always,
I have been to Florida 14 times since 95, am from Liverpool UK.
I can remember going to International Drive and staying in the Quality inn international next to the McDonald’s and I remember the Full animatronics show back in 95 it was in the downstairs section of the McDonald’s before the character was move upstairs to its present location. I was 23 years old back then and I am sure I even had it on a old VHS video I took but lost in time.
Keep up the great work 👍👍👍
That’s cool about you visiting Florida so many times.
@@VirtuousHereticKristin Loved Florida even married a American girl still happily married. Met her on Daytona beach in 99,
Me and my friends parked up and heard music from car next to us, she was with her friends and we both started talking and one thing led to another and a long distance relationship started.
She is from Barnstable Massachusetts but moved here for her job as a teacher in mid 2009.
Her family own a Villa in Florida “why I have been so many times” but we tried to get back to Barnstable a few times a year but since her parents passed not been back since beginning of 2020 also have not been to Florida for a good few years 2017. We found Dubai and love the place so that is our go to place now.
One of my earliest memories is going to a Showbiz Pizza and being terrified of the band so my mom drags me closer while I'm screaming in terror.
Some of my favorite childhood memories are from shopping at Stew Leonard's! It's such a strange and unique concept that no other grocery store has captured. Appreciate the shoutout 🙏
Yeah, I want to make a trip just to go there lol
Animatronics in non Amusement Park/playplace locations is always a fascinating one. I remember as a kid going out to dinner at my local Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse and just being terrified of the talking trees right at the entrance right when you walked in. They had other various animatronic characters but those damn trees haunted my dreams like no other.
Also there was a specialty store called the Christmas Loft in North Conway, NH that had talking animatronic animals and such throughout the store. Kind of a surreal thing to witness as a kid tbh.
OMIGOD BUGABOO CREEK!!! I thought it was a fever dream from my childhood!!
Those sound interesting, I'll add them to a list of things to investigate lol
I always tell people about the absolute horror that was the bugaboo tree. As a kid that thing terrified me too. It didn’t help that it looked like a normal tree until it opened its horrifying eyes and started talking. My dad would have to carry me out of the restaurant with my eyes closed because I didn’t want to go anywhere near it.
in the early 90s my local grocery store had a few very low grade animatronics. why? I have no idea. but I loved them because I was very young.
It’s always been weird to me that these weird animatronic dinner shows exist. I’ve always found the characters to seem a little grotesque and unappetizing
I’ve seen the Mac in Orlando, made a trip to Stew Leonard’s, saw The Rockafire Explosion perform and have seen Chuck E Cheese performances. Wish there were more still around and definitely have more on my bucket list. Something about older janky animatronics just hits different.
Great video!! I know it’s not exactly a “show”, but the animal animatronics were always a big part of the fun at Rainforest Cafe for me.
These things have always given me the creeps with their unrealistic movements and voices, and desperate attempt to remain timely.
As someone who worked at Stew Leonard's for a decade, you mentioning those animatronics triggered PTSD in me. The Dole Fresh Vegetables will forever haunt my dreams.
The female koala is singing Hopelessly Devoted, from the Grease soundtrack.
I know I did not just see animatronic bouncing bear breasts. I know because, even if such a thing existed, and footage of it was captured, no one would put that into their video. I'll assume that I imagined it.
Despite it being a primate (not really sure which one), you surely did see ‘em…
While on the topic of music-based animatronic shows at theme parks, I’d love to see some Halloween and horror-themed rock musical stage shows that feature a horror theme and horror elements, references to violence, some slight adult jokes and brief adult language, and a rock music soundtrack with live costumed performers and various animatronic monsters performing some Halloween themed tunes with a punk rock and metal twist like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” complete with a Michael Jackson Thriller zombie and various dancing zombies, a punk rock version of “Spooky Scary Skeletons” with a skeleton rock band, Warren Zevon’s Werewolves of London complete with some animatronic werewolves that howl and croon to the music, a punk rock version of Monster Mash with some horror vibes and adult jokes, a version of “Don’t Fear the Reaper” with the skeleton rock band and the Grim Reaper, etc. that’ll sure to be some enjoyable Halloween bangers that’ll have audiences screaming for more!
Yeah…
That ain’t happenin’
@@jeltoninc.8542 COME ON! This could be some spooktacular fun during the Halloween season!
