Discovery Zone

Discovery Zone (DZ) was an American chain of entertainment facilities featuring games and elaborate indoor mazes designed for young children, including roller slides, climbing play structures, and ball pits. It also featured arcade games. A talking robot character named Z-Bop served as mascot to the chain. Ronald Matsch, Jim Jorgensen and Dr. David Schoenstadt founded Discovery Zone in 1989, with the first location opening in Kansas City, Missouri, in October 1989. An early investor in and vocal supporter of the company was tennis player Billie Jean King.

Discovery Zone became the first corporate sponsor of the PBS children's program ''Sesame Street'' in 1998, ending a 29-year long streak without on-air support from them.

New company

A company unaffiliated with the original company but heavily inspired by it opened a new center using the Discovery Zone name on February 7, 2020 in the Cincinnati suburb of Union Township, Ohio at the Eastgate Mall. A second location was added in Florence, Kentucky, at the Florence Mall on July 23, 2021, while the Union Township location was closed in 2025.

History

Founded in 1989, Discovery Zone grew quickly, opening 15 stores in 18 months. In April 1993, Blockbuster Video invested $10.3 million (~$ in ) into Discovery Zone to purchase 20% of the company with an option to increase its stake to 50.1 percent in June 1994.

In June 1993, Discovery Zone went public on the NASDAQ exchange, raising $55 million (~$ in ) on the IPO. The stock rose 61% in the first day of trading.

Under the leadership of then CEO Don Flynn, in July 1994, Discovery Zone bought 45 Leaps and Bounds stores from McDonald's for $111 million in stock and 57 franchised stores from Blockbuster Video for $91 million in stock bringing the total stores to almost 300. At the same time, Blockbuster bought more shares of Discovery Zone giving it 50.1% of the stock.

Blockbuster took total management control of Discovery Zone in April 1995. Viacom had plans to cross market Discovery Zone with its other businesses, such as Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, and Showtime. By the time Viacom took control of Discovery Zone, the company signed a deal with Saban Entertainment to include characters from the ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' television series at the play centers. Discovery Zone had also planned a new family entertainment center to compete against Dave & Buster’s, which was dubbed “Metro Zone”. The new complexes would have included dining, drinking, mini golf and VR games in addition to the indoor playground equipment that Discovery Zone is known for.

Stretched thin by expansion, changes in management tried to save the company; however, Discovery Zone filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 26, 1996, in Wilmington, Delaware, with debts of up to $366.8 million. They emerged a year later on July 30, under the private ownership of Wellspring Associates LLC.

Wellspring Associates invested $20 million towards improving Discovery Zone's fun centers starting in 1998. The size of the "Mega Zone" play structure and toddler play area were decreased to make room for a sports challenge area and laser tag area themed to third-party properties and a karaoke stage, while arts & crafts activities were placed in the former Quiet Zone.

On April 20, 1999, Discovery Zone, Inc. re-entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Discovery Zone abruptly closed 106 of its locations on June 25, unable to alert visitors with reserved parties. Twenty of the latter locations (thirteen owned and seven leased) and the company's intellectual properties and trade names were sold to CEC Entertainment, Inc., owner of Chuck E. Cheese's, who attempted to accommodate last minute party reschedulings over the following days. Ten locations were converted to Chuck E. Cheese's while the others were sold to third-parties.

In June 2000, Discovery Zone's bankruptcy court judge ruled that there was no feasible way for the company to be profitable, and their bankruptcy was converted into liquidation. By the end of 2001, Discovery Zone was out of business completely.

References

External links

BusinessWeek profile
(archived)
Discovery Zone website

{{Blockbuster

Entertainment companies established in 1989
Entertainment companies disestablished in 2001
Restaurants established in 1989
Restaurants disestablished in 2001
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1996
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1999
Companies that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2000
Companies that have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
Defunct companies based in New York (state)
1990 establishments in Kansas
Blockbuster LLC
Defunct retail companies of the United States
Defunct restaurants in the United States