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Location | Orlando, Florida |
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Status | Defunct |
Opened | March 27, 1976 |
Closed | February 18, 2001 |
Owner | David A. Siegel (1976-2022) |
Theme | Funhouse |
Mystery Fun House was an attraction complex in Orlando, Florida, United States. It was founded with the help of David A. Siegel on March 27, 1976, and operated through February 18, 2001. Located near International Drive on Major Boulevard across from Universal Orlando Resort, the fun house expanded over time to include a laser-tag facility, an arcade, a dinosaur-themed mini golf course, and other attractions.
After closing, the former lobby of the Fun House was used as a Westgate Resorts check-in center. Parts of the building and all of Starbase Omega was destroyed in 2017 due to Hurricane Irma. As of October 2022, the former Mystery Fun House building and property was razed to make way for a new condo complex.
To promote the 1976 opening of Mystery Fun House, Aaron Fechter's Creative Engineering created an animatronic character by the name of Willie Wabbit to be installed at the Orlando International Airport. Although he never appeared outside of the airport, Willie was a success for the MFH, while also serving as an early influence for the technology behind CEI's Rock-afire Explosion for ShowBiz Pizza Place. [1]
The Fun House consisted of 15 areas called "chambers", including a mirror maze, a rolling barrel, crawl-through tunnels, scary jail areas, a moving bridge and a crooked room. In the early days, there was a multiplex movie theater, a hologram machine, a Disco room with a lighted dance floor, the moon room, and a wall-sized "computer" that could read patrons' handwriting and provide fortunes. There was also a show about three quarters of the way through the Fun House with music, lights, special effects and a video of the Wizard projected on a large screen.
The Mystery Fun House Magic Shop was run by veteran magician Dan Stapleton. [2] In the early 1970s, entertainment producer Jackson Hamiter trained under Stapleton and his brother, well known for his "Buxxum Bunnies" card tricks. [3]
Starbase Omega was a laser tag facility added in the late 1980s. Each player was equipped with a reflective target badge, a battery belt pack, and a "laser" gun. To get to Starbase Omega, patrons sat on a transporter that simulated a ride to the planet. Once on the planet—a large, dark room with extra-bouncy carpets and a hovering spaceship—players shot light beams at other players, trying to hit their reflective badges.
Originally called Mystery Mini Golf, Jurassic Putt was an 18-hole, dinosaur-themed miniature golf course that included a dark building for one of the holes.
In the mid-1980s, a restaurant and arcade were added to the Mystery Fun House. An animatronic show, The WizBangs, were a set of retrofitted Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre animatronics located above the restaurant's ordering counter. The King, a 9-foot tall lion who impersonated Elvis Presley, was another Pizza Time Theatre animatronic that had been acquired by MFH and installed to the left of the restaurant's ordering counter (adjacent to the WizBangs). Sally Industries supplied the controller equipment and programming for the WizBangs in conjunction with David "Billy Bob" Irvin, the former senior artist and creative designer of Creative Engineering.
Two movies were filmed at the Mystery Fun House: the birthday scene of Parenthood (1989), and most of the horror film Night Terror (2002). [4]
Chuck E. Cheese is an American entertainment restaurant chain founded on May 17, 1977 by Atari, Inc.'s co-founder Nolan Bushnell. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, each location features arcade games, amusement rides and musical shows in addition to serving pizza and other food items; former mainstays included ball pits, crawl tubes, and animatronic shows. The chain's name is taken from its main character and mascot, Chuck E. Cheese. The first location opened as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre in San Jose, California. It was the first family restaurant to integrate food with arcade games and animated entertainment, thus being one of the pioneers for the "family entertainment center" concept.
Audio-Animatronics is the registered trademark for a form of robotics animation created by Walt Disney Imagineering for shows and attractions at Disney theme parks, and subsequently expanded on and used by other companies. The robots move and often synchronise with audio by the assistance of an external sound system on the stage.
An animatronic is a mechatronic puppet controlled by a machine to move in a fluent way. They are a modern variant of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films, video games and in theme park attractions.
The Rock-afire Explosion (RAE) is an animatronic character band designed and manufactured by Creative Engineering, Inc. (CEI) for use in ShowBiz Pizza Place restaurants in the 1980s and early 1990s. The band's characters were various anthropomorphized animals, including a brown bear, a grey wolf and a silverback gorilla. They performed medleys of classic rock, pop, and country music, as well as original compositions and comedic skits.
Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attractions worldwide. The company also operates Disney Live Entertainment and The Muppets Studio and manages Disney's properties, from Walt Disney Studios in Burbank to New Amsterdam Theatre and Times Square Studios Ltd. in New York City. Founded by Walt Disney to oversee the production of Disneyland, it was originally known as Walt Disney, Inc., then WED Enterprises, from the initials meaning "Walter Elias Disney", the company co-founder's full name. Headquartered in Glendale, California, Imagineering is composed of "Imagineers", who are illustrators, architects, engineers, lighting designers, show writers and graphic designers.
