I have always been a fan of “scary” TV and movies. I say scary because it's not full blown horror. Honestly unless its very obviously fake, I’m not a fan of realistic blood and gore type shows. I also tend to be like all other casual fans and watch these kind of shows around Halloween. However as many of you know, nostalgia tends to get the best of me, and out of nowhere I started watching my DVD set of the 90’s Nickelodeon classic, Are You Afraid Of The Dark?
Are You Afraid Of The Dark? was considered by many as a horror show designed for a younger audience. However don’t let that fool you, because after watching several episodes just the other day, I was impressed with how well they held up. Sure the majority of these shows are super cheesy and not really scary, and some aren’t even close to being horror. The real draw for me is how completely strange everything is in this show. The stories draw from classic horror themes as well as a ton of supernatural elements. There are some really memorable characters, with some making appearances in multiple episodes. A couple that come to mind would be Dr. Vink, who is a mad scientist of sorts. I also liked Mr. Sardo, who is very eccentric magician. There are also memorable stories such as when a boy is trapped in a mall that becomes a life size pinball machine.
The other awesome thing about these shows is that they scream 90’s! From the clothing styles and slang terms, to the the random product placement items, such as the original Gameboy. Are You Afraid Of The Dark was a staple on Nickelodeon’s Saturday night block of programming called SNICK, which featured shows aimed more towards a early teens crowd. Are You Afraid Of The Dark was always the final show of the block and ended at around 10pm. This was surely by design to try and give kids nightmares with impressions of the shows lingering in their minds as they went off to bed not long after. As I mentioned, the show wasn’t exactly scary or gory, but featured so many weird things. The weirdness of the show is what would make it a bit “scary.” This weirdness I’m referring to could also be compared to what exists in similar shows such as Beyond Belief and The Twilight Zone.
I would highly recommend seeking this show out. I have seen the show available on dvd here and there around the web. The website I purchased mine on is no longer in service. I assume they were shut down due to copyright reasons, because they had a lot of Nickelodeon shows available that weren’t available anywhere else. There are also several of the shows lurking around on YouTube. So go ahead and give these shows a view if you dare...or you can wait until closer to Halloween.
Do you have any memories of watching Are You Afraid Of The Dark? Please share them below in the comments. Also if you liked this article, as well as all the other content on the site, please spread the word on social media and consider Showing Your Support.
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I had written a while back about the Battlefield Mall in Springfield, Missouri. There were plenty of nostalgic memories brought back with it, and many readers reached out to me letting me know this. So I decided to share a few more memories from another Mall I enjoyed going to. While I did enjoy my times at the Factory Merchants Outlets in Branson, times at the Mall weren’t always the brightest. Not personally, but more so for the state of the businesses that occupied it.
Factory Merchants Mall opened in Branson, Missouri in 1988. While the sign and entrance way were clearly visible from “The Strip” (W 76 Country Blvd), the location was set back off the road a bit. Still this didn’t keep shoppers away, because as far back as I can remember this place was packed. While the “Red Roof Mall” might not have been as popular as the Battlefield Mall, it was a great place to go to kill time before a show, after a meal or in between trips to one of the many fun activities around town. It set on 32 acres and was a double decker mall, as well as many of the stores being double sided as well.
There were plenty of stores that came and went over time at the Factory Merchants Outlets. Many of these stores i could have cared less about, as most of my time spent there as a kid, I wanted nothing to do with stores that sold grown up things like shoes and kitchen accessories. By far my favorite place there was KB Toys. I would always find so many awesome things in there especially during the early 90’s. Despite only liking a couple of stores, Factory Merchants Outlets was always a staple stop on trips to Branson with my family.
I didn’t visit much during my teenage years, but made it back around 2006 for the first time in many years. The mall looked the same, but the crowd and many of the stores were gone. I was very curious as to what had happened. There were three more outlet malls that had since opened and I assumed it had shifted a lot of the crowds away from Factory Merchants. This was also near the time of a downturn in the economy, as well as people slowly beginning to order more merchandise online.
I tried to track down some info on what exactly happened, but couldn’t find much. From what I gathered it came down to dwindling crowds, businesses leaving, and Simon Property Group wanted out of the lease early, which was supposed to run until 2021. I believe the city of Branson know has control of the property now, and it was announced that the area would be converted into a baseball complex. Now I like baseball as much as the next person, but when I go to branson that's the last thing I would care about. Just another childhood casualty I guess. Luckily I was able to take some pictures, down a gallon of A&W Rootbeer and hit up KB Toys one last time before it closed for good. LONG LIVE THE RED ROOF MALL!
