Bullwinkle's Restaurant

Bullwinkle's Entertainment, previously known as Family Fun Centers & Bullwinkle's Restaurant and formerly Bullwinkle's Family Food n' Fun is a chain of family entertainment centers. Locations feature a sit-down restaurant, complemented by arcade games, go-karts, bumper boats, mini golf, laser tag, and small rides for children. Games and activities are generally themed around the company's namesake, ''The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show''.

History

Bullwinkle's Family Food N' Fun

In 1979, David L. Brown obtained licensing rights to use intellectual properties from the Jay Ward Productions and Total Television catalog. Brown's first project involving IPs from these two studios came in the form of ''Bullwinkle's Call of the Wild Show'', a live stage production featuring the characters of Bullwinkle J. Moose, Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Snidley Whiplash, Underdog, and Moonbeam (an original character created for this production to serve as Bullwinkle's girlfriend). ''Call of the Wild'' toured across several venues in North America, including the Lagoon Amusement Park and Playland Amusement Park, between 1980 and 1981. Following the success of the live tour, Brown began conceptualizing another endeavor involving the iconic characters.

Bullwinkle's Family Food N' Fun Restaurant, meant to capitalize off the success of Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre and ShowBiz Pizza Place, opened its first location in Santa Clara, California on June 14, 1982. Similar to its competition, the restaurant offered a variety of electronic games and rides, food items, merchandise, and an animatronic show as its flagship attraction. The Fantasy Fountain Show, a series of water and lighting effects set to popular music, served as an alternative attraction in the main showroom during intermissions for the animatronics.

The characters present in Call of the Wild returned for the restaurant's "Moosetronic" experiences (except Moonbeam), in addition to Dudley Do-Right, Boris Badenov, Natasha Fatale, Tooter Turtle, Hoppity Hooper, Tennessee Tuxedo, and Chumley. A key detail from the aforementioned touring show was that none of the original cartoon voice actors reprised their roles for their respective characters. Bullwinkle, for instance, was voiced by Scott Wilson (who was best known for voicing the Chuck E. Cheese and Mr. Munch characters). Fred Hope, owner of The Only Animated Display & Design Company, personally requested the return of the original voice actors from the cartoons. Of the voice talent involved, June Foray and Bill Scott reprised their roles as Rocky and Natasha, as well as Bullwinkle and Dudley Do-Right, respectively. Because Wally Cox died from a heart attack in 1973, Bill Scott also voiced Underdog. Corey Burton provided voice lines for Snidely Whiplash, as Hans Conried also died from a heart attack just five months before the opening of Bullwinkle's. Don Adams, Bradley Bolke, and Paul Frees did not reprise their roles as Tennessee Tuxedo, Chumley, and Boris respectively for unknown reasons. Instead, these roles were taken up by other actors, including Dave Stamey (Tennessee) and John Swanson (both Chumley and Boris). Joe Alaskey voiced Boris for "A-Show" segments produced after the initial batch used in the Santa Clara prototype, whilst Frank Welker allegedly took on the role solely for "B-Show" announcement skits promoting the Fantasy Fountain Shows.

The lyrics and music for the animatronic segments were produced by composer Bill Broughton. Broughton personally released several of the original songs he produced for these segments through the
Happy Songs, Happy Kids!
' and
Famoose Moose's Greatest Hits...and Misses!
' albums in his later years. Scott Hennessy initially wrote dialogue scripts for the earliest segments, and Fred Hope also wrote song lyrics. However, they were both succeeded by Broughton after their involvement with Bullwinkle's ended by 1983.

Following the opening of Santa Clara, some changes were made to streamline the restaurant experience going forward. AVG Technologies would succeed The Only Animated Display & Design Company as the manufacturer for Bullwinkle's animatronic shows from 1983 up through the early 1990s. To cut down on installation costs, several characters saw a slight decrease in mechanical movements, with Tennessee Tuxedo and Chumley being phased out from the show entirely. A majority of aspects present in Santa Clara's store design were adapted for future locations. The original animatronic prototypes at Santa Clara were immediately replaced by the standardized figures from AVG once the store model was streamlined.

