CEC Remodels are the remodel projects undertaken by the parent company of Chuck E. Cheese, CEC Entertainment. (formerly named ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc.), to update their stores for the current generation.
History
When Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre existed between 1977 and 1984, Pizza Time Theatre, Inc., then the parent company of PTT, initiated a remodel project in 1981, known simply as the 1981 Remodel. This would be the only known remodel of Pizza Time Theatre stores before the original company / concept would be bought by Showbiz and be turned into the modern day Chuck E. Cheese in 1985. It is not known how many stores received the 1981 Remodel.
Reception
While documentation of reviews to older remodels such as the CEC 1986 Remodel Program and the 1990s Major Remodels are not notable in particular, reviews of the 2003/2005 "Cool Chuck" Remodel and CEC 2.0 Remodel have had large amounts of reviews towards them, the CEC 2.0 Remodel in particular has far received the most, as it has drastically changed the experience of visiting a Chuck E. Cheese. Many reviews either pay some attention or full attention to the fact that the animatronics are removed for a Chuck E. Live Stage. This controversial decision has been one of the many reasons people in the online CEC community have "left the fandom" due it, and the fact that CEC has been increasingly lazy with their entertainment since Early 2008 (which is a coincidence, considering the Dance Floor made it's debut that year.). Many petitions have been created to theoretically "stop" 2.0, as well as a popular hashtag on social media, #saveourshows, which is, for the most part, unable to happen considering CEC has a policy against selling their animatronics to third party venues / civillians, due to copyright and because they fear they could potentially strike up competition, something CEC has not majorly faced since the late 1990s, as well as the legal issues if said person / venue were to use the CEC characters in a competitive / malicious way, as well as the fact that stores remove the animatronics at night, therefore making it difficult to even acquire one, some, or all directly from the store.
TODO: Go into detail about changes/removals/additions.The SPT 1988 Remodel Program was the first remodel program to be commenced by the newly formed Showbiz Pizza Time, Inc., which was founded as a result of the parent companies of Showbiz Pizza Place and Pizza Time Theatre merging the previous year as a result of CECPTT's 1984 bankruptcy. This remodel brought several changes to Pizza Time Theatre and Showbiz Pizza Place stores, one of which being the renaming of Pizza Time Theatre stores to "Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza". This name would be carried over into the first version of the SPT 1992 Remodel, which commenced in 1993.
The SPT 1992 Remodel Program brought several changes to CEC stores, which included wooden signage, wooden shelves with artifacts, new carpet, and new booths. Another change was the original "Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza" logo was changed to have the Chuck E. head (now turned into the "Cool Chuck" design) and Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza wordmark separate. Currently, only one Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza building sign remains, at the La Mesa, California location. A sidewalk sign reading Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza is located outside of the Altoona, Pennsylvania, just above the front door.
In 1994, a prototype update would be made that was installed at the Irving, Texas location. The logo featured Chuck E. wearing a yellow sweater and his derby hat, with the face being somewhat of a mix between Tux Chuck and Cool Chuck, as this was during the transitional period from Chuck E. being a rat to a mouse.
The "Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza" wordmark would be shortened to just "Chuck E. Cheese's" after 1995, and the logo was updated, this time having Chuck E. wearing a yellow sweater and a red baseball cap with a yellow star on it. Chuck E. appeared to have his thumb raised although it appears he is pointing it at himself. This design was installed from 1995 until 2001. In 1998, the 1990s Major Remodel was updated to replace most pre-1998 artwork (record posters, other wall art) with new posters based off the design of the recently introduced "Studio C", with Must C TV posters replacing record posters (or going alongside them, as some stores would use both), as well as Pop Art Chuck posters, which are Andy Warhol inspired pop art pieces. The Pop Art Chucks are very well known, with them even being re used / re-released for the 2003 "Cool Chuck" Reconfiguration.
In around 1998, the logo was updated once again, this time slightly modifying Chuck E., with the yellow star on his baseball cap being replaced with a "C", as well as several slight color changes. This design was installed from 1998 until 2003.
The CEC 2005 Remodel Program brought even more changes than the previous remodels, with several walls being repainted purple, all parody artwork being replaced with newer store décor like artwork featuring the then standard design of Chuck E. Cheese, Avenger Chuck, and his friends, alongside new posters with kids on them to replace the Record Posters / Must C TV Posters, and having the Show Room walls and balcony seating be removed in most locations. The exteriors also received a change, with the design being multiple different colored squares, red diamonds, red and blue awnings, an all red "Chuck E. Cheese's" wordmark, still using the font from the previous remodels, and a brand new logo featuring Avenger Chuck smiling and giving a thumbs up.