Do you have any memories of Factory Merchants Outlets? Please share below in the comments. Also if you liked this article, as well as all the other content on the site, please spread the word on social media and consider Showing Your Support.
Summer time is creeping up on us, and many people are headed out for vacations. This usually means a trip to a theme park, and one of my favorites of all time is Silver Dollar City. Silver Dollar City has some pretty good rides to offer. They might not be the biggest or fastest, but they will provide plenty of memories and have some of the best theming in the industry. SDC also is the king of water rides in my opinion. You can find other versions of the water rides SDC offers at other parks, but they are rarely themed well, and come across as cheap imitations. In this article I’ll be sharing a memory of a water ride that some loved and some hated, but was the biggest thing in the city for many years. As the title reads, I’m talking about the Wilderness Waterboggan.
The Wilderness Waterboggan debuted at Silver Dollar City in 1987. It is categorized by many as a log flume style ride, although I have always viewed it more as a water slide really. As I mentioned above, you could see the attraction from a far. Well technically you could really only see the tower/station and the first turn. The tower could even be seen from the road before you make the turn to enter the park. Once in the park, you could see the top of the tower, reaching above pretty much everything else in the park. The closer you got to it, the more frightening it got. The entrance to the tower was right underneath the first turn, and that's all you could see of the rest of the ride. As a small child this always freaked me out, as it was a turn into the unknown, and I was sure If I rode it, I would fly off of that first turn to my death.
After several years, I finally got enough courage to ride it in the early 90’s. The line for this thing was always long, so it usually took 45 minutes, which only made the fear set in more. About halfway up the tower, it splits off into two slides. At this point an attendant would weigh riders so that the toboggans weren’t overloaded. Once again this did nothing but make me more scared, as If the employees were afraid of overloading the boat, it was certain to be a deathride. Once at the top of the tower it was time to ride, but that was the last thing on my mind. It seemed like we were so high in the air. You could see a lot of the park, and could even see as far as the town of Branson West! I watched as others got in the toboggans and were sent off to death ahead of me. I just knew I was going to be the one to go flying off the side. Once on the toboggan, I was now more uncomfortable sitting that close to other strangers than I was about the ride. To this day that is the most uncomfortable I have ever been on a ride. Once my boat took off, it wasn’t too bad until we got to the tunnel. The rest of the ride was in a darkened tunnel with really sharp turns that would cause you to fly way up on the side. Of course at this point, I’m just expecting the boat to tip over and then I’m dead. The ride continued on twisting and turning in a darkened tunnel until finally coming out at the end, seeing daylight, and arriving.
I only rode this a couple more times growing up. After a break of not going to Silver Dollar City during my teenage years I finally went back around 2004. Since I hadn’t been in awhile I decided to try and ride every ride in the park at least once. So once again I found myself on the waterboggan. However I noticed after the first turn, there was no more tunnel. Apparently in 2003 completely overhauled the slides, and renamed the ride The Water Works Water Toboggan. You seem to now get wetter than before as well as losing the intrigue of having the tunnels.
The ride finally closed down somewhere around 2010. Honestly it really didn’t hurt my feelings too much as it really lost its intrigue for me when it was renovated. I have read and heard many reasons why it closed. Everything from cost of operations and injuries to room needed for expansion. You always hate to see things go that you grew up with, but sometimes it's best if they do and the Wilderness Waterboggan was one of those. To the best of my knowledge, the tower still stands to this day, but I'm sure it will come down in due time. below are some pictures taken during the deconstruction, and an on ride video. Enjoy!
Did you ever ride the Waterboggan? What memories do you have of it? Please leave your comments below. Also if you liked this article as well as all the other content on this site, consider Showing Your Support.
Those of us who remember visiting Discovery Zone will have a lifetime of fun memories. The colors, the noise, the fear of other kids leaving a variety of body excrement in the ball pit. Many people remember Discovery Zone as THE place to have your birthday parties. While I only visited Discovery Zone a handful of times during my childhood, and only one birthday party hosted there, I remember like it was yesterday all the fun I had!
