Chuck E. Cheese (aka Showbiz!)

Have you had an inexplicable desire lately to get out on the Skee-Ball lanes and roll for that coveted, nearly impossible 100-point slot? Well, I suppose if you have then you have probably just downloaded some nifty iPhone app to curb this craving (as I imagine there is an app for everything under the sun these days).

However, if you're a purist like myself when it comes to good old fashioned fun and nostalgia, you will spare no expense to get the real thing. Enter Chuck E. Cheese's.

What gives? Where is the Italian Chef?!

Here in Guatemala there is not only 1, but a total of 2 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants/paradises. They are actually a total of no more than 3 miles from one another, so someday I will need to research just why the Guatemalans feel the need for packing so much fun into such a small area - whatever, more power to 'em!

Chuck E. Cheese's is MAGIC!

Anyhow, as my time in Guatemala ends I've been inspired to knock off a few items from the To-Do List, while I can. I have been waiting since my arrival in January for the perfect reason/chance to go to Chuck E. Cheese's, however none arrived out of happenstance or luck, so I decided yesterday to take things into my own hands and visit Chuck & his friends simply because I can.

Right on, Chuck

Surprisingly, upon entering I felt as if I were back home. The lights, the pizza, the games...it was as if I was transported back to Miller Road in Flint, Michigan one cold Saturday night in 1995 for a friend's birthday party. Sadly, this particular Chuck E. Cheese's establishment lacked an essential element to the Chuck E. Cheese experience: the animatronic jam band fronted by Chuck. As a youngster I always looked forward to what seemed like impromptu jams by Chuck and his pals, especially the oversized Gorilla kicking out sick beats on his comically small drum set. (Note: As an adult I have come to realize that these "impromptu" jams were automatically scheduled every 30 minutes and commenced like clockwork. Even to the painful dismay of parents stuck watching no less than 5 of these repeat shows while their children only grew in excitement.)

Chuck and I (Christmas Edition)

For a whopping $20 I got my share of a medium pizza, Coke with unlimited refills (shockingly not common here in Guatemala), and 30 tokens, which was more than enough gaming for this 27 year old. My friend and I hit all the classics: Skee-Ball, basketball pop-a-shot games, stop the blinking light on "Bonus" (which in reality is bogus and impossible to win), and I even toyed with some original Pac-Man.

Play on, Players

So, if you are feeling lively and looking for something completely off the wall to do this weekend, go to your local Chuck E. Cheese's with friends. I promise, you won't be disappointed and the real life Skee-Ball will be so much better than that hand-held version you've been bragging to your friends about for the past 4 years.