![]() Discovery Zone filed for bankruptcy shortly after. He told numerous college students at the 1995 annual meeting how "solid" an investment this would be. Sumner Redstone managed to shift the assets to Blockbuster and move operations to Chicago. In 1994, Discovery Zone merged its operations with Blockbuster Video and its (now former) parent Viacom. ĭiscovery Zone completed a successful IPO in June 1993 (led by Chris Bellios, Sam Jeremenko and Steven Noe) raising over $50 million. The stock rose 61% in the first day of trading. In June 1993, Discovery Zone raised $55 million more when it went public on NASDAQ. In April 1993, Blockbuster Video invested $10.3 million into Discovery Zone to purchase 21% of the company. A second location was added in Florence, Kentucky, at the Florence Mall on July 23, 2021.įounded in 1989, Discovery Zone grew quickly, opening 15 stores in 18 months. In 2020, a new center using the Discovery Zone name opened in the Cincinnati suburb of Union Township, Ohio it is not affiliated with the original company, but is heavily inspired by it. ĭiscovery Zone was also notable for being the first corporate sponsor of the PBS children’s program Sesame Street. An early investor in and vocal supporter of the company was tennis player Billie Jean King. David Schoenstadt founded Discovery Zone in 1989, with the first location opening in Kansas City, Missouri, in October 1989. A talking robot character named Z-Bop served as mascot to the chain. Though the facilities aren’t directly affiliated with the old DZs, they claim to be heavily inspired by them.Discovery Zone ( DZ) was an American chain of entertainment facilities featuring games and elaborate indoor mazes designed for young children, including roller slides, climbing play structures, and ball pits. You’ll be happy to hear there is a silver lining to this story: as recently as 2020, two new Discovery Zone locations have opened in the US-one in Cincinnati and one in Kentucky. I was never lucky enough to celebrate my own birthday there, but I distinctly remember playing in the ball pit, sliding down the roller slides, and climbing the play structures at my fellow classmates’ birthday parties back in elementary school. Not that I hold anything against Chuck, but DZ holds a special place in my heart. By 2001 all remaining DZ! Discovery Zones had closed. In an effort to compete with Chuck E., DZ spread itself too thin by expanding too rapidly and by June 1999 the chain was forced to abruptly close half of their facilities, leaving many kids without a place to celebrate their upcoming birthday! Families were no doubt furious, leaving Chuck E. DZ also made history as the first corporate sponsor of Sesame Street! So what went wrong?Ĭharles Entertainment Cheese is what went wrong. Among these investors were Blockbuster Video, Viacom (which owns Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, and Showtime) and even tennis Hall of Famer Billie Jean King was an early investor. ![]() Attributing to their instant success was the outstanding investors DZ was able to pull. Have you ever wondered what became of the now-forgotten chain of family centers?ĭZ! Discovery Zone got its start in Kansas City in 1989 and quickly spread across the Midwest, operating over 250 facilities in its prime. ![]() You probably even celebrated a birthday or two there, or you at least attended someone else’s party. If you grew up in Kalamazoo during this time, you probably remember the old DZ location on Westnedge next to Hobby Lobby and the also ill-fated Toys R’ Us. “You’re either in the Zone, or you’re not.” Nineties babies will remember this slogan of the popular chain of children’s indoor play centers, the one and only DZ! Discovery Zone.
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