According to the Wikipedia page, the company went into debt and eventually had to close and file bankruptcy. The chain lasted about 6 or 7 years. I was very surprised when I read this. How could a place like this not make it? Kids loved it and so did parents. The kids got to have fun running around while the parents could relax and socialize with other parents and get a break from the kids.
Did the company not make enough money? It seems like once the initial cost of the structures and games were covered, it would be highly profitable. You only have to have a minimal staff to run the place and keep it clean. Then you just charge people by the hour to come in and play. How did this not work out?
Maybe some poor financial decisions were made which led to the eventual downfall. It also mentions on the Wiki page that many of them were taken over by Chuck E Cheese. Now Chuck E Cheese was also a fun place, but it was not as good as Discovery Zone. I'm surprised that no one has tried to reboot the idea and start a new indoor play place for kids to have fun. With all the new technologies we have these days and the lessons from DZ, it seems like a great idea!
Discovery Zone Commercial - DZ Where Kids Wanna Be!
So far the only place I've seen attempt to reboot the idea was a mega church in my area. Because the two Discovery Zones in my area were mall locations, they were left untouched by Chuck E Cheese. They purchased the old equipment, touched it up, and then turned it into the play area for something they called "Kids Zone."
ReplyDeleteIt's not exactly the same as DZ, but they still have the same intent as the original mall locations: providing children with a safe, fun, and somewhat educational place to let out their energy while their parents are doing something else. Perhaps other institutions will get the same idea and we will see the return of these types of places.
I'm seeing a lot of trampoline places popping up which looks like it is kind of the same idea. There is not as much to climb on, but they are a place for kids to jump around and have fun which is kind of the same idea but with a new spin.
DeleteI heard there was a skin infevtion going around at ours in salem oregon??
DeleteThere Is a place kinda like DZ by my house its called GO BANANAS
DeleteCODE YELLOW!!! I worked there as a teenager and when code yellow was announced we would jump on chairs and do the go bananas dance. I would love to open a DZ where I am. It is well needed.
DeleteThys crazy my mega church bought the old dz equipment as well. What city are you in.
DeleteIn Lancaster, CA there's a new place called Playmazing... its similar, but bigger!
DeleteGreat Northern Mall, Syracuse NY
DeleteThere are now! I just discovered Kids Empire and it is basically a mini discovery zone. Super cool!! Brings me back to being a kiddo. My son had a lot of fun here. Also, you can play all day long- there's no time limit and only pay one fee.
DeleteThere was one where I lived growing up. Of course,it closed. I was 13 when my best friend and I discovered they never locked the front doors. The summer that ensued is legend to this day.
ReplyDeleteWe used to tell our parents we were
Sleeping at the other's house. We fooled them and slept in dz. Everything was left in the building... Everything. All the prizes, all the tickets, all the gaming machines... And even the pop dispenser. We lived like kings that summer.
We collected all the balls and made a ball pit over 8 ft high.
We unlocked the roof and watched the fireworks on the 4th of July.
We turned all the power on.
We got locked in the walk in freezer.
We smoked in the tubes.
We drank the concentrated pop syrup that collected over the years. On principle.
And we bragged to too many people. The cops arrived after about a month and locked the place. They neglected to check the roof. I ended up climbing a pipe about 5 in in diameter over two stories tall.
And I got on that roof. And took back what was mine.
That summer was the end of my innocence, a life before consequences.
I am 27 now. Going through old things, I discovered the last remaining relic. It is a purple quarter dispenser. On it are two letters.
DZ.
That is awesome! Sounds like so much fun! Well written comment too. Thanks for sharing your experience with DZ!
Deletethat is the best story I have ever read.
DeleteAmazing story. What I wouldn't do to have been there with you. Cheers!
DeleteOH MY GAWD! XD That's the most amazing true story I've ever read.
DeleteUnfortunately, I never got to experience the extreme awesomeness of Discovery Zone. However, It sounds like you experienced it to the MAX! I will forever worship you as the God of Bad Assness.
