Discovery Zone
The 1989-1998 Discovery Zone Logo
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| Traded as | DZ |
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| Industry | Fast food and entertainment |
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Successor | Chuck E. Cheese Pump It Up |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Founder | Ronald Matsch Jim Jorgensen Dr. David Schoenstadt |
| Defunct | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Wilmington, Delaware, United States |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
| Products | Family entertainment centers |
| Slogan | "It's funbelievable fitness for kids!" (1989-1992) "I'm Goin' DZ!" (1993-1997) "You're either in the zone or you're not!" (1996-1998) "Never The Same Fun Twice!" (1998-1999) |
Discovery Zone (DZ) was a 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. The chain was founded by Ronald Matsch, Jim Jorgensen and Dr. David Schoenstadt in 1989. The first location was opened in Lenexa, Kansas, in January 1990. An early investor and vocal supporter of the company was tennis player Billie Jean King.[1]
Other places similar to Discovery Zone include Chuck E. Cheese's (which eventually acquired many of the stores), Major Magic's, The Jungle: Fun and Adventure, Planet Play, Time In, and Wonder Camp (a chain that closed in 1997). McDonald's started a similar chain called Leaps and Bounds that merged into Discovery Zone in 1994.
IPO and merger
Discovery Zone completed a successful IPO in June 1993 (led by Chris Bellios, Sam Jeremenko and Steven Noe) raising over $50 million. In 1994, Discovery Zone merged its operations with Blockbuster Video and its parent Viacom. Sumner Redstone managed to shift the assets to Blockbuster and move operations to Chicago. He told numerous college students at the 1995 annual meeting how "solid" an investment this would be. Discovery Zone filed for bankruptcy shortly after.
Logo History
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The first and more well-known logo of Discovery Zone that was used from 1989-1998.
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Discovery Zone Alternative Logo.jpg
The alternative logo for Discovery Zone that was used in the mid to late 90's. This logo was short-lived
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The Final DZ Logo.jpg
The Final DZ Logo used from 1998-1999 before its shutdown.
Bankruptcy
Stretched thin by expansion, changes in management tried to save the company; however, Discovery Zone filed for bankruptcy on March 26, 1996 in Wilmington, Delaware with debts of up to $366.8 million.[2] By the end of 1999, Chuck E. Cheese's had purchased approximately 500 of DZ's locations and turned many of them into Chuck E. Cheese's facilities while shutting down the rest.
Revival
In addition to Chuck E. Cheese, Discovery Zone has been replaced by a new entertainment facility called "Pump It Up" which has all of the similar roller slides, inflatables, climbing play structures, and ball pits as well as birthday party events for children. It began in Pleasanton, California in 2000, but gained popularity nationwide two years later.