1991 Family Fun Centers & Bullwinkle's Restaurant merger

Beginning in 1983, the Huish Family Fun Centers gained a license for franchised Bullwinkle's locations, these being relegated to the restaurant portions of the fun centers instead of stand-alone locations. A condensed animatronic show featuring Rocky, Bullwinkle, Boris, and Natasha (with one location even including Tooter Turtle as well) was constructed for these smaller integrations by AVG. Fantasy Fountain Shows were also part of these smaller shows (but were removed in later years). By 1991, the Huish family purchased the entirety of Bullwinkle's to merge its operations with their Family Fun Centers. From 1992 to 1999, new Bullwinkle's locations (named Bullwinkle's Family Restaurants after the merger) opened within the Huish Family Fun Centers in California, Oregon, and Washington state.

Some time after 1993, the restaurants introduced the ''WYME TV'' broadcasting feed of television screens. These utilized all-new 2D animated skits (provided by DNA Productions) in conjunction with showings of original Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoons, screening alongside the animatronic and fountain shows. The project was spearheaded by Scott Wilson, who had been laid off by Showbiz Pizza Time, Inc. management in 1993. Wilson also took on the voice role for Bullwinkle once again, as well as Dudley Do-Right, for the animated skits. By the late 1990s, these feeds also incorporated contemporary music videos as intermissions for both Moosetronics and Fantasy Fountain segments.

Northwoods, Boomers! Parks, and reorganization

In 1998, a new store model known as the "Northwoods" design debuted at the now-defunct Bullwinkle's location in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Two more locations in Medford, New York, and Cary, North Carolina, opened in 1999 and 2000, respectively. Although there were a few permanent store closures throughout the early 1990s, Huish Family Fun Centers endured financial difficulties by the 2000s. To alleviate debts, Huish sold the Anaheim, El Cajon, Escondido, Fountain Valley, San Diego, and Upland Family Fun Centers (all of which also included Bullwinkle's Restaurants within them) plus the stand-alone Medford Bullwinkle's to Palace Entertainment, which is now owned by Herschend Family Entertainment. Palace rebranded them each to the Boomers! Parks brand. With the exception of Medford, all of the former Family Fun Centers immediately removed their Bullwinkle's theming and animatronics, with only the structural remains intact (the former Vista location houses a Johnny Rockets dining space in place of the former Bullwinkle's section). More stores closed later on, including Myrtle Beach in 2007 and Cary by 2010.

Entertainment

Video arcade

"Underdog's Mighty Metropolis" was the former theming of Bullwinkle's arcades, set in a nighttime cityscape after the titular ''Underdog'' series of cartoons. Arcade video games and redemption games have always been a staple of Bullwinkle's past and present, with Skee-Ball being one of the most popular options. As with many family entertainment centers of its kind, Bullwinkle's tickets can be redeemed later for merchandise, like candy and toys. The Santa Clara pilot store also had a small arcade subsection named the " Upsidasium Mine," (after the third storyline in ''Rocky and Bullwinkle's'' original series) which contained an assortment of kiddie rides for younger guests. "The Improbable Picture Palace" was a photo booth spot featuring Mr. Hector Peabody from the ''Peabody's Improbable History'' segments of ''Rocky and Bullwinkle''. After the 1991 merger with Huish Family Fun Centers, more attractions such as the Kidopolis indoor playground, Frog Hopper, Drop & Twist (Tukwila exclusive), laser tag, and XD Theater were gradually added to the roster. Starting in 2016 at Tukwila, bowling became the flagship attraction of the Bullwinkle's chain, and has been implemented in the three current locations by 2024. When the Huish family reacquired the Boomers! Upland location in 2021 and rebranded it to Bullwinkle's Entertainment, axe throwing was incorporated as an all-new attraction, exclusive to Upland.

Outdoor attractions

As Bullwinkle's became part of Huish Family Fun Centers, locations are equipped with outdoor activities at individual upcharges. These commonly include go-kart tracks, miniature golf courses, bumper boats, and batting cages. The Wilsonville location exclusively has an 800 foot two-way zipline ride at a speed of 25 miles per hour, plus a "Sky Trail" ropes course.