I worked for DZ as a game tech. The only place I was not only allowed to take my children to work but they actually encouraged it in my position. My children not only played but as I fixed the various games and things they were among the first to try it out. They even had little questionnaires to fill out after their visit. I had 7 stores in three states on my normal tour and a few others outside that. When they shut down I was also sadly responsible to remove equipment and close facilities. I have the pictures of my children in each location before it ended. Doing what kids do. Hell of a lot better than this constant video game crap at that age.
Deletehey if they where to ever open it back up or someone wanted to open it back up would you be interested in going back
DeleteMy kids and I loved DZ. According to Google search, there is still one in McMinnville, OR. Also there are two similar places in Vancouver, WA, Fun 'n Fitness, and Dizzy Castle.
DeleteYou won the DZ Cosmic Lottery. Man.
Deletehttps://youtu.be/nYcvyIDrMbI?t=28s
I don't know why but that story made me cry 😂
DeleteSounds really cool! I miss that place sooooo much! Would you be interested in helping me bring it back?
DeleteUr a savage i woulda did the same DZ was the shit
DeleteNaomi ovadia. I would love to being it back. But i have no money to do so. But if i did i would reopen them all back up. I was born in 96 but i have a dreams about that place when i was little and i cant stop thinking about it. I miss the good ol days when there was actual good fun and not video games.
DeleteI heard that now there are actual people who will bring it back but 90s kids would probably not be allowed to play there anymore http://www.dzisback.com/about-us.html
DeleteI own a Rocketfizz franchise. I would love to open a discovery zone right next door to my store. I am thinking it could be cool to improve upon the original idea with good quality food and coffee etc and better seating around the playstructre and throughout. Make it better for the parents. Also better for the kids if the parents are comfortable and stay longer.it could be a good family restaurant with all the play area and possibly bridges over the eating area. It could have a shop that you go thru for penny candy etc on your way out like Farrel's did. We need more places for kids to get sweaty and have fun. Combine it with that other stuff and I think it would be a home run. We need different ideas for birthday parties. When you have young kids, you have been to the same birthday parties at the same few places too many times.
DeleteTruly epic
DeleteTotal bullshit but still a cool story.
DeleteI posted this 5 years ago. Forgot I ever did. Pleasure coming back to see the comments. Even those of the skeptics. This was a turning point in my life that affects me to this day. And yes....I still have my purple token dispenser. Currently on display in my Chicago apartment. And I'll die with it.
DeleteUnknown, I worked hard to find your post after having read it years ago. It made that much of an impression on me. Dying to know where you grew up.
Delete^^^and then you woke up because that never happened lol
ReplyDeleteOh....it happened.
DeleteThis should be a movie!
DeleteI've heard there were a lot of accidents there about kids playing and getting hurt. Even if lawsuits didn't lead to the Discovery Zone's debt, it might have made parents say "I'm not taking you to the Discovery Zone! I love you too much to see you get severely injured!" and if an article appeared on the news about a kid getting severely injured there or a similar place, parents would ask their kids to listen and say "Do you see why I don't want you to go there?" hence the company didn't make any money.
ReplyDeleteI hope this will answer why nobody has ever started a new indoor play place for kids.
There are lots of indoor play places for kids. Trampoline places, indoor playgrounds, etc. Kids are going to get hurt no matter what. Parents like to blame others for not paying attention to their kids.
DeleteAMEN! I AGREE...We used to have a place here called kid's fun that was just like DZ but I remember my friend got hurt on the zip line type thing. There was some metal part exposed and she cut her head. But she went to the hospital and everything was ok. Her parent's didn't say she couldn't go after that, they just told her to be more careful and to make sure she watched where her head was. Even though technically the padding wasn't on the area the way it was supposed to be, they didn't blame Kid's Fun. But I guess something else must have happened because they closed shortly after that summer. But we had some great times there. They do have similar tunnels and things at Busch Gardens but no ball pit. I think that was one of my favorite parts. If they can do it at BG they should be able to do it indoor again. Maybe just without the zip line. But it was a great place...I miss DZ and Kids fun.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msbBGwXb9Zs&fbclid=IwAR3VMDnh1Ys7DloB5t354yfpgiSMOO7JH6SwJ8FXE6x4ESP5yER2VwJ456U
DeleteApparently, DZ was bought by...Blockbuster Video in 1995.