@@carminecdinoproductions Cough, cough... **Five Nights at Freddy's...** COUGH!
@@TheOneTrueDragonKing Really?
@@carminecdinoproductions Yeah, this is a good reason such shows are a bad idea.
We've already seen what the FNAF franchise does for animatronic-based horror, we don't need any more than that example.
See my point Mr. Fazbear?
At 5:22 the Koala is singing “Hopelessly Devoted To You” from the Grease soundtrack. I believe the Australia connection is that Sandy in Grease (who sings this song) is Australian
8:35
Circus World Pizza!
They had one in my hometown when I was a kid! I believe the space is a Panera Bread now.
Wow
Congrats on the 100K subs brother, you deserve it for sure. Best theme park-related content anywhere!
At my local children’s museum we have a tree that is animatronic and has a face that moves. He tells old stories. He’s pretty cool. He doesn’t work all the time, but he is probably the first animatronic I ever saw.
the great wolf near me still has the old show and animatronics just sitting there, unused for years. Last time i went a lot of the small interactive animatronics around the hotel were taken down too, i hope just for a refurb. its pretty sad tbh but maybe that's just my nostalgia bias
I love this topic. LOVE this topic. I have long wanted to go to Gold Coast to visit their theme parks but I'd make it a huge priority if they still had that show. I really miss the show at Chuck E. Cheese. And audio-animatronic shows at Disney parks are still some of my favorite attractions in their respective parks. And next time I'm in Oregon or Washington I'm definitely going to visit the Bullwinkle restaurant. Thank you for this awesome video! You certainly get a like for this one.
The Hard Luck Bears Show does still exist. Creative Engineering's CEO (and now only employee) Aaron Fechter regained ownership of the show and, while not operational, they sit idle in full cosmetics in his warehouse, formerly in Orlando now moved to Palatka.
I've been to Palatka..lol me and about 40 other ppl only..lol but I do believe they have a bar in the holiday Inn there? Towns only one I think?
When I was working on MagiQuest installs we had at Great Wolf locations, that clocktower show was practically my alarm clock. "There's nothing to be scared of here~" will be burned into my brain forever, weather I want it there or not.
I need more horrific animatronics in my day to day life dammit, society must bring them back and then go even further.
Thanks for mentioning Europa Park's Carnival in Venice. I have only just discovered this attraction despite going to Europa Park for almost 25 years. It was so fascinating to experience something that has been there for so long, but is mostly overlooked by park goers. Absurd theming and a bit dated but so much fun!
theres a retro fitted rock afire explosion in the uk thats called the hard luck bears thats just reopened after 2 years i live nearby and saw it many times growing up
I was going to say this! Is it at a Gulliver’s park? I heard they managed to fix and reopen one or two of the shows. Still waiting for my closest one (Gulliver’s Land in Milton Keynes) to reopen!
I don't know if they were covered in another video, but the arthritic, low-tech mechanical figures at Wall Drug, in Wall, SD were always an oddity for me. I won't go so far as to classify them as 'animatronic' as they were not really synchronized to the music they played, but as a child, they were my first encounter with full-sized, mechanical singing characters. I found them more fascinating than terrifying, but I haven't been back there in decades, so I don't know if they still operate today, or if they've been replaced with something else.
I saw the Rock-afire Explosion animatronics in Billy Bob’s Wonderland in West Virginia last night, so the timing for this video is crazy!
Gilroy Gardens in Gilroy, CA has a terrifying animatronic show. I used to go a lot as a kid and it would scare me 😭
Great topic while not a animatronic musical revue the Evil Queen from that bygone attraction Snow White’s Adventures that ran from 1971 until 1994 at the Magic Kingdom was frightening for me as a kid. But on a side not I find funny is these terrifying animatronic music shows like Chuck E Cheese, Major Magic and Showbiz Pizza helped spawn horror movies like Willy's Wonderland and a horror version of the kid series called The Banana Splits Movie, finally the video game/upcoming movie Five Nights At Freddy's.
Damn, I miss Snow White. It was such a good ride in both MK and DL. I don't hate the new version of it in DIsneyland, but I do miss the scariness of it.
