#Discovery zone series

Here are some thoughts to comfort and enlighten you.ĭiscovery Zone Learning Centers provide your child with far more than a typical day care center or babysitting service. We understand how difficult it is for parents to make a decision concerning childcare.

^ 'Discovery Zone Abruptly Closes 100 Centers - The Washington Post'.^ a b 'Viacom Toys With Discovery Zone Strategy : Entertainment: The new owner of the indoor-playground centers seeks to boost profit through repeat business'.^ 'VIACOM'S BLOCKBUSTER UNIT TO RUN DISCOVERY ZONE'.^ 'McDonalds To Unite Play Unit With Discovery Zone'.^ a b 'Discovery Zone, Inc.: Private Company Information - Businessweek'.^ a b 'DISCOVERY ZONE SHARES RISE 61.4% IN FIRST-DAY TRADING'.^ Anderson, Susan Heller (January 23, 1991).'You're Either In The Zone, Or You're Not'.'DZ it's Discovery Zone, Where Kids Can Be Kids On Their Own' (TV commercials).īy December 2001, the remaining 205 locations (in 39 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico) shut down and Discovery Zone went out of business completely. Cheese, who attempted to accommodate last minute party reschedulings over the following days. Thirteen locations were sold to CEC Entertainment, Inc., owner of Chuck E. On June 30, 1999, Discovery Zone abruptly closed half of their locations and were unable to alert those with reserved parties. Stretched thin by expansion, changes in management tried to save the company however, Discovery Zone filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 26, 1996, in Wilmington, Delaware, with debts of up to $366.8 million. The new complexes would have included dining, drinking, mini golf and VR games in addition to the indoor playground equipment that Discovery Zone is known for. Discovery Zone had also planned a new family entertainment center to compete against Dave & Buster’s, which was dubbed “Metro Zone”.

#Discovery zone series

By the time Viacom took control of Discovery Zone, the company signed a deal with Saban Entertainment to include characters from the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers television series at the play centers. Viacom had plans to cross market Discovery Zone with its other businesses, such as Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, and Showtime. īlockbuster Video, then a subsidiary of Viacom, took total management control of Discovery Zone in April 1995. At the same time, Blockbuster bought more shares of Discovery Zone giving it 50.1% of the stock. Under the leadership of then CEO Don Flynn, in July 1994, Discovery Zone bought 45 Leaps and Bounds stores from McDonald's for $111 million in stock and 57 franchised stores from Blockbuster Video for $91 million in stock bringing the total stores to almost 300. 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. Z-Bop is still available as a deluxe toy, and the non-affiliated logo itself is inspired by Nickelodeon's game show from the 80s and the 90s, Double Dare.įounded in 1989, Discovery Zone grew quickly, opening 15 stores in 18 months. A second location was added in Florence, Kentucky, at the Florence Mall on July 23, 2021. In 2020, a new location 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.

The first location was opened in Kansas City, Missouri, in October 1989. A talking robot character named Z-Bop served as mascot to the chain, which was founded by Ronald Matsch, Jim Jorgensen and Dr. 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.