Studio C HD is a system of animatronics found at Chuck E. Cheese restaurants, which were installed between 2010 and 2021.
History[]
Studio C HD was introduced in April 2010 when the test stage known as the Star Stage, made it's debut. The idea behind Studio C HD was to replace all the existing TVs with HD flat screen TVs and to refresh the Studio C concept. And unlike the Studio C stages, Studio C HD used SD cards and USB sticks as a show format, instead of the (at that point) typical DVD. The theme behind the Star Stage was that everyone was a birthday star. The Star Stage was only installed at the Dallas (Montfort), Texas location due to poor feedback and internal conflicts between Jeremy Blaido and Robert Gotcher.
A year after the Star Stage debuted, the second Studio C HD stage, know as the Galaxy Stage, made it's debut in April 2011. The Galaxy Stage also used HD flat screen TVs like the Star Stage, but it had an outer space theme. Just like the Star Stage, the Galaxy Stage was only installed at one location, the West Melbourne, Florida location, due to poor feedback.
With the feedback gathered from the last two failed stage concepts, Studio C HD would create the Circles of Light stage. Making its debut in August 2012 as the replacement for the Star Stage at the Dallas (Montfort), Texas location, the stage was a major success. The neon circles and bright colors made the stage pop-out and more appealing to children and parents of the 2010s. With the overwhelming success of the stage, Chuck E. Cheese decided to test out Circles of Light stages without animatronics. Circles of Light stages with animatronics would continue to be the default installation until 2014, with the last stages using bots being installed in 2015, and the Kapolei, HI (700 Haumea St) location in 2018.
The first Circles of Light would debut in September 2012 when the original Circles of Light at the Dallas (Montfort), Texas location would remove their animatronic and send it to the Port Orange, Florida location. This would remain the only bot-less location until August 2013 when the Montgomery, Alabama became the first Circles of Light to debut without a bot. By 2014 only franchised locations would receive Circles of Light stages with animatronics as all other installations would be without bots. By 2015 Circles of Light stages with animatronics would be discontinued after Chuck E. Cheese used up its remaining Studio C animatronics. All Circles of Lights would be produced without animatronics from 2015 onwards, with the Kapolei, HI (700 Haumea St) location being an exception due to construction delays from 2015-2018.
The Circles of Light would officially being discontinued in 2021 for the Chuck E. Live Stage. In October 2022, due to problems with using the Navori system on the animatronic, Studio C HD programming officially ended, meaning animatronics and lights that would play with the showtape no longer work.
Stages[]
- Star Stage (0 remaining)
- Galaxy Stage (0 remaining)
- Circles of Light (72 remaining; 10 remaining with animatronics)
Animatronics Used[]
- Chuck E. Cheese 32M: Star Stage, Circles of Light, 32M.
- Chuck E. Cheese 16M: Galaxy Stage, Circles of Light, 16M.