Well there ya have it
Deletei was told that kids were peering in the ball pits and kids were getting sick bc they weren't cleaned. But anyways i do miss this place. With now a day kids I think we would have more problems than just kids peeing in the pits like; needles, drugs, weapons. Kids today are not the same as us 90's kids.Which is a shame! Anyways they do have a DZ like place for kids its Billy Beez in NY.
ReplyDeleteLol, honestly, I can only imagine now how filthy that place really was. All the germs and bacteria from kids with pizza stained mouths and sticky soda pop hands. I doubt they had an effective way of cleaning the balls in the ball pit, they were all probably covered in snot and spit from hyper ass kids. Didn't care back then of course, but I wouldn't touch one of those balls today.
DeleteI definitely got chicken pox from there. And I can't imagine all the ringworm and shit on those mats and cubes. Gross.
Deleteeww that's f**ing disgusting, thinking back.. even mcdonalds... But there still is a place in Houston, "Fun Plex"... still around since I was a kid...
DeletePretty sure all the times I went to DZ actually helped me boost my immune system. As an adult I've rarely been sick, and never seriously ill.
DeleteDZ was definitely a cesspool of germs though, lmao.
I worked at DZ 94-99, my stores were impeccable about cleaning. The balls were washed every 3 days, tubes and equipment wiped down daily. Out want as bad as you think.
Deletethey have something like this in london ontario canada its called adventures on wonderland and it is the best place for kids birthdays also a place called kidscape kind of the same idea.
ReplyDeleteI came here because Shane Dawson mentioned it... He said kids were raped in the ball pits and there was a spider bungee jumping room... Something like that, but I can't see anything on that right now and this is my second search. Lol I search everything
ReplyDeleteOMFG ME TOO!!! I JUST WATCHED HIS VIDEO!!
DeleteOmg same lmao
DeleteVisit The City Museum in St. Louis, MO if you ever get a chance. It's fun for adults and children! Very unique. If you liked DZ you will definitely appreciate City Museum!!
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree about City Museum - it's a magical place.
ReplyDeleteTat was the place nobody could tell me it was too dangerous for a blind child to bump into stuff.
ReplyDeleteIt was my 8th birthday and my dad loaded me and 4 of my friends in a van and we were going to DZ to have a great time....we got there and the place was dark, the stuff was being torn down and moving boxes were everywhere. It took everything I had to not cry in front of my friends. We went to a different place but I'll never forget that birthday disappointment.
ReplyDeleteOw that hurt me. I went to DZ for my birthday as well when I was five. That's why I'm here, reminiscing.
DeleteI'm a 29 year old woman and if I knew of a place like DZ I'd take my kids, and most definitely play myself. I miss you DZ! Come back to meeee!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIf you're in CA there's a place like this in Carlsbad called PlayWerx. My little guy had a BLAST!
ReplyDeleteOh yes! I remember Discovery Zone very well. I used to go to the one
ReplyDeletein Coral Springs in South Florida. The first time I went there, was on a school field trip when I was 5 years old. and i instantly fell in love with it (what kindergartner wouldn't). I had my 7th birthday party there. Then a classmate of mine had his birthday party there and a few years later my cousin had her 6th birthday party there. I thought DZ was the best thing since sliced bread. That roller slide was a little bumpy, but fun.
