Lubbock's Discovery Zone Has Been Closed for 20 Years. Feel Old?

Discovery Zone was one of the greatest parts of my childhood. Our Lubbock location closed down along with the rest of them back in 2001, and it was a pretty sad day.

Today, Discovery Zone crossed my mind and I took a quick peek on the web to see if there was anything else out there like it, and guess what? There is actually ONE Discovery Zone left...and it's in Ohio.

It isn't actually affiliated with the original Discovery Zone corporation, but it's clear that it was highly influenced by them.

According to Wikipedia, half of the Discovery Zone locations were abruptly closed down in June of 1999, without even giving notice to people who had reserved party space. The other half of the locations were sold to CEC Entertainment, owner of Chuck E. Cheese, and they had a hell of a time scrambling to reschedule all of the parties. By December 2020, they were completely done for.

A new location was opened in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2020, which was probably the absolute worst year to open a new business, and I wondered how they're doing. They closed down on March 16th, then reopened on August 15th in accordance with social distancing guidelines. It appears they are still blowing and going.

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Their Facebook page doesn't seem very popular, and I noticed several people comment they there were just surprised at the fact that it was open at all.

I'm seriously considering a trip to Ohio just so I can run full speed toward my favorite slide with the rolling bars that pinched you if you weren't careful. It would almost be worth it just for the smell of the plastic ball pit. I bet it's truly glorious. And you never knew exactly what you'll find at the bottom. A dirty diaper? A slice of pizza? Bonus game!

Did you have great memories at Discovery Zone? Tell us about it. Comment below or on the FMX Facebook page.

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