Reviews

While this show originally seemed pretty good back when it was the only circus tape we knew, the latest reveal of the prior Circus Tape now just makes this a bizarre alternative (and not in a good way like Country Klunk) All the tape does is swap out Tears of a Clown for the prior Beatles White Album segment of the Monkees Medley. Seems to be a random mashup created to pad out the rest of the year until ShowBiz corporate decided to make their own shows by December. Even weirder is this could’ve been a nice revision to the Circus Tape that kept TOAC in, added back the additional missing tracks Aaron has teased, and maybe some other misc older songs. Instead its just as short and with no good reason to.

When Northridge California, became the first legacy store, It was exciting for everyone to save a 2nd stage, however it was disappointing that they removed the old art. and the stage wasn’t in the best condition, at least we had the curtains back!! In 2024 with nanuet it was strange for two reasons, one being phase 5 and two being studio c. They kept the art and the exterior and made changes to the stage, but they DID NOT PROGRAM IT, luckily, Pineville, Hicksville, and Springfield were other legacy stores and were better (especially Pineville). However, people wanted more from these stores and I can understand that, some prototype stages and studio c or the road stage They chose Mississauga, Ontario because of the road stage, being the only legacy store in Canada, but I understand the people who wanted Willowdale (if only for the statue), and I wonder why they couldn’t have easily chosen both as well as New York. And I think that since 2024 they could have chosen more instead of three to keep everyone happy, but I’m still glad that we saved 6 stores. We’re talking about a company that couldn’t have listened to us as always.

I am fond of the Patchogue location, but like most, it’s prime was in the early 2000s. My first time going here was in first grade (2003-2004?) and I saw the Studio C Beta. This was when CEC was known for dim lights and bright, flashy shows. I was enamored by Chuck, TBH.

I used to go a lot. I’m pretty sure up until middle school. And I remember one day I went and the service was just absolutely terrible. So terrible that I wrote a letter to CEC Corporate. And I ended up getting a redeemable card, that I should’ve kept. Would’ve been scannable data, but I digress.

I’d say pre-2015 was the best in terms of layout and games. I stopped caring about CEC when they switched to Rockstar, but also grew out of it. But when 2015 hit, they absolutely tore out every game. A whole entire section devoted to kiddie rides. It was just… a bad use of space.

However, I’m surprised to say that the 2.0 remodel really brought some life back to this location. And even restored it to its original layout, with the showroom in the back (though now they had more space to go even further back). I went most recently with my cousin and her kid. The salad bar was perfect!

I’d say that 2.0 revitalized this dying location. Also, I’ve always wanted to live in the house behind the location. Imagine going to CEC after school every day?

As a kid, I guess my anxiety manifested as stomach aches, so I saw a gastroenterologist near this location. I liked going because afterwards, my mom would take me to Chuck E. Cheese’s. Oh, it was great. And BTW, I was a little bit older too. This was around middle school, when I stopped going to {{wiki-link “Patchogue, NY (121 Sunrise Hwy)” }}. The nice thing about this location is that even with a Studio C Cappa, it was definitely stuck in the late 90s. The rainbow lights, the signage, the carpet, everything.

I also used to go to this location as a kid for birthday parties. I distinctly remember it smelling strongly of cheese, and I remember playing Hungry Hungry Hippos and getting lost in the Skytubes. Fun times.

Anywho, the later days of Commack were worth going to. A smell of fresh pizza always wafted through the location, and it was nice to basically have the whole place to myself. Until it closed :(

And now it’s a funeral home???

Blast From The Past has a fantastic selection of classic song covers from 90s shows, and every character gets a song of their own. The intermissions created for Studio C Premiere being on this show also helps bridge the gap between the 90s and 2000s shows, and it also allows this show to represent several different eras of 90s shows. You get early 90s Scott Wilson shows, 1994 Disney, AAM and early Studio C. The new VJ spots are also fun and remind me of the ones used in the 92-93 shows. This show does run a little short though at around 50 minutes, especially compared to the previous year’s January show which ran for almost two hours. They could’ve definitely thrown in a few originals, there were several that had not been reused with programming by this point and were due for a return. They also could’ve thrown in some 91-92 intermissions like Geography Rap or Helen Henny’s Hollywood, which would’ve increased the runtime and added some more variety.

While it is a nice gesture to save each stage type in a mostly even spread across the US and Canada, there isn’t much drive to visit these special locations unless you’re a local resident. Saving the animatronics is merely a preservation gesture, but no effort is put into making them an attractive offer to visit what can’t already be shown from a YouTube video. If they were properly offered as an attraction to visit, they should’ve offered to play classic shows- or offer location exclusive performances. An adult wanting to relive the 80’s-00’s experience will be met with the Cocomelon slop and measley production value of the current shows. None of the classic arcades from those eras show up either, keeping the same generic machines you can find at any local arcade. But if these were kept for preservation and not a cohesive retro experience, they would be better off in a museum. Museums offer proper restoration, historical info for patrons to learn, and are as a whole an attraction worth visiting. If you’re at a legacy store just to look at a piece of history, a children’s arcade isn’t the best viewing experience, especially one that gives you no context or help as to their relevancy.

Ah yes, the legendary Winchester Blvd store. The tiny wood panel wonder that changed dining and entertainment forever. While the store is important and has nearly a decade of history leading up to its opening, I don’t blame people for moving their attention to Kooser Rd when it opened. I can not imagine this 5,000 square foot building in any other shape besides what it opened with. The portrait design defiantly feels like a way to save space, keep the ground open for games and seating. It would basically have to be completely gutted to meet any post-merger standards, and mostly likely would have been closed in the 2000’s and demolished with the shopping center. If this was the 70;s or 80’s I’d recommend you still check out the store, but I’m not surprised that basically all info stops after 1979 and the store didn’t make it past the merger. Also on a semi-related note, does it seem odd that we have no family photos or home movies for a store that was reported to have lines out the door after opening? I’ve never seen any “Remember the chucky cheese in the Town and Country?” posts on Facebook and every visual we have of the store is from ads or news reports…

While Country II is already great, this variant cuts down on all the dialogue to hit you with just those outstanding songs, alongside adding three new ones with Shawn Fernandez as a new Klunk voice! It’s also neat having the Ricky Scaggs Medley replace Dook with Klunk in the first segment so you get a nice variant for playlists. IMO one of the best song compilation tapes in the whole tape library. Sad we never got to see more Klunk variant tapes, this rendition of him feels appropriately toned down to match the other characters, which would have been nice to see how they would have interacted in future shows.