Discovery Zone was a child's dream! Most of us used to love going to the Play Place at most of the McDonald’s locations around the country in the early 90’s. However the first McDonald's Play Place appeared in 1987. Discovery Zone debuted in 1990, and took the idea of McDonald's Play Place to a whole new level. Not only did Discovery Zone have the ball pits and tube tunnels like McDonald’s, but they were much bigger and better. DZ also had its own unique obstacles, which were always my favorite and some of my best memories are of those. Starting with the classic rolling slide. This thing featured a bunch of rollers placed together that would spin which carried you down. Sometimes it didn’t work right and would either get your leg skin caught in it, or if you tried to stand up on it, employees would yell at you to sit down as you then proceeded to fall.
My second favorite obstacle at DZ was the bungee cord jungle gym. Generally you would start at the bottom and climb your way to the top, which lead you into the tube tunnels. However i liked to climb to the top and then jump, rag dolling all the way to the bottom. Not safe at all, and not a smart decision, but hey that's what we did as kids!
I was also a massive fan of the zip line. The idea was to of course slide down and drop into padding below, just like we had seen on all the action movies and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and GI Joe cartoons. However, I would usually launch myself as hard as I could off the platform, and slam into the end wall. Why? I have no idea but it sure was fun!
Lastly was the ball pit pyramid. I remember this thing being a chore to climb to the top. Once at the top many would slide down. However me being me, I would usually try moonsaults(backflips) off the top of it trying to emulate some of my favorite high flying pro wrestlers I saw on TV.
Discovery Zone also had a selection of games you could play to win tickets, then spend those tickets on cheap, ripoff prizes. This was a big draw for the birthday parties, but like I said I can only remember going to one birthday party there. The one game I do remember them having strangely enough, is one where you would shoot these wooden balls out of a cannon and try to knock out a clown's teeth. Talk about wholesome family entertainment! I can also remember being with groups of friends and setting up timed races through the obstacles, no doubt inspired by some of our favorite game shows on Nickelodeon such as GUTS, Double Dare, Legends of the Hidden Temple, and Finders Keepers.
Sadly in 1995 the company behind Discovery Zone filed for bankruptcy., and officially closed in 1999. I tried to dig around the web, trying to find out what lead to this happening, as Discovery Zone was always packed! I didn’t come up with much, but it looks like it had something to do with a bunch of suits doing some shady stuff behind the scenes. That's usually the case when any of my favorite childhood locations goes out of business. Let not end this on a sad note though. Watch these videos and remember all the great times you had at DZ!
Do you remember going to Discover Zone? If so please share your thoughts and memories in the comments. If you liked this review and all the other content on this site, please spread the word on social media and consider Showing Your Support.
Continuing on my nostalgic amusement/theme park memories, I would like to share my memories of a ride that similar to the Orient Express, has a bit of a history. The ride was called Drachen Fire and was one of a kind, located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, in Williamsburg, Virginia. For me there was a lot of hype built up behind this ride. Drachen Fire was being talked about on tv (which you will see the video below), and then I find out years later I’m going to get to go ride it! Once we finally got into the park and I stood at the gates of Drachen Fire, everything changed.
Drachen Fire was built in 1992 by Arrow Dynamics (who also build the Orient Express). It was located in the Oktoberfest (Germany) area of the park. From what I gathered the theming and idea of the coaster centered around riding a dragon. Of course I thought this was awesome. At the time I really was into castles, knights, and pretty much anything else you could think of related to Dungeons and Dragons. This ride fit right in for me. They even had a grand opening for the ride with Knights! leading the way (see NOVA video below). I get the word we are taking a vacation to Virginia, and will be spending a day at Busch Gardens. I immediately start planning what rides I was going to get on. Just a few years before I remembered seeing a special on Drachen Fire on E! (Video Below), so I was fully prepared to conquer this ride of the dragon.
The year is 1999, and upon arriving in the park, my head was on a swivel due to the amount of attractions this place had. Sure some of it might not have been themed the best, but there were more rides than I had seen to this point. As we made our way through the park throughout the day, we would stop and ride anything that looked fun. Towards the end of the day we had made our way to the back of the park in Oktoberfest area. After an awesome ride on the much advertised coaster, “Big Bad Wolf,” I could see the towering blue structure that was Drachen Fire, and made my way to the entrance gate. It was at this point my dreams of conquering the beast were shot down.
