Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia (2 Cavill Avenue) was a Charlie Cheese's Pizza Playhouse that opened in March 1981 with a Cyberamic Portrait/Balcony Mix, and closed in 1982.
This store was notable as the very first international PTT/CEC location, the first on another continent, as well as the 29th Pizza Time Theatre store to open, and the first ever PTT to close, as no other PTT closed in 1982.
History[]
When the owners of the Grundy's entertainment complex in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia noticed a small chain of sit-down family restaurant and arcades with animatronics in the United States known as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, they thought it was a perfect idea for their entertainment complex, although they had to make several changes, and they mostly had to do with the branding of the restaurant in Australia.
The same way different US states have different dialects but being the same language (in this case being the English language), American English and Australian English differed in more ways than one, one of which being the fact that in the United States, the word 'Chuck' means "To throw something", as in "I chucked the football across the field.", while in Australia, that very same word means "To throw up", as in "I got a really bad headache and chucked in the bathroom stall.". As a result of this "grotesque" word, they decided to rename the brand name exclusively in Australia from "Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre" to "Charlie Cheese's Pizza Playhouse". They would also redesign the logo slightly, changing the colors from the dark browns of the old PTT logo to a red and blue colored design, while keeping the shape and Chuck E. (now named Charlie) the same.
The location at 2 Cavill Avenue would open in March 1981 and would be popular with Australia's families, as they had never had a chance to experience something like it before. They would have a unique stage design, as even though it was still a Balcony Stage, it featured elements from a Shelf stage, more specifically, the frames/doors Munch and Pasqually were on. It also featured a Cheese Crawl under the characters instead of Mr. Munch's Madhouse and the wood façade of normal installations. In the Cabaret, Dolli Dimples was present to play her showtape.
The Surfer's Paradise location would close for unknown reasons in 1982 and relocate approximately around an hour away to a city known as Carina. That location would also not stay open very long either, closing between 1984 and 1986, marking an end to Charlie Cheese's Pizza Playhouse.
Stages[]
Originally when Surfers Paradise opened, they featured a Shelf / Balcony Stage Mix. This stage had a Cheese Crawl under the stage, and frames and doors for Munch and Pasqually. Madam Oink was the Guest Star for the entire operation of the location. Dolli Dimples was also present in the Cabaret.
Stage | Installed | Removed | Notes / Fate |
---|---|---|---|
Cyberamic Portrait/Balcony Mix | March 1981 | 1982 | Store Closed. Unknown what happened afterwards. |
Animatronics[]
Animatronic | Manufacturing Date | Whereabouts | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Chuck E. Cheese (Cyberamic) | 1980 | Unknown | |
Guest Star / Helen Henny (Cyberamic) | 1980 | Unknown | Madame Oink Cosmetics. |
Mr. Munch (Cyberamic) | 1980 | Unknown | |
Jasper T. Jowls (Cyberamic) | 1980 | Unknown | |
Pasqually (Cyberamic) | 1980 | Unknown | Had Portrait Mechanics. |
Warblettes (Cyberamic) | 1980 | Unknown | |
Dolli Dimples (Cabaret) | 1980 | Unknown |
Gallery[]
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