Discovery Zone

[Caldor1999]

they were like Chuck E Cheese but better they had a buch of cool slides but thougs tunnels smelled really bad lol

[Jag67]

I have MANY memories of Discovery Zone. I went there constantly when I was little. There was one in Amherst, NY that we always went to. It was formerly a Leaps and Bounds until circa 1995 when it became DZ. They left everything exactly the same. I remember that place as if I was there yesterday. The very slippery white "Bubble pattern" floor, the colored balls floating inside tubes filled with water, the little kiddie area in the corner of the place, the tacky early-90's colors, the bubble lettering everywhere, birthday parties, having to wear those bracelet thingies, everything. I still remember the last time I was in it, in 1998-very early 1999, when I went with my friend Mike. I never thought it was close at the time. Oddly, EVERYTHING was left in the place. Pinball machines, air hockey games, skee-ball, the colored balls all over the floor, there were even signs and posters from Godzilla when it came out in 1998 inside!! Everything was left unchanged and perfectly in place, as if it closed one day and never re-opened. It sat this way for 6 years until late 2004 when it was converted into a gym.

[HoJofan206]

We had a Discovery Zone here in Evansville as well.  It was always busy when I was there with my nephew.  DZ left town around 2001 and the new place was a very dirty, unkept version of a DZ.  It closed about a year later and is now a "Deals" discount store.

[Caldor1999]

neqw pictures before they went bankruped in 1999

[Caldor1999]

this place was so much better then chuck E Cheese and they did have a Rat 4 the avertisment:insane:

[Caldor1999]

and hears some cool tunnles that smelled bad but were fun

[shakethis1234]

Fun Escape is better

[Jag67]

Ours was quite different. Man, I wish I would have remembered to take a pic, but to a 7 year old I don't think that was the priority.

Caldor1999-You thing they smelled bad when they were opened, imagine what they smelled like after being closed for 6 years.

[df559]

The first Discovery Zone:

[Jag67]

Anybody know when that was built?

[truviking05]

I practically lived in Discovery Zone from the ages of 4 to 6 :) A kid in my class even had a Kindergarten graudation party there...awesome. I loved DZ, especially this one little room filled with gigantic rubber bands styled like a giant rubbery jungle gym you had to work through. DZ workers had to help me out EVERY time lol. I remember this one slide with these rolling colored bars on it that banged the heck out of my heels...but it was all in fun :) We just got our yearbooks, and there's a pic of my ex-best friend emerging from a tunnel at DZ. Now my DZ is a plaza...I like the plaza tho, just wish DZ was still there so I could...AHEM...take my babysitting clients there...yeah, that would be a good excuse...lol.

[Caldor1999]

hears whats left of the former DZ i went to i last went hear in 1999 and i wanted to go that summer and i nodiced it was closed down and then i found out that they were all gone:(

[Caldor1999]

hears the plazza it was in

[d_fife]

here is the discovery zone in rockaway nj (next to kids r us)

from http://www.siteride.com/srpl/p_snapshot.pl?lm=listing&resbox=1137874679&subNum=10208000481

[d_fife]

here is the discovery zone in middle village new york

from http://www.siteride.com/srpl/p_snapshot.pl?lm=listing&resbox=1140392601&subNum=10216000098

[d_fife]

here is discovery zone in north bergin nj

remember the lyrics of the jingle: discovery zone, discover what I could do on my own

from http://www.siteride.com/srpl/p_snapshot.pl?lm=listing&resbox=1141428630&subNum=10208000326

[Ameskid]

Oh my gosh! I LOVED DZ!!! I remember it was a big version of a McDonald's Playplace. I had a DZ foam ball somewhere, but lost it! Still very fond of it, and I will never visit Upchuck E. Cheesey again! Mine is now a car dealership.

[amesman]

There used to be one in Crossgates Mall in Albany. It's now an Old Navy. There was also one in Poughkeepsie in the South Hills Mall. That one is still vacant.