A family entertainment center (FEC) in the entertainment industry, also known as an indoor amusement park, family amusement center, family fun center, soft play, or simply fun center, is a small amusement park marketed towards families with small children to teenagers, often entirely indoors. They usually cater to "sub-regional markets of larger metropolitan areas." FECs are generally small compared to full-scale amusement parks, with fewer attractions, a lower per-person per-hour cost to consumers than a traditional amusement park, and not usually major tourist attractions, but sustained by an area customer base. Many are locally owned and operated, although there are a number of chains and franchises in the field. Some, operated by non-profit organizations as children's museums or science museums, tend to be geared toward edutainment experiences rather than simply amusement.
Universal CityWalk is the name shared by the entertainment and retail districts located adjacent to the theme parks of Universal Destinations & Experiences. CityWalk began as an expansion of Universal's first park, Universal Studios Hollywood, and serves as an entrance plaza from the parking lots to the theme parks. CityWalk can also be found at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida, Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan, and Universal Beijing Resort in Beijing, China.
Bullwinkle's Entertainment, previously known as Family Fun Centers & Bullwinkle's Restaurant and formerly Bullwinkle's Family Food n' Fun is a chain of family entertainment centers. Locations feature a sit-down restaurant, complemented by arcade games, go-karts, bumper boats, mini golf, laser tag, a ropes course, a zip line, and small rides for children. Games and activities are generally themed around the company's namesake, The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.
Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club is a golf club and resort in Celebration, Florida. The resort covers over 600 acres (2.4 km2) of land, including nature preserves and tropical landscapes. It is located approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) from the Walt Disney World Resort entrance in Orlando, Florida.
Men in Black: Alien Attack is a shooting interactive dark ride located at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, Florida, based on the film, Men in Black, itself based on the original comic book of the same name created by Lowell Cunningham. The ride opened in 2000. The ride has generally been well received, winning an Outstanding Achievement award from the Themed Entertainment Association.
Mr. Gatti's Pizza, formerly known as Gatti's Pizza and commonly shortened as Gatti's, is a Southern and Southeastern United States pizza-buffet chain. The corporate offices are in Fort Worth, Texas.
ShowBiz Pizza Place, or simply ShowBiz Pizza, was an American family entertainment center and restaurant pizza chain founded in 1980 by Robert L. Brock and Creative Engineering (CEI). It emerged after a separation between Brock and owners of the Chuck E. Cheese franchise, Pizza Time Theatre. ShowBiz Pizza restaurants entertained guests through a large selection of arcade games, coin-operated rides, and animatronic stage shows.
Adventure Landing is a group of amusement parks located in Florida, New York, North Carolina and Texas. The first park was opened in Jacksonville Beach, Florida in 1995 by Adventure Entertainment Company. It was a success and nine other Adventure Landing parks were constructed.
Pizza Showtime was a family restaurant and entertainment centre operating in Perth, Western Australia from 1980 to 1984. Similar to the American Chuck E. Cheese chain it was a sit down pizza restaurant complemented by arcade games, and animatronic characters.
Main Event Entertainment is an American chain of family entertainment centers. The company was formerly headquartered in Coppell, Texas, before being sold to their former competitor Dave & Buster’s in 2022. Main Event currently operates 58 locations in 20 states, predominantly in Texas and the Southern United States, and features attractions and features such as bowling alleys, arcades, laser tag, virtual reality games, gravity rope courses, miniature golf, billiards, escape rooms, karaoke and a restaurant under the name of Family Kitchen at all of their locations.
Old Town is an open-air walking district and entertainment complex, located in Kissimmee, Florida. Operating since December 1986, it is the recreation of a classic Florida town featuring historical architecture and distinctive storefronts with some seventy unique shops, restaurants, bars, attractions, and rides. Following two years of renovations, Old Town celebrated its re-opening in April 2019 with the addition of an 86-foot Ferris wheel. Old Town's Saturday Classic Car Show & Cruise billed as the longest-running weekly car show and cruise in America.
David Alan Siegel is an American businessman who founded Westgate Resorts Ltd, a Florida-based timeshare resort firm, and is its president and chief executive officer. He has ten biological children and two adopted children. Siegel is CEO of CFI Resorts Management Inc and Central Florida Investments Inc. His other businesses include real estate, construction, hotel and apartment management, travel services, insurance, transportation, and retail.
Aaron Fechter is an American mechanical engineer, entrepreneur, voice actor, singer, and musician who owns and operates Creative Engineering, Inc. (CEI). He is best known as the creator of The Rock-afire Explosion, an animatronic show featuring a variety of characters created primarily for Showbiz Pizza Place restaurants throughout the 1980s. A fallout between Showbiz and CEI, along with the chain's dwindling revenue, led to the show's decline and eventual removal by the early 1990s.
AREA15 is an experiential retail and entertainment complex located in Las Vegas, Nevada, one mile west of the Las Vegas Strip. It houses several major experiential entertainment residencies and includes sculptures and other art displays, as well as alcohol outlets and a restaurant.
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