My dad took me there a couple times and when we were in the YMCA
Indian Guides, the meetings were sometimes held at DZ. I just loved that ball pit, but nowadays, I find ball pits to be disgusting and laden with germs...yuck! Then one day around 1996,
I was with my aunt and cousins going to see a movie at the General
Cinemas in the same plaza as DZ. We passed by DZ and I saw a man locking the door. I was like, "Gee, aren't they closing kind of early?". Then I did a double take and noticed everything had been
cleaned out. Not a single ball pit, slide, or tube to be found anywhere (the business hours were still on the door)...I was like "Oh god, Noooo!". The man was talking to two other people (either the DZ management or the next tenants)as he was locking up the sad empty shell of the now departed Discovery Zone. This occurred obviously around the chain's 1996 bankruptcy.
There is a play zone near me I have taken my nephews too. It is tons of fun but it will never be discovery zone. Ball pits, zip lines, foam blocks, junk food, the climbing ropes. the 90's!!!
ReplyDeleteI remember we had one in Puerto Rico, I used to go a lot but my life gave a turn at the age of five, and I moved away from where it was. When I came back around my seven years, I was surprised it was closing too. Back then I didn't have internet, nor the idea of how to use it, but now, I have the knowledge, got the enthusiasm, and the will to bring it back, with a little Surprise add on ^_^. it wont be called Discovery Zone, but it will be based on it. Awesome story, read all the comments too ^_^
ReplyDeleteThose balls were gross dirty daipers were constantly being found in them. Thats why most of the mcdonalds playplaces got rid of them.
ReplyDeleteI was about 7 when the one near me closed down. My mom took my sisters and I to lunch at apple bees a few days before school started. Across from where we were sitting, we noticed what was left of discovery zone. A big blue cube with a big yellow rubber duck on top of it was still left in the building. At the time, I was so sad and shocked that discovery zone was gone. I remembered having so much fun at the birthday parties I was invited to at discovery zone when the place opened. I will do anything to go back in time and relive those moments of my childhood.
ReplyDeleteAs a parent, I remember taking my son to DZ every Friday after school. At the time I was pursuing a Masters degree and I appreciated having a safe place for him to play while I studied (thank God for the "parent room"). As I mentioned before, we were there every Friday, so much so that the staff knew us by name and they would come to me in the parent room and say, "He's hungry, should we prepare the usual" Many years later I still acknowledge
ReplyDeleteDZ among those who helped me obtain my degree. My son loved it too; he had several birthday parties there. Now I am a grandmother and although there several similar children's play places, none can compare to DZ
Back in Peoria, IL we had two places: Absolute Fun and Discovery Zone (as well as Chuck E Cheese). Absolute Fun and DZ were virtually identical but each had it's own vibe and flavor. Absolute Fun was a little more rundown, but had an extra area where kids could come and dress up in costume and hang out. It even had a little stage. DZ was more modern and probably had "better" design. I got my first kiss in the tube at Absolute Fun (I think) on a class field trip right above the ball pit.
ReplyDeleteChuck E Cheese then took out a bunch of the games and added their own jungle gym setup, so I really was spoiled rotten.
I remember going to one here in Des Moines on Merle Hay Road back in the mid to late 90's, can't remember the exact year but somewhere around that time. The place was huge, I remember a long monkey bar stretch that sat really high up. I remember the ball pit and I remember being there for someone's birthday party. There's a department store in the spot in the strip mall it used to be in called "Big Lots" now. The place was amazing, don't know why it didn't survive longer than it did.
ReplyDeleteI loved going to Discovery Zone it was so much fun. If it ever reopened I would take most of my nieces and nephews there. I know they would have a blast.
ReplyDeleteKids today would just sit on the side and stare at their smartphones.
ReplyDeleteWe have a similar place in Austin called Mount Playmore. I have been taking my little there for several years now. Honestly, kids are going to get hurt regardless of where they are playing, it is just a part of kids being kids. As for the germs, I do not really worry about them. Kids need exposure to germs and bacteria to maintain a healthy immune system. I would not want her around germs like that on a daily basis but a few times a year does not hurt.
