Before Five Nights at Freddy's, ShowBiz Pizza Place animatronics seemed harmless.. until the doors closed

When I was a kid back in the '80s.. ShowBiz Pizza Place was a kid’s paradise. Pizza, games, and the Rock-afire Explosion band putting on a flawless mechanical show. For me, it was like my own little Disneyland way out west in 1980s Northern Colorado. The smells, the laughter, the arcade lights, it was pure magic. You can read why it was so important to me here in an old post from 2018.

During the day, everything seemed perfectly normal. The animatronics danced, sang, and entertained without a hitch. Kids laughed. Parents relaxed. And employees went about their jobs without a second thought.

But for the night shift, things were a little different. My brother had a friend named Rob who worked there and swore the animatronics “changed” after the doors were locked.

“They would jerk or move suddenly. One night, someone was cleaning the stage when Mitzi, the cheerleading mouse, flailed her arm and knocked him off his feet. Sent him flying about four feet across the floor stage”

It was not like the robots were ever dangerous during the day. They were active all day with no weirdness. But after close, the band had a presence. Employees said the robots looked different, like they were watching… waiting… aware of more than just the kids on the floor. The occassional twitching, hissing, or creaking kept everyone working late a little on edge.

I had my own brush with some of this creepiness. Once, I got brave enough to pull back the stage curtain after a show finished, just to see what was going on. That's when I locked eyes with Fatz, the big silverback gorilla. His gaze was fixed on me, and for a split second, it felt like a jolt to the system. My ten-year-old brain scrambled. I quickly shook it off and went back to calm myself with pizza and video games.

Even with that one eerie moment, ShowBiz Pizza Place was pure joy. It is why places like this.. a mix of fun, wonder, and just a touch of the unexplained, inspired Five Nights at Freddy’s. For me, though, it will always be my own little corner of childhood bliss.