Idaho’s Oldest Animatronic Band Has Been Unplugged For Good

The mention of Chuck E. Cheese might bring back some great memories for many Idahoans. It's been a few years since we took our son to the Boise location for some hot pepperoni pizza, gameplay, and a performance by a truly metal house band.

I first visited a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant and arcade in the early eighties. My dad used to take my brother and I there quite often when I was between the ages of about six and nine. I remember playing a lot of Spy Hunter, watching the animatronics, and tugging on that giant mouse's tail; it must have been hell some nights for the teenage staffer who got that shift assignment.

 I often have wondered how the Five Nights at Freddy's fandom didn't jumpstart a resurgence for the Chuck E. Cheese house band.

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In 2019, we held our son's third birthday at the Boise Chuck E. Cheese. It was kind of a weird experience because it had probably been 30 years or so before I stepped foot in one. The pizza and salad bar was as I remembered it, and our son had a blast.

The announcement that all but one United States Chuck E. Cheese location was planning on dismantling and retiring the animatronic house band came in 2023. A nationwide remodel ended the nearly 50-year run of the band. The Boise location only featured the band since the mid-eighties, according to Cheese-E-Pedia.

Most of the remodeling took place in the past six months, but the Boise bots were alive (sort of) and rocking on that August day in 2019 when we celebrated my kid's birthday. I often have wondered how the Five Nights at Freddy's fandom didn't jumpstart a resurgence for the Chuck E. Cheese house band.

Farewell guys! Thanks for the sometimes strange, but mostly fond memories.