Discovery Zone (or DZ for short) was a chain of entertainment facilities featuring games and elaborate indoor mazes designed for young children, including slides, climbing play structures and ball pits. 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, Major Magic's, The Jungle, and Wonder Camp (a chain which closed in 1997). McDonald's started a similar chain called Leaps and Bounds which merged into Discovery Zone in 1994.
In the 1990s, one of its jingles went like this: "I'm going DZ at Discovery Zone. Discover what I can do on my own! I can jump, swing, crawl or mountain climb. I'm going DZ, where kids want to be!". This was sung by children. Another slogan was "Fun-believable fitness for kids!"
IPO and Merger
Discovery Zone completed a successful IPO in June 1993 (led by Chris Bellios and Ian Kitchens) raising over $50 million. In 1994, Discovery Zone merged its operations with Blockbuster Video (and its parent, Viacom).
Bankruptcy
Stretched thin by expansion, changes in management tried to save the company, however (under Viacom's control) Discovery Zone filed for bankruptcy on March 26, 1996 in Wilmington, Delaware with debts of up to $366.8 million.[2] Chuck E. Cheese's purchased approximately 500 of DZ's locations and turned them into Chuck E. Cheese's facilities by the end of 1999.
References
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