My family used to the fair circuit as a food cart. There was one we went to when I was a kid where the foster farms chickens had an animatronic little show booth. The two chickens would roll out and do a skit with each other. I was absolutely entranced, my family reluctantly let me go watch it by myself because I stood there a good number of hours on the first day and begged to go back the next day. The people who passed out the samples were really nice to me lol
This was awesome! Musical reviews just seem to be able to have fun, no matter the set up or similar concepts. I have a whole new set of ones to watch. The Fantasialand video still blows me away, the two hugs carousels that came down from the ceiling amazes me.
Excellent job as always. I was at Dutch Wonderland over the summer and the animatronic band is still there playing.
I vaguely remember my parents taking me there when I was too young to remember much. Might have to make a trip again soon lol
That man sunny and his celestial angels or whatever they call themselves, let me tell you about that man! We went to mickeys not so scary Halloween once and they close all the restaurants early except for that one. It’s the only play to get real food without waiting in an hour line for seasonal specials. So we sat there and ate chicken fingers or something while that man crooned on and on! He wouldn’t give it a rest. We were literally a captive audience
The best animatronic music show i've ever seen was the haunted castle (spookslot) in efteling. It no longer exists, but it was based on the famous danse macabre from saint saens. The new show will be a combination of a ride and a show, using a dynamic motion stage from intamin.
1:54 I've never seen this episode of VeggieTales before
What?
Used to have a Mac Tonight in NY but unfortunately the place *just* got renovated a few months ago. Big sad.
Jungle Jim’s International Market is another store that features heavy theming and animatronics. Think they had a Robin Hood animatronic display above one of the wooded aisles with treasure hidden in the trees.
I have fond memories going there on occasion back when I used to live in Ohio as a kid.
Is this why killer animatronics and haunted entertainment centers are a favorite of the horror genre?
NO!!!!! Oh my god, I just started the video and you tell me right off the bat they’re ruining my favorite attraction in Disney World???? 😭😭😭😭😭
I went very recently for the first time in years, and even though I was never a fan of some of the “less exciting” attractions as a kid, I wanted to experience all the classics that were left now that I’m an adult artist and can appreciate them for what they are. I went and did everything in the magic kingdom and my very favorite thing was the country bear jamboree-I literally never would have expected it!! My dad was with me and he pointed out all his and his own dad’s favorite parts, and it was just the most magical experience I had all day ♥️♥️♥️ I doubt Disney can be stopped from changing it…but if there are any petitions out there I’ll gladly sign them all!!!
I'll bet that within the week, you will reach that magic 100K subscribers. It will be well deserved as it is obvious you put a lot of time and effort into your videos. Congratulations - I'm glad to see that quality and perseverance are paying off for your efforts. 🔥
It happened overnight lol
I'm way late here, but a deep dive on Chuck E Cheese and Showbiz would be so interesting!
In New Zealand, in a place called Napier there was a supermarket that had a animatronic show of singing fruit that hung above the fruit and vegetable isle. When we were kids we would always beg our parents to go there because of it.
Neat to hear my hometown mentioned. I thought they had removed Mac from McDonalds but I guess I’ll have to head back and see.
Interesting video.
This topic is right up my alley!
You should do more animatronic related videos!
When I was younger, there was a restaurant near me called bugaboo creek that had talking cartoon taxidermy moose and deer busts. There was also a talking tree if i remember right. I also remember hiding under the tables.
While on the topic of music-based animatronic shows at theme parks, I’d like to point out the idea of puppet-based musical theme park shows which are basically theme park animatronic shows, but with live performers and puppets with different puppetry styles for certain shows!
In Meridan Connecticut there is The Castle Burger King, which has an attached castle-shaped arcade and play area. I used to go there all the time as a kid, and there was a small animatronic show featuring two monkeys. While the burger king is still open, the Jester's Courtyard area has been closed for over a decade. Really too bad, but still worth a visit for the interesting interior.
My family went to Showbiz Pizza every Friday night, so I am very fond with nostalgia for Rock-Afire Explosion! I remember running up to the stage for every show when I was little.
I think Showbiz was phased out and turned into Chuck E Cheese before I was even born, but they do look fascinating for sure. I only ever experienced the Chuck E. Cheese shows in the early 2000s, but I was surprised to learn that there's such an interesting history between the two.
12:18
There's our boy before he became an Internet icon.
I grew up near Danbury CT and Stew Leonards was a big part of my childhood. There used to be a show with two dog animatronics singing country music that played on a balcony above the store itself and was actually very cute. I’m not sure if they’re still there.