ReplyDeleteTo this day I miss DZ. Way better than Chuckie Cheeses I had a birthday party there in 1995 and in 1998. My favorite was the Spider web ropes and the thing you held onto that you would slide from the top and slam you into this thick round mat hanging on the wall. Anyone remember what that was called? I feel once they added the Men In Black Laser tag, they really started to go down hill. I Remember thinking that DZ has really changed and wasn't as fun. I"m pretty sure they got rid of some cool stuff just to fit the laser tag in. One day in 1999 my Dad and I were heading to DZ. We go there and BOOM! It was gone :( Everything was still inside but they were closed forever.
ReplyDeleteI loved DZ when I was growing up. I have kids of my own now and I've taken them everywhere possible to get their energy out... yes DZ was a breeding ground for bacteria, germs, disease and much much more.... the last time I went I ended up getting lice.... I was so angry I hated it so much that I didn't want to go back and by the time I was done being angry and wanted to try again they had all closed...I was so sad and disappointed, but I have thought of different ways to revamp a DZ and I've even drawn it out, unfortunately I will never be able to bring my dream to life because of money money money.... But it would be awesome to bring back DZ. And because of what i experienced i have come up with ways to maintain cleanliness a little easier... as well as you could in a crowded sweaty indoor playground.
ReplyDeletei remember this place fondly were i lived it was called adventure land oddly i cant find anything on it but i still have the coins so i know i have the name right i still cant believe it went under it was so much better then chukie cheese
ReplyDeletetaca, was it one of these? https://www.google.com/search?q=indoor+adventure+land&oq=adventure+land+indoor+&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0i13i457j0i22i30j0i390.9190j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 The map shows US locations.
DeleteCol.,SC Im not sure what was the location at the time we did not live in Columbia only our mom.
ReplyDeleteI remember when my mom would pick me and my 2 other siblings up from our dads to go and have her family fun time we would go to the discovery zone. I remember the last time we went i was 5, now i'm 28. They used to let older kids into the play area and ball pits. And yes the ball pits always smelled like pee. And also thats a good place to have some other kids who would hide in there touch you and you couldn't see. They would and pull us under if you would go to far from curtains of the ball pit. Never go in a place alone. Oh yea no matter who you came with, temporally they turned into your enemy and you had to find friends instantly and have each others back. It was extreme like that. I didn't always have fun, we went every weekend for our visits.But i remember the last time there was a weird guy who walk from off the streets and was playing around in the play area. He was not mean but wouldn't stop following us around in the play areas. All the kids know he was in there but like i said he was not mean so everyone continued playing. When you put your shoes up and go play it was like going into a different world with no rules or adults, it was really closed off and not easy to gain access without going thought the maze yourself. Sometimes we would make our mom come in after us because we didn't want to leave and go back to the reality of having parents. But anyway after that guy was taken to jail, well I hope because when we told our mom she told the people who worked there and she made us leave while they was trying to get the kids and guy out. When it was time to have another pickup time from our mom we would ask her can we go to the discovery zone to see the man and she would get mad a little and tell us that they are closed down for cleaning, or at least that is what the sign said when we walked past it. They had all the lights off with no one in side. The buildings used to be open face windows for every and all to see the kids playing. As a kid that was the greatest thing you could see pulling up in the parking lot, but now a parent it would seem like a nightmare. Any ways they never opened back up And we stop asking our mom to go there mainly when we saw they had began to move stuff out of the building. In the end we just started to go to Frank's Fun Park.
Stealing money was the case that kill the cat. Chuck cheese is up and running and they closed down for no reason i grew up going to this place an would go at my age now with my kids so greedy was fall of this tale.
ReplyDeleteActually Discovery Zone is kind of coming back, now there are indoor playgrounds that accommodate adults and kids with all of the classic equipment including ball crawls
ReplyDeleteThere is one of these. Or an attempt called "Discovery Zone" coming up in the Eastgate Mall in Cincinnati, Ohio. I doubt it will be as grand as the one on Beechmont Avenue that I spent my childhood exploring but still some cool remembrance that I look forward to sharing with my goddaughters.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I wonder if it is the same company? It looks like they have the discoveryzone.com name and it redirects to their facebook page. Looks like they are going for the same concept as the original.
Delete