Billy Bob's Wonderland
   HOME





Billy Bob's Wonderland
Billy Bob's Wonderland is a family entertainment center located in Barboursville, West Virginia, near the Huntington Mall. It is notable for having one of the last complete Rock-afire Explosion animatronic bands, as well as being one of few Showbiz Pizza Place restaurants to survive splintering from the Showbiz Pizza Time corporation in the late 1980s. History In 1987, local businessman Rex Donahue opened a Showbiz Pizza Place location near the Huntington Mall in West Virginia. In 1989, following the 1984 merger between Showbiz Pizza and Chuck E. Cheese, Showbiz made the decision to unify both brands as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza beginning in the early 1990s due to Creative Engineering's desire for control of the Rock-afire Explosion IP. This would include retrofitting the Rock-afire animatronics into CEC characters. Donahue severed relations with the parent company at this time and began operating independently as Billy Bob's Wonderland. Sometime in the 1990s, two more locati ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Barboursville, West Virginia
Barboursville is a village in Cabell County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 4,456 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area. History Barboursville was platted in 1813. Barboursville was then chartered in 1813 and incorporated in 1867. The Barboursville Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. The Thornburg House was separately listed in 1991. Barboursville also contains the historic Miller House, a building constructed in 1835 by local pioneer William Clendenin Miller, grandson of Major George Clendenin, who served under Lt. Colonel Daniel Boone in the 1774 Battle of Point Pleasant, and along with Boone was the first representative of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County. Geography Barboursville is located at (38.411002, -82.297758). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


The Rock-afire Explosion
The Rock-afire Explosion (RAE) is an animatronic character band designed and manufactured by Creative Engineering, Inc. (CEI) for use in ShowBiz Pizza Place restaurants in the 1980s and early 1990s. The band's characters are various Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphized animals, including a brown bear, a Gray wolf, grey wolf and a Gorilla, silverback gorilla. They perform medleys of classic rock, Pop music, pop, and country music, as well as original compositions and comedic skits. CEI was founded by inventor Aaron Fechter, who oversaw production of the animatronics and provided several of the characters' voices. The band was replaced by Chuck E. Cheese characters and renamed Munch's Make Believe Band following ShowBiz Pizza's decision to rebrand in the early 1990s. As relations with ShowBiz deteriorated, CEI began selling The Rock-afire Explosion to other restaurants and entertainment centers around the world, including Circus Pizza, Pistol Pete's Pizza, and Billy Bob's Wonderland ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Buildings And Structures Completed In 1989
A building or edifice is an enclosed structure with a roof, walls and windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted throughout history for numerous factors, from building materials available, to weather conditions, land prices, ground conditions, specific uses, prestige, and aesthetic reasons. To better understand the concept, see ''Nonbuilding structure'' for contrast. Buildings serve several societal needs – occupancy, primarily as shelter from weather, security, living space, privacy, to store belongings, and to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a physical separation of the human habitat (a place of comfort and safety) from the ''outside'' (a place that may be harsh and harmful at times). buildings have been objects or canvasses of much artistic expression. In recent years, interest in sustainable planning and building practi ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Buildings And Structures In Cabell County, West Virginia
A building or edifice is an enclosed Structure#Load-bearing, structure with a roof, walls and window, windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted throughout history for numerous factors, from building materials available, to weather conditions, land prices, ground conditions, specific uses, monument, prestige, and aesthetic reasons. To better understand the concept, see ''Nonbuilding structure'' for contrast. Buildings serve several societal needs – occupancy, primarily as shelter from weather, security, living space, privacy, to store belongings, and to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a physical separation of the :Human habitats, human habitat (a place of comfort and safety) from the ''outside'' (a place that may be harsh and harmful at times). buildings have been objects or canvasses of much architecture, artistic expression. ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