The CEC 2018 2.0 Remodel Program was first announced during the Summer of 2017 by CEC Entertainment, Inc. with several stores in Texas (Stone Oak, Military Dr, and Ingram Dr, all in San Antonio, and Selma), two stores in Kansas (Olathe and Overland Park), and one in Missouri (Kansas City) being tested with the remodel.
The 2.0 remodel was unlike any remodel before it, now fully transforming CEC into the 21st century. It features green with gray stripes (some stores do not have the gray stripes, and some are painted gray instead of green.), a new logo, new wordmark (featuring Chuck E.'s signature, as well as dropping the 's in Chuck E. Cheese's, making it just Chuck E. Cheese.), alongside the addition of a "Pizzeria & Games" name, and also new carpet, new booths, new wood flooring, new wall art, and a new Dance Floor, which replaces the animatronic stage show.
Remodels
Original 2.0 remodels (2017)
Stores that originally received 2.0 featured a few distinct differences from the 2018, 2019, and 2021 updates, with there being character bio decals on the full wall instead of a poster, and having stars above the Dance Floor TVs, as well as having an open kitchen, something they would stop in 2018.
2018 2.0 remodels (2018-2019)
Remodels from 2018 until 2019 featured more changes from the 2017 2.0s, removing the open kitchen concept, removing the stars above the Dance Floor, replacing character bio decals with character bio posters (which featured an opaque silhouette of the character and a clear background to let the wall color behind it come through.)
2019 2.0 remodels (2019-2021)
The remodels spanning from 2019 to 2021 had even more changes, one of the most notable changes was the changing of the Chuck E. Cheese wordmark back to the previous font that had been in use since 1988, while making it silver/white instead of red. Another change was the addition of the 2019 model Dance Floor, which featured a screen with graphics instead of just colors. Because of the wordmark change, any artwork that used the original 2.0 font was changed to use the new font. Another change to occur was that the character bio posters backgrounds became opaque, with the color of the wall being the color of the poster.
2021 2.0 remodels (2021-Present)
2.0 remodels since 2021 have had many changes, with the most notable changes happening with the entertainment. A new Dance Floor was created which retained the screen from the 2019 Model, but removed the border around the screen and was changed to be embedded into the floor, by way of cutting a hole into the ground to make room for the technology used to power it. Stores that are not able to do so receive a 2019 Model instead of the 2021 Model. Another change was the addition of a Video Wall, which is usually placed on the character poster wall. The TVs that were formerly above the Dance Floor are now moved to around the store, with multiple 3 TV ceiling mounts being installed around the store, mainly around / in the gameroom.
In 2023, 2.0 remodels were scaled back slightly, with the new booths now not being put in, and the old booths staying in the store. Select locations also became eligible to receive an entertainment option called the Trampoline Zone, which made it's debut in the Brooklyn, New York location in April 2023. Several former Studio C stores also have not filled in the space of where the stage was, putting the Video Wall on the back wall of the former stage area without doing construction to make the wall entirely flat. It is unknown why this is, but could be because of costs to do construction on the wall.
Outcry and preservation of animatronic shows
Due to outcry from the public for locations to keep their animatronic shows, it was announced near the end of 2023 that Northridge, California would keep their 2-Stage, while receiving 2.0. The location was designated as being called a Munch's Make Believe Band Residency. Several locations were later announced in early 2024 to be keeping their animatronic shows, while receiving the 2.0 remodels. These stores (alongside Northridge) are now referred to as "Legacy stores." Yet another location has since been announced to be keeping their animatronics as of February 2025, that being Missauga, Ontario, Canada, which currently houses a Road Stage. It will be the only location outside of the US to be under the "legacy store" status.
Every corporate owned location in the continental United States has since received 2.0 as of November 2024. This sparked fear of the remaining franchise owned locations that have not received 2.0 closing and relocating. Mark Kupferman, Executive Vice President of CEC Entertainment and Chief Marketing Officer for Chuck E. Cheese stated that there are no plans for all of the the remaining unremodeled stores to close/relocate and they will continue to be refreshed on an ad-hoc basis as needed.