Store environment

The original exterior of stand-alone Bullwinkle's Family Food N' Fun restaurants are meant to emulate a Canadian Northwoods design, including character-themed totem poles. The theme of the main "Bullwinkle's Showroom" dining rooms revolved around a log cabin vibe inspired by the ''Dudley Do-Right'' cartoons, characterized by rustic lamps, "eye-catching" knick-knacks, and in-universe graffiti. Likewise, store employees formerly dressed as Canadian Mounties resembling that of Dudley. The Moosetronic animatronics and Fantasy Fountain Show were both located in this room with tiered "balcony" seating on the opposite wall. In the Santa Clara pilot store and likely some earlier stores, "Dudley's Den" offered a quieter dining experience compared to the main showroom. "Rocky's Trading Post" served as the restaurant's prize counter, selling merchandise of Jay Ward and Total Television characters, with some items exclusively made for the Bullwinkle's chain. The 1998 "Northwoods" store design was constructed with more open spaces than the previous Bullwinkle's locations, furnished with 2D mountains and trees, wooden logs and planks, as well as an exterior with a " Frostbite Falls" water tower surrounded by a stone waterfall, supplied by Myrtle Beach-base
Mozingo + Wallace Architects, LLC.
ref name=":4" />

Animatronics

Between 1983 and 2000, most "Moosetronic" stage shows consisted of Bullwinkle J. Moose (on banjo), Rocket "Rocky" J. Squirrel (on cello), Underdog (on saxophone), Dudley Do-Right (on the "Solar Symphonium" phonograph), as well as Boris and Natasha (typically depicted as wood-carvings on a totem pole above the center stage) in the main cast. Tooter Turtle (on drums) and Hoppity Hooper (on harmonica) were additional characters that mostly provided instrumentation during songs and rarely (in the case of Hoppity, not at all) spoke to the main cast. The original standardized arrangement with all of these characters was known as the "A-Show" on three stages, manufactured by AVG Technologies. Snidely Whiplash was a secondary animatronic located near the front of the restaurant instead of the main showroom within a themed jail cell named "Dudley Do-Right's Lock-up," programmed to short quips about lamenting his detainment situation and scheming revenge on Do-Right.

The final stage design with the "A-Show" cast was incorporated into the 1998 "Northwoods" store model, where all the characters (except for Tooter and Hoppity) were interspersed in a Mickey's Toontown-inspired atmosphere. Dudley Do-Right was appropriately placed inside a police station facade. Underdog was placed behind a set of doors meant to represent a billboard advertisement for Nell Fenwick's pies. Rocky and Bullwinkle were placed on a sliding platform that emerged behind large doors of a fire station, with Boris and Natasha above a projection screen marquee for the "moose club" (which played feeds of WYME TV skits, original ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'' cartoons, plus various contemporary music videos). This was also the final instance of the Fantasy Fountain Show's inclusion, as it would be phased out gradually along with (or before) the animatronic characters.

As more locations opened under the merged Family Fun Centers and Bullwinkle's Restaurants company, installations of this configuration decreased in favor of the "B-Show," which only included Rocky, Bullwinkle, Boris and Natasha (with Tooter Turtle appearing in the El Cajon installation of the "B-Show") on one stage. Three of these "B-Shows" consisted of pre-fabricated animatronics meant for the full "A-Show" configuration, leaving their corresponding Dudley Do-Rights and Underdogs left unused, even disassembled for spare parts. Initially, "B-Shows" did not perform any animatronic segments, and were only used to announce the Fantasy Fountain Shows or perform birthday songs. By the time WYME TV had been implemented, select songs from the "A-Show" that did not include or mention Dudley Do-Right, Underdog, Tooter Turtle, and Hoppity Hooper by name began to be used on the one-stage shows. The truncated setlist of songs for "B-Shows" continues to be used on the last operating Bullwinkle's animatronic stage in Tukwila, Washington (see below).

The last new Bullwinkle's animatronic stage was created in 1999 for the Tukwila, Washington location. An updated take on the "B-Show" configuration, this stage is themed after a movie theater box office, decorated with authentic film reels and cases, and multicolored crates and barrels in the mix. Unlike the previous "B-Show" design, there is a revolving turntable that acts as a substitute for the stage curtains, rotating right 180 degrees to reveal Rocky and Bullwinkle behind the box office facade (which itself is adorned with posters advertising the two "stars" as the shuttered window reads "closed" in the center). Boris and Natasha, by this point, like the Northwoods configuration, were no longer wood-carvings stacked on top of each other and were instead presented side by side in their accurate colors from the cartoons. This was the only Moosetronic stage built without the Fantasy Fountain Show in mind. All the animatronics at Tukwila, along with the Rocky, Bullwinkle, Boris and Natasha animatronics used for the Northwoods installations, were provided b
Dreamation
of Yucca Valley, California (the Northwoods Dudley Do-Right and Underdog animatronics were AVG-built, recycled from defunct locations). Dreamation replicated the mechanical designs of AVG's Moosetronic incarnations but redesigned the cosmetics to be more fur and fiberglass-based. It was also at this time that Bullwinkle gained a Wossamotta U red sweater instead of an orange colored coat with tan cuffs. Since 2019, Tukwila's stage has become the only surviving animatronics left at a Bullwinkle's location, as Wilsonville, Oregon's stage (an AVG "B-Show" with a few added Dreamation cosmetics) was removed and disassembled to make way for the modern Bullwinkle's Entertainment remodel. In current times, Tukwila's animatronics appear to only operate on a request basis instead of being automatically timed, a business decision that has similarly been made by Chuck E. Cheese's and their last remaining animatronic locations, likely as a means to reduce maintenance costs.