I have no reason to go to CT, but this might be the thing to do so lol
Haven’t seen Bugaboo Creek Restaurant mentioned in Poughkeepsie, NY. Giant moose heads on the walls singing and cracking jokes and a very strange pine tree with a face greeting from the lobby. I’m pretty sure there was more than one location. Haven’t been there in years to know if it’s still there or operational.
I live a few minutes away from that Stu Leonards. We shop there quite often. As for their animatronic figures, most of them work by pushing a button on the display. The milk carton band plays at a set time. There's one pretty hefty problem that I've noticed with their animatronics for years now. They look rough. And I don't think they spend much to maintain or clean them. Cleanliness with them is a hefty issue. You can tell that several of the animatronics are just caked in dust. You can really see the issue with the milk carton band. Animatronics take quite a bit of time to clean properly. Any they should probably be cleaned daily. Stu Leonards definitely isn't investing employee time to clean them, and they definitely aren't spending the needed money to maintain them well. And that's sad because those animatronics really make the place a unique place to shop. But I'm willing to bet that I would go insane there as an employee. Kids LOVE pushing those buttons that activate those animatronics. And even as a shopper, you often have to put up with some kids pushing those buttons every second they can, causing you to hear the same dumb song about food over and over and over again. So that's my critique about them. It would really be nice if they invested more in cleaning and maintaining all those animatronics.
I am 62 and have never been to a Disney park but do kinda recall the Astroworld review and the Chucky Cheese show. I'm also a sci-fi fan so really enjoy robots. These animatronics just look hokey with their jerky movement and over the top kitsch. Guess should have seen them when I was 10?
I’ve been waiting for this one! Will check back in after finishing the video
I saw the circus themed one with the tightrope acrobat and lion ringmaster when I was 13 at a Incredible Pizza type place that had a Dominoes Kiosk for their food in Georgia.
I was really hoping that you would bring up Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse. I remember going there when I was young and watching the whole restaurant do its big number every 20 minutes or so. Sadly they all closed in 2016 but a big shout out to Douglas Fir.
Loved Bullwinkles as a kid! So glad that the Boomers by my house that started out as a Bullwinkles came back recently. I remember being scared of the villains animatronics as a kid
This subject fascinates me so much. Here in the UK we didn’t have animatronic band restaurants, but in the 90s a lot of these bands came over from shut down locations in America and were placed in theme parks. We had a lot of ‘Hard luck bears’ shows in places like Blackpool Pleasure Beach, and the Gulliver’s theme parks, and the Captain Andy band (now at Watermouth castle) was at Thorpe Park - the only one I got to see but had a lasting impact on me! Gulliver’s also had their own animatronic shows and rides, featuring their mascot Gully Mouse, which were very similar to the ones shown here at Europa Park, with their mouse mascot!
Ah, I didn''t know that Captain Andy had been at Thorpe. It's interesting how they keep getting recycled, although that's not necessarily a bad thing if they're still around to experience.
@@PoseidonEntertainment yes I agree, it’s great that they get recycled and live on for another generation to experience. ☺️
Stew Leonard's was more then just your standard grocery store. It was an experience. I miss going.
I miss showbiz pizza
As Someone who loves Disney and is from the West Coast, I spent time in NYC and Connecticut. I stumbled upon Stew Leonards one day and was mind blown at what I was seeing haha.
you need yo do a video on wall drug, the black hills south dakota, and wisconsin dells
there are so many gems that deserve recognition and love lol
literally my childhood
McDonald's is such a soulless bland chain now.
Omg. The nostalgia from dreamworld!! I only got to see the koala jamboree twice. Look up lasseters lost mine. My all time favourite ride
Fun facts about the Texas Longhorn Review.
1. The opening act, the three you mentioned, are named the Utter Delights.
2. The show closed and almost all of the animatronics were moved to Six Flag New Orleans, before Katrina. The show was going to be resurected at SF New Orleans. Katrina hit and all were ruined.
3. For some reason the Utter Delights were not shipped with the rest. I own the lead singer from the Utter Delights. Still in great shape.
Hello, is there any place I can contact you to talk about the Utter Delight singer you have? I’d be interested to see a photo of it.