[powersbt]

Had one up in New Hartford as well. Our good buddy Justin Resnick sold some $29.99 twin mattress' in there for a while after DZ shut down. It is now the Avenue (clothes store??).

Originally posted by amesman
There used to be one in Crossgates Mall in Albany. It's now an Old Navy. There was also one in Poughkeepsie in the South Hills Mall. That one is still vacant.

[dmx10101]

I loved going to this place when I was a kid. The plaza it was in was called Discovery Zone Plaza. I went there several times when I was younger. I remember half way throught the life of the place they did a major remodel and added a Men In Black Laser Tag, and extreme sports and games area and that cut down on the actual DZ maze part. which was kind of dumb because that was their signature piece but oh well.

Here's a old commercial for DZ I remember it well

Here's an DZ commercial

Here's the Wikipedia article explaining its demise.

Here's an article about Family Entertainment Centers including information on DZ.


Here's another article on DZ and soft play centers demise.

[Scrabbleship]

Originally posted by amesman
There used to be one in Crossgates Mall in Albany. It's now an Old Navy. There was also one in Poughkeepsie in the South Hills Mall. That one is still vacant.

[Caldor1999]

Originally posted by Scrabbleship

Originally posted by amesman
There used to be one in Crossgates Mall in Albany. It's now an Old Navy. There was also one in Poughkeepsie in the South Hills Mall. That one is still vacant.

i dont think its still vacant cause i dident see it when i went there

[Scrabbleship]

Originally posted by Caldor1999

Originally posted by Scrabbleship

Originally posted by amesman
There used to be one in Crossgates Mall in Albany. It's now an Old Navy. There was also one in Poughkeepsie in the South Hills Mall. That one is still vacant.

i dont think its still vacant cause i dident see it when i went there

Somehow what I meant to say didn't post. The Poughkeepsie location spent some time as an extention of a local gymnastics school, with DZ's interior design largely unmodified, several years back, then it went vacant.

And could your sig be a little shorter and sensical...

[amesman]

Originally posted by Caldor1999

Originally posted by Scrabbleship

Originally posted by amesman
There used to be one in Crossgates Mall in Albany. It's now an Old Navy. There was also one in Poughkeepsie in the South Hills Mall. That one is still vacant.

i dont think its still vacant cause i dident see it when i went there

Yes, it is still vacant. Here's a picture, taken two weeks ago.

[Ameskid]

I remember the RetroJuynk full slogan:
DZ, Discovery Zone!
Discover what I can do on my own!
I can bounce, swing, crawl, or jump and climb,
DZ is one-of-a-kind!

Mine Was turned into a $9999 Or Less car dealership, which soon moved next door. Now DZ is a Lincoln-Mercury dealership.

[Caldor1999]

Originally posted by amesman

Originally posted by Caldor1999

Originally posted by Scrabbleship

Originally posted by amesman
There used to be one in Crossgates Mall in Albany. It's now an Old Navy. There was also one in Poughkeepsie in the South Hills Mall. That one is still vacant.

i dont think its still vacant cause i dident see it when i went there

Yes, it is still vacant. Here's a picture, taken two weeks ago.

oh wow i didnetn see that when i went there wonder how the insdie looks

[Pikapower]

The DZ that I knew of on Sheridan Drive in Williamsville, NY is now a World Gym and I think it was originally a Leaps & Bounds, which was a competitor to Discovery Zone that was started by McDonald's in 1991. DZ bought Leaps & Bounds out in 1994

[Pikapower]

If I had the money I would bring Discovery Zone back with all the tube mazes and ball pit slides it was known for!  ;D

[buzz86us]

One of the little robots that would go up to kids from DZ Discovery Zone was on Pawn Stars. I have never set foot in one but I remember going by the one in New Hartford.
Funny I remember the slogan to be "DZ where kids wanna be"

[Pikapower]

??? Does anyone besides me remember the "Leaps and Bounds" fun center chain?