The gate to Drachen Fire was locked shut. The ride was closed. I checked a couple more times throughout the day, hoping it was only closed for maintenance and would reopen. It did not reopen. In fact it never reopened again!
All these years later, and several of hours of research online, I discovered what had happened, which only fed my nostalgia and curiosity even more. The ride officially closed in 1998, meaning it only was open for 6 years!. The ride stood intact, but not operating until early 2002, when it was disassembled, parted out, and melted down. There were several contributing factors for the coaster closing from the research I have done. It suffered from several technical malfunctions from its opening day. It was also VERY ROUGH, which somewhat fell into place with some of the other Arrow Dynamics steel coasters of the time. Many also believe that Arrow somewhat forced the architecture of the ride without considering how rough the transitions would be. Some blame it on the location, because it was towards the back of the park and a somewhat tricky to find.
To this day the mystery, and intrigue of Drachen Fire is still talked about from coaster enthusiast around the world. Where the ride used to set is now Festhaus Park to the best of my knowledge, and is used for concerts, the park’s "Howl o'Scream" festival as well as misc. events. Drachen fire will always be known for it’s truly one of a kind wraparound corkscrew dive, its total of 6 inversions and its bright blue frame. It's just too bad I never got to ride it. Flame on in our memories Dragon!
Thanks for taking the time to read my article. Did you ever get to ride Drachen Fire, or Busch Gardens Williamsburg? Please share your thoughts below in the comments. If you enjoyed this article and all the other content on this site, please consider Showing Your Support.
As many of you who read my weekly articles may have noticed, I often attach strange places or things with nostalgic feelings. I know for a fact I’m not alone on this subject though, and that is rides and theme/amusement parks. This time around I will be specifically talking about The Orient Express roller coaster, which was located at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, MO. Maybe by the end of this reading, you may better understand my nostalgic attachment.
The Orient Express debuted in 1980, made by the now famous Arrow Dynamics company. The Express was the first coaster to introduce a “Kamikaze Curve.” It was also one of only two coaster to feature interlocking loops.
Now that a couple of the basic facts are out of the way, let's get on to my experience. The year was approximately 1990. I know this because I remember while in Kansas City for vacation Bo Jackson still played for the Royals, but was injured. Also at this time The Simpsons were one of the hottest things going. In fact as a side note, one of the midway games at Worlds of Fun that I spent who knows how much money on playing, had a Bart Simpson stuffed toy wearing a ninja costume(remember the ninja costume for later a reference). Upon pulling into the parking lot of Worlds of Fun for the first time that bright early morning, there stood the lift hill and drop of the Orient Express. It was the biggest most intimidating ride I had ever seen! Of course the only rides I had experienced even close to that big to this point was The American Plunge and Wilderness Waterboggan at Silver Dollar City. Yea talk about a BIG contrast there.
So anyway, Orient Express was located in the “Orient” section of the park which was one of the first areas you would walk into just past the entrance. Only second to Silver Dollar City at the time for me, this area is what made me fall in love with the “theme” aspect of rides. If the ride is themed well it can really sell you of what you are getting ready to ride, almost suspending disbelief. The Orient area of Worlds of Fun surrounding the Orient Express, had distinct colors and architecture to fit the theme. At the age of six or seven years old I truly felt I was in the orient. Also at this time for me, there was a major fascination with ninjas and martial arts. This only made the theming even more prevalent to me.
Then I saw it….the frightening, intimidating face hanging above the entrance way to the Orient Express. If memory serves correct, I had to be talked into getting on this thing, as I was scared to death! As I made my way to the ride things got even worse, walking over a small bridge, and seeing blue water underneath that, as well as portions of the track, which was greatly hidden with trees. I was sure this thing was going to derail and I would drown in this blue water! Music of the orient played lightly throughout your walk to certain death adding to the madness.
Once I was in the station I knew I was in for some trouble, as I noticed this ride had something I had never seen on any other ride in my life….A CHICKEN EXIT!
My mind was racing because if this ride has a chicken exit (the sign currently resides on the Timber Wolf), it must have killed people in the past. I was also enamored with all the artwork on the inside of the station.
Once on the ride, it was a blast and surprisingly the train didn’t derail, and I didn’t die by drowning in blue water. After immediately exiting the ride, I went straight to the gift shop to purchase an Orient Express shirt. They even had one with a ninja on it! Sadly they didn’t have my size, and I have never seen another one since, even online.