As of 2025, several animatronic characters from former Bullwinkle's locations have been preserved by fans in private collections. The prototype Hoppity Hooper from the Santa Clara, California store is in the possession of Kevin Grossman (known as
Pasq Animatronics
on YouTube and "pasqnotrook" on Instagram), albeit missing the harmonica and internal mechanisms. Kevin also owns a Dudley Do-Right animatronic from the defunct Federal Way, Washington store. The Dreamation Rocky and Bullwinkle animatronics from Medford, New York were rescued b
SPC Animatronics
Dudley Do-Right and Underdog, as well as Boris and Natasha, all from the Medford location, are owned by Aidan
Animatronic Hub
. Tommy
BedAndBreakfast
, who uploaded previously lost Bullwinkle's animatronic segments between 2021 and 2024, has saved an AVG Snidely Whiplash animatronic, which replaced the original prototype in Santa Clara. A Bullwinkle animatronic from the Federal Way store is also in Tommy's possession. The Federal Way Hoppity Hooper, Tooter Turtle, and Underdog animatronics are currently owned by George Flanagan
Briar Patch Productions
, with restoration work provided b
RensterCEC
and Caleb
Hounddog Productions
. A Dreamation Bullwinkle animatronic from the Cary, North Carolina store is also owned by George, along with a spare Dudley Do-Right animatronic that was found in the storage room of Santa Clara, California's location left unused.

Food

Menu items served at Bullwinkle's throughout the 1980s included "Bullwinkle's Famoose Pizza" (a deep-dish, double-crusted stuffed pizza), "Klondike Fried Chicken" (which had been a recurring item advertised in the Moosetronic segments, also inspiring Klondike Fried Chicken, a song performed by the animatronic characters), " Sweet Polly's Self-Serve Salad Sideboard" (a salad bar that additionally included salsa macaroni salad, fruit salad, and antipasto), "Dudley Do-Right's Done-Right Pizza" ( traditional thin-crust pizza), and "Underdog's Heroic Sandwiches." There were also "Desserts with Character" offered, such as " Rocky's Road" and " Bullwinkle Mousse."

Modern-day Bullwinkle's locations have revamped menus with items that vary from location to location, with none of the pre-made items from the 1980s still available, aside from the Motherlode pizza (which has been renamed to the Mother''load'') and the Garden Cache pizza (which has been renamed to the Veggie). The Upland, CA location received a new menu in line with their new additions in early 2025. Items exclusive to the Upland location include "The "Bad Guy" Boris Burger", "Bullwinkle's Smokestack Burger", and "The Moose & Squirrel Classic".

Locations

Current locations

Wilsonville, Oregon (29111 Town Center Loop W, Wilsonville, OR 97070) , Opened in 1994, renovated into Bullwinkle's Entertainment in 2019.

Tukwila, Washington (7300 Fun Center Way, Tukwila, WA 98188) , Opening as a Family Fun Center and Bullwinkle's Restaurant in 1999, it is currently the last remaining location with a public Bullwinkle's "Moosetronics" show as of 2019 (the Wilsonville animatronics were removed and disassembled following that store's remodel). There are currently plans in place to remodel the location in late 2025 or early 2026. Unlike previous remodels, this one will keep the "Moosetronics".

Upland, California (1500 W 7th St, Upland, CA 91786) , Originally opened in 1972 as one of the original Huish Family Fun Centers, with Bullwinkle's being added to the property in 1983. The location was sold to Palace Entertainment in 2001 and rebranded as a Boomers! Park. In 2021, the Huish family bought back the Upland property, reopening it as Bullwinkle's Entertainment. For 2025, the venue was renovated with bowling lanes, laser tag, bumper cars, virtual reality, escape rooms, and more arcade games, with said features officially debuting in early 2025. The original interior was replaced in favor of a design that closely reflects the Wilsonville store. Despite this, the 1980s cabin exterior has mostly remained intact but with coloring modifications.