@@BriarPatchProductionsuse the contact address on my RUclips homepage and I will email you a picture. I tried to put a link here but RUclips will not allow that.
The pumpkin patch that I go to has a few different small animatronic shows but they're a bit newer so they don't look too spooky
The country bear jamboree is where i got my first kiss (my first gay one, anyway) and I’ll be kinda sad that the show I remember is being rewritten
lol, Poseidon I had that Meco Star Wars mix on 8-track tape decades ago. I feel so old lol, but yeah it was a strange product of its time.
we have a grocery store chain very much akin to Stew Leonards in southern ohio called Jungle Jim’s. I never appreciated how unique all their animatronics are until a store like it was mentioned here. makes me wonder how many other grocery stores incorporated animatronics into their store, and when?
I love this video. Animatronics have always been fascinating and odd and just generally fun.
If you ever do a follow up the fry organ at the mcdonalds at disney springs was awesome, and also max and maxine at holiday inn sunspree just for random animatronics placed in public
It's very interesting to think about a grocery store chain spending money to maintain and repair animatronics...
I grew up going to the Norwalk CT Stew Leonard’s location! Shopping there was so much fun and I loved the animatronics shows!!
Great video! If you do a part 2 could you please cover the wizard of oz animatronics you showed in a few clips really curious on the story behind them!
I'd like to see more videos on this topic
10:10
I live in Seattle, Washington, and we have a location nearby in the city of Tukwilla! ive been going since I was a child, and at least for this location, the Rocky and Bullwinkle theming is still very present and the animatronics still do birthday shows! on the side of the massive building complex, theres two 20ft rocky and Bullwinkle portraits noticeable from off the highway. one of rocky and one of Bullwinkle. its really intresting! inside they also have 20ft banners from other characters like Dudley Do right and Mr Peabody and Sherman!
there used to be two locations from the family fun center chain in Washington. it was one in Edmonds, Washington. but It didnt survive during covid sadly so it shut down. it was a smaller location for sure but still had a decent amount to offer. the only family fun center chains that are still open is the one in California, the one in my state, and the Oregon one if I remember correctly. anyways great video! im a huge fan of animatronics glad to see you talking about them!
I enjoyed this.
I didn't see it, but I heard Six Flags over GA had a frog based musical band, only 3 or so frogs so a lot smaller, but it was apparently well loved. IDK if it's still around. Apparently, did more Blues/Folk style songs.
Hmmmm... hopefully it doesn't inspire a scary bear game....
Jungle Jim’s in Cincinnati is another grocery store with animatronics some of them singing.It’s an international store and it’s mostly fun to go there because they do have a lot of stuff from other countries that would be hard to find elsewhere. It’s probably ripping off the ones in Connecticut since it started a few years later though. In terms of weirdness some highlights include monkey elvis (which I typed that out and realized some unfortunate implications there) and a band of licensed cereal mascots (like lucky charms, twix) singing sugar sugar. There’s also an anthropomorphic swinging campbells soup can which does not sing but would fall into the “creepy” category.
as a native, it’s a shame if you don’t take out of towners to jungle jim’s. it’s magically fun!
This is the first I've heard of the MK Country Bear Jamboree re-writes and whilst I'm not remotely surprised, it is very disappointing. At least they aren't being completely removed from the park... (yet)
I still remember there was a place, like Chucky Cheese, or Showbiz, but it was absolutely not either of them. It was either in Virginia, West Virginia, or Flint Michigan. Wish I could be more specific, but I was very young. The whole place had a slight country vibe. I think the show had mostly human type animatronics, like they were humans, and not bears. I remember the sound was awful. They played " I'm my own Grampa." but it was so bad it sounded like I'm my own transone. No idea what a transone is, but thats what I heard.
Look up the frizzle chicken Café, owned by Dolly Parton in Tennessee. Two dozen chickens performing and singing. Still operating lots of fun.
@PoseideonEntertainment I know of an obscure one. "The Confederate Critter Show" at Pigeon's Forge's jaw-dropping Magic World. Magic World itself was so amazingly weird. All of the attractions were locally hand-built by the park, generally ripoffs, and the weirdest theme park I have ever seen. And gloriously low-budget.
Wow...a quick bit of research tells me that this was from Creative Engineering. And there is video. Magic World could use some love as the 70's and 80's version was all themed stuff and dark rides.