I would return to Worlds of Fun several more times growing up, and the Orient Express was always there, and always a blast. The theming also remained, and was just as awesome to me as it had been the first time I saw it. As I continued through school, life got busy with all sorts of things such as sports, jobs, etc. I haven’t been back to Worlds of Fun since 1998. Sadly I find out not long after graduating high school that the Orient Express took its final ride on its orangish-red track in 2003. Apparently my fears of the train derailing actually happened. That wasn't the only factor leading to its closing though. It is also a well known fact that steel coasters seem to have a shelf life and deteriorate over time, resulting in higher maintenance costs and a rougher ride experience. The ride was scrapped for it steel, never to be seen again.
Years went by and nostalgia started kicking in. I started finding old videos, pictures and history of the Orient Express, taking me back to the early 90’s and what a fun time I had. I also found out, to my surprise, that some remnents of the ride is still there! You can see some of the buildings near Spinning Dragons ride.
The original station and the first tunnel of the ride are also still there and being used for Worlds of Fun’s Halloween Haunt.
This was not only my first major coaster experience, but it opened the flood gate to my theme park obsession for the rest of my life, as well as conquering fear. I even went so far as to have that frightening, intimidating face that hung over the entrance, tattooed on the front of my leg. I will never forget my rides, anxiety, fear and memories of the Orient Express!
Please check out the videos below. The first one takes you through the entranceway, perfectly narrating what I felt as a kid walking into the ride. The video then features on ride clips, with some totally awesome music! The second video has some of the ACTUAL music used at Worlds of fun. Skip to the 11:20 mark where the orient music plays. This was the music playing in the general area, but at the 20:40 mark starts the Orient Express music played as you made your way into the ride, as well as some more great pictures. I hope you guys can enjoy this these as much as i did!
Thank you for taking the time to read my article. What memories do you have of the Orient Express or Worlds of Fun in general? Let me know in the comments below. Also if you enjoyed this article, please consider Showing Your Support.
Remember back in the day when shopping malls were a thing? Yea...Me too. The United states was, littered with all kinds of shopping malls. Sure they are still around today, but they don’t seem as prevalent. The ability to buy just about anything you want online without fighting traffic and parking spaces, as well as economics killed of the majority of malls. I remember being able to head to a mall on any given weekend with very little money and have fun. Most malls had something to offer every member of the family. The mall I remember the most is the Battlefield Mall in Springfield, Missouri.
The Battlefield Mall is still in existence, saying it is a shell of its former self is an understatement. I literally can’t even remember the last time I went there. I do remember whenever that was, I found very little to interest me, and convince me to come back. Over priced clothes, people with rich snob attitudes, and nothing that appeared to actually represent fun. Some say I’m stuck in the past, but after reaching out to some people on social media, I found out I wasn’t the only one that that appreciated the Battlefield Mall’s past.
In the 1980’s through the early 2000’s the Battlefield Mall was an awesome place! So many awesome stores and memories. I remember first falling in love with music in Famous Barr. I would sit in my stroller while my family shopped. I was glued to the monitors they had throughout the store playing music videos. Who could forget those nasty tile floors that always seemed to be sticky. Also growing up I remember fantastic stores such as Kay-Bee Toys, Circus World, Aladdin's Castle, Shanncey’s Ice Cream. I would frequent these stores throughout my life until they started going out of business. Waldenbook is where I would stock up on Goosebumps books and wrestling magazines. Field of Dreams, Karl’s Pets, and the Disney Store were also places I made a point to visit each time I was at the Battlefield Mall.
As I progressed to teenage years other stores became more important. Several of my friends on Facebook reached out to me to share what they loved about the Battlefield Mall.