1989 Establishments In West Virginia
1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin Wall in November, the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia and the overthrow of the communist dictatorship in Romania in December; the movement ended in December 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Revolutions against communist governments in Eastern Europe mainly succeeded, but the year also saw the suppression by the Chinese government of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing. It was the year of the first Brazilian direct presidential election in 29 years, since the end of the military government in 1985 that ruled the country for more than twenty years, and marked the redemocratization process's final point. F. W. de Klerk was elected as State President of South Africa, and his regime gradually dismantled the aparthei ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Animatronic Attractions
An animatronic is a puppet controlled electronically to move in a fluent way. Animatronics are the modern adaptation of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films, video games and in theme park attractions. Animatronics are a multidisciplinary field integrating puppetry, anatomy and mechatronics. Animatronic figures can be implemented with both computer and human control, including teleoperation. Motion actuators are often used to imitate muscle movements and create realistic motions. Figures are usually encased in body shells and flexible skins made of hard or soft plastic materials and finished with colors, hair, feathers and other components to make them more lifelike. Animatronics stem from a long tradition of mechanical automata powered by hydraulics, pneumatics and clockwork. Before the term "animatronics" became common, they were usually referred to as "robots". Since then, robots have become known as more practical programmable machines t ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Amusement Arcades
An amusement arcade, also known as a video arcade, amusements, arcade, or penny arcade (an older term), is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such as claw machines), or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables. In some countries, some types of arcades are also legally permitted to provide gambling machines such as slot machines or pachinko, ''pachinko'' machines. Games are usually housed in cabinets. Video games were introduced in amusement arcades in the late 1970s and were most popular during the golden age of arcade video games, the early 1980s. History Penny arcade A penny arcade can be any type of venue for coin-operated devices, usually for entertainment. The term came into use about 1905–1910. The name derives from the penny, once a staple coin for the machines. The machines used included: * bagatelles, a game with elements of billiards and non-elect ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Theme Restaurants
A theme restaurant is a type of restaurant that uses theming to attract diners by creating a memorable experience. Theme restaurants have a unifying or dominant subject or concept, and utilize architecture, decor, special effects, and other techniques, often to create exotic environments that are not normally associated with dining because they are inaccessible, no longer exist, are fictional or supernatural, or taboo. The theme may be further extended through the naming and choices of food, though food is usually secondary to entertaining guests. Classification Most restaurants have an inherent “theme” based on the origin or type of cuisine served. Many restaurants have a distinct style of decor, and create a specific ambiance for the comfort of their clientele. Some have a unique location or are housed in a unique building. But not all restaurants are considered theme restaurants. Diners choose restaurants first and foremost based on type of food. Conversely, theme restaur ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


ShowBiz Pizza Place
ShowBiz Pizza Place, or simply ShowBiz Pizza, was an American family entertainment center and pizza chain founded in 1980 by Robert L. Brock and Creative Engineering (CEI). It emerged after a separation between Brock and owners of the Chuck E. Cheese franchise, Pizza Time Theatre. ShowBiz Pizza restaurants entertained guests through a large selection of arcade games, coin-operated rides, and animatronic stage shows. The two companies became competitors and found early success, partly due to the rise in popularity of arcade games during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The type of animatronics used in the ShowBiz Pizza chain distinguished it from its rival, which offered many of the same services. When Pizza Time Theatre declared bankruptcy in 1984, ShowBiz merged with the struggling franchise to settle a former court settlement mandate, forming ShowBiz Pizza Time. Following a severing of ties with CEI in 1990, ShowBiz Pizza locations were rebranded as Chuck E. Cheese locations, ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Ventriloquist
Ventriloquism or ventriloquy is an act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) speaks in such a way that it seems like their voice is coming from a different location, usually through a puppet known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is ventriloquizing, and in English it is commonly called the ability to "throw" one's voice. History Origins Originally, ventriloquism was a religious practice. The name comes from the Latin for 'to speak from the belly': (belly) and (speak). The ancient Greeks called engastrimythos () or engastrimantis () a person (mostly women) who delivered oracles by this means. The noises produced by the stomach were thought to be the voices of the unliving, who took up residence in the stomach of the ventriloquist. The ventriloquist would then interpret the sounds, as they were thought to be able to speak to the dead, as well as foretell the future. One of the earliest recorded group of prophets to use this technique was the Pythia, the pr ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Volo, Illinois
Volo is a village in Lake County, Illinois, Lake County, Illinois, United States. It was incorporated as a village on April 26, 1993. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 6,122. Geography Volo is located at (42.331047, -88.160975). According to the 2010 census, Volo has a total area of , of which (or 98.05%) is land and (or 1.95%) is water. Major streets * US Route 12 * Illinois Route 59 * Illinois Route 60 * Illinois Route 120 (Belvidere Road) * Nippersink Road * Molidor Road * Fish Lake Road * Gilmer Road * Sullivan Lake Road * Fox Lake Road * Volo Village Road Demographics 2020 census 2000 Census As of the census of 2000, there were 180 people, 52 households, and 39 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 61 housing units at an average density of 21.9 per square mile (8.4/km). The racial makeup of the village was 92.78% White (U.S. Census), White, 1.11% Asian (U.S. Census), Asian, 0.56% from Race (Uni ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Volo Auto Museum
Established in 1960 by the Grams family, the Volo Auto Museum (since renamed simply the Volo Museum) is an automobile museum and collector car dealer in the Chicago suburb of Volo, Illinois, US. The museum contains an exhibit of collectors' autos from vintage to modern classics, with the main focus being American cars of the 1950–1980 period, over 50 famous TV and movie cars, cars previously owned by the rich and famous, animatronics from ShowBiz Pizza Place and Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theatre, and a large array of Disney and Looney Tunes displays. Unique to this museum is that many of the vehicles on display (in five large buildings) are for sale. One of 50 exhibits on the 75-acre museum campus is a military-oriented "Armed Forces Exhibit," added in the late 2000s. Of the 4 antique malls on the museum grounds, one is reported to be haunted and has become a magnet for ghost hunters and sightings and an episode of the TV show Ghost Lab. The museum has its own TV series ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]