Former locations

Santa Clara, California (777 Lawrence Expy, Santa Clara, CA 95051) , Opening on June 14, 1982, this was the first Bullwinkle's Family Food N' Fun restaurant constructed. As it was the pilot store, this housed the prototype "Moosetronics" show by The Only Animated Display & Design Company before it was updated with the finalized AVG Technologies "A-Show" shortly after. The location closed sometime in the 1990s, with its space currently divided up between an Anjappar Chettinad Restaurant, AoPS Academy, and DaVita Dialysis.

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (12910 Fort Rd NW, Edmonton, AB T5A 0W3, Canada) , Opening in 1983, this location was one of the first to debut the standardized store model with an AVG Technologies "Moosetronics A-Show" and store elements adapted from the Santa Clara pilot. It was also the first franchised location in Canada. The location closed in August 1994 as a result of declining sales, with an auction held on October 1st that year. Since then, its space has been occupied by a PartSource auto parts store.

Calgary, Alberta, Canada (9627 Macleod Trail, Calgary, AB T2J 0P6, Canada) , Opening on May 19, 1984, this store was the second franchise in Canada, following the same standardized store model as Edmonton with an AVG Technologies "Moosetronics A-Show." The location closed by 1990 and was slightly renovated to become a Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza, which operated from 1991 to 1994. The building now houses a Schanks Sports Grill, which retains the original Bullwinkle's cabin exterior to this day.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (1002 29th Ave N, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577) , Opening in 1998, it was the first Bullwinkle's to adopt the "Northwoods" architecture by Mozingo + Wallace Architects, LLC. The location closed by 2007, with store signage and animatronics said to have been relocated to the Tukwila Family Fun Center shortly after. The building then housed Mykonos, a Greek restaurant named after the island, from 2010 to 2012. After abandonment for several years, the building was finally converted into El Cerro Mexican Bar & Grill, which has continued to operate since 2018.

Medford, New York (655 Long Island Ave, Medford, NY 11763) , Opening in May 1999, this Bullwinkle's also adopted the "Northwoods" design, though was a mirrored layout to Myrtle Beach's, contained a carousel inside the restaurant, and included an outdoor section with bumper boats, go-karts, a mini golf course, and other attractions. An incident where a mini swing ride tipped over, injuring 9 people occurred in 2001, shortly before the location was sold to Palace Entertainment and rebranded as Boomers! Long Island. Despite the rebranding, the Bullwinkle's Northwoods theme remained, along with the "Moosetronics" show (speculated to have remained operational until the early 2010s). Boomers! Long Island closed for the season on September 29, 2019, and did not reopen the following year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The location's closure was silently made permanent, with several arcade games and amusement rides claimed to have been relocated elsewhere. The Bullwinkle's animatronic characters (and some "Northwoods" decor) were acquired in June 2021 by private collectors, with each restored to an operational status a year after the acquisitions.

Cary, North Carolina (1040 Buck Jones Rd, Raleigh, NC 27606) , Opening in 2000, this Bullwinkle's location was the third and final location to adopt the Northwoods design. The location became Cypress Manor in Fall 2011 before later becoming abandoned. As of January 2025, the building is being converted to serve as a gym for the nearby Thales Academy.

Additionally, there was a location in Richmond, Virginia. There were previously other locations in California, which include Anaheim, San Diego, El Cajon, Vista, Escondido, and Fountain Valley.

For international locations, there was also one location in Saudi Arabia.

Gallery

File:Bullwinkles Restaurant.JPG, Bullwinkle's Showroom with an AVG "B-Show" formerly at the Wilsonville, Oregon location (2007)

References

Further reading

"Bullwinkle's food, games chain debuts full-service variant"
''Nation's Restaurant News'', May 29, 2000.

"Bullwinkle's braces for growth as Straw Hat agreement nears"
''Nation's Restaurant News'', Sept 24, 1984 by Richard Martin.

External links

Welcome to Family Fun Center and Bullwinkle's Restaurant!International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions

{{The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends

The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends
Restaurants in Oregon
Restaurants in Washington (state)
Economy of the Northwestern United States
Regional restaurant chains in the United States
Pizza chains of the United States
Animatronic attractions
Theme restaurants
Amusement arcades
Amusement parks in Oregon

Amusement parks in Washington (state)
Restaurants established in 1982