“Oh man. I used to sneak off to Camelot Music and buy metal when I was like 13...I had to hide it from my dad because he thought it was "evil." - Dan Evans “There was one year in the late 80s where a rock t shirt place called Rebel Metals had a kiosk in there. Spent countless hours and money there. You could find any shirt from any band in there.” - Steve Allington “Gadzooks was the best place to buy your Jencos, offensive shirts and anything with flames on it. Haha I use to love that place.” - Robbie Davis “I lived 100 miles away from Battlefield Mall so it was the coolest place in the world to me circa 1995-2002. My older cousin was a raver on the west coast and I felt so cool buying clothes in Gadzooks that looked like what she wore. Also--my first tie-dyed shirt was purchased at a kiosk at the mall where they did it for you while you waited and it was amazing. Orange, yellow and pink and I had a pair of pink short overalls I wore with them. I was probably 8 at that time. Pre Gadzooks for sure.” - Jessamyn Orchard “There was that T shirt factory place as well. They had these spinning things that you tacked a shirt to and then you dropped puffy paints on the shirt, while it was spinning. You were left with a tacky shirt with a giant splat on it.” - Willie Wardlaw
I also was a huge fan of Gadzooks and Camelot! Also around this time I frequented BOTH of the movie theaters (Yes the Battlefield Mall used to have two decent movie theaters),FYE, Music Land and of course all the awesome eateries they had. There was so much to offer. I remembering always going to Piccadilly Cafeteria, Orange Julius, Morrow’s Nut House and Mr. Bulky’s.
The Battlefield Mall will never be the same as it once was. Sure some of these stores I listed are still there, but for whatever reason they don’t have the same magic feeling they once had when you went in them. What the Battlefield Mall did give me though is a fun time growing up, plenty of cool merchandise, and a lifetime of memories! On a side note I was told that when the mall first opened they actually had Civil War artifacts on display, found while digging on the property. Maybe if they brought those back I would have a reason to go again. I will leave you with an awesome video I found of a couple of dudes having some fun at the Battlefield Mall in the late 80’s. Thanks for taking a trip down memory lane with me! - Zhan
What are some of your memories of the Battlefield Mall? Please share your thoughts below in the comment section. If you liked this review and all the other content on this site, please spread the word on social media and consider Showing Your Support.
Nasty, disgusting, pointless? These may be some words to describe Madballs, the gross toys that spawned from the 80’s. I only had a few of these growing up, but they were always something that was very intriguing to me. Sure most kids like to go out and toss around a football or play catch with a baseball, but what were you supposed to do with these things? Maybe that wasn’t the point. Maybe, just maybe the idea was to own a grotesque piece of history to gross out your friends and family.
Believe it or not Madballs were created by the same company as Care Bears, and was looking to capitalize of the hugely successful Garbage Pail Kids as well as Wacky Packages. Madballs were about the size of a softball and were made of a hard rubber material. They featured numerous gross and scary features that varied from each one released. Things such as oozing brain matter and bulging eyeballs, to more classic scary images like a mummy, skeleton and werewolf. I remember using mine for more of a display piece than a toy, just because they looked so gross. The more I think about it, the more I think that was the whole idea.
Surprisingly the company continued to push the boundaries of what could be done with the Madball franchise. There were a total of two series of regular Madballs, but there were also a series of spin offs, such as Super Madballs and Head Popping Madballs. They also went into different forms of media such as a comic book series, home computer games, and two animated home video releases. Of course there were some other companies that tried to rip off the concept of the Madballs, but they didn’t fare well to the best of my knowledge.
With people my age, looking for nostalgia, Madballs have made somewhat of a comeback. I guess there is a new company that revived the series in the late 2000’s that I was unaware of. There has also been a surge in the art style with many redoes, variations, and tributes popping up all over the internet. I haven’t owned any Madballs since childhood, but plan to buy at least one in the future. While I don’t have any of the toys, I do have tattoos of Horn Head and Freaky Fullback.
You still have to ask what the point of Madballs are? Play catch with them like any other type of ball? Throw them at your friends? Just being gross and a cool thing to have?...Yup that's it! Sometimes toys are just awesome even if they don’t have a true purpose. I mean come on, who wouldn’t want a disgusting looking cyclops or skull sitting on your desk or bookshelf? Did you have these growing up or do you still have them? Share your memories in the comments below. If you liked this article or any of the other content on this site please consider Showing Your Support so I can keep the site up and content coming! Until next time C YA!
If you grew up anytime from the 70’s through the 90’s there is no doubt you were involved with arcades in some fashion. Maybe you were a casual player, dropping some quarters at the laundromat, convenience store, or at some random restaurant. Other were addicted, spending hours at a time playing while bringing rolls of quarters and spreading them out between the glass screen and control panel. Either way there was something very special about arcades growing up, but there was one specific place that i would still say is the best arcade of all time and that is Aladdin’s Castle.
Gamers born too late to experience the era of arcade madness, this article you may not be able to comprehend the importance of Aladdin’s Castle, but I will do my best to convince you why arcades and Aladdin’s Castle were so important for many of us. Aladdin’s Castle was a chain of arcades throughout the country. However I can’t recall ever going to any besides the one in Springfield, MO located inside the Battlefield Mall. The place was massive, covering an entire corner of the mall near the food court. The location was a bit of a tunnel which added another cool element. It had two entrances, one on each end of the food court, and wrapped behind several stores and food court restaurants. As you got closer to the arcade’s location you could hear all the sounds coming from the place. Not to mention all the visuals, a kid could not resist going in, if not just to walk through. Obviously though we wanted to play these awesome looking games, and boy did Aladdin’s Castle ever have them. Sure, some of us had the Nintendo and Sega game consoles as home, but at the time many of these games could only be played in the arcades.
While the location was huge, they packed it full of machines. They crammed machines of various shapes and sizes into every nook and cranny they could find. They also had their own currency system. You had to exchange cash for Aladdin’s Castle tokens, which was an interesting idea. The variety of games they had was astounding to me! You could play classics, new releases and those money grabbing ticket machines. As a side note it seems like the games that give you tickets would only give you enough tickets to buy a plastic frog from the prize counter. Speaking of the prize counter, they sure knew how to sucker you into to thinking you could actually win the big prizes like a Sega Genesis System, or a GI Joe play set. Just look at these two employees. They know they are ripping you off and they also know you LOVE IT!
Back to the regular games, I can remember having my first experiences with arcade games at Aladdin’s Castle that would go onto be some of my favorite games of all time (even if they are considered bad games now). Games such as Operation Wolf, WWF Wrestlefest, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game, and last but not least Bozo’s Grand Prize Game.
As with most of the other awesome places in the Battlefield Mall, Aladdin’s Castle closed in the late 90’s/early 2000’s along with Circus World, KB Toys just to name a few. Arcades now are few and far between. Sure we have some ok stuff at these massive kids places like Incredible Pizza, but to me they are mostly gimmicks. Whether you remember Aladdin's Castle, or were too young to experience how great it was, check out the videos below to take a trip back in time when Arcade games mattered. Please share any memories you have about Aladdin’s Castle in the comments below, and if you like the content I have been putting out on this site, please consider Showing Your Support. C YA!
Who doesn’t love pizza? One of my favorite places to go eat pizza growing up was Mr. Gatti’s. While this franchise still exists, it no longer exists in Springfield, MO which is where I would frequent them. Now i’m sure you are asking yourself, why the heck am I writing about a pizza joint. Mr. Gatti’s was not just any pizza joint, it was a special one of a kind pizza joint for the time.
I’m not sure the exact year they opened, but I remember eating there throughout the 90’s. This was primarily a pizza buffet. In fact i don’t recall them even having a menu. This seemed like one of the only Pizza buffets around. Several others would offer it a few years later, but Gatti’s was the first that i knew of. From what I can remember the pizza was pretty good. I remember the slices being very small. I assume this was so people could get a variety of types of pizza from the buffet. That being said I remember people would always have eating contests there, because you could put away so many slices it would seem like a giant feat. The most i can remember eating was 18 slices. This probably equated to the size of a medium pizza nowadays. The best thing they had though was their cinnamon bread and dessert pizza. To this day, I have yet to try anything close to the chocolate chip pizza they offered.
Mr Gatti’s was also the first place I can remember having big screens to watch while you were eating. There were projectors onto a wall and each restaurant always had two different rooms with two different screens going. One typically had sports on while the other would have something for kids such as cartoons or Nickelodeon. They also had a few games at the location on Battlefield. Now this location had a full game room with some great arcade games.
They opened a second location in Springfield but I can’t recall the address. It seems like it was on East Sunshine somewhere. Seems like it replaced Bombay Bicycle Club, Which the building can be seen here.
Sadly both locations closed at some point in the late 90’s or early 2000’s. While the details are a bit sketchy here is a link for more information on the situation. Here is a picture of the old building Mr. Gattis was in, which is now apparently Eyeglass World.
A few years back I got super excited when I saw a Mr. Gatti’s on vacation in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
However looking at the size of the building and the color scheme, I knew it couldn’t be the same, and was guessing it was more like the current Incredible Pizza Company located in Springfield, which focused more on games, gimmicks and stuff for kids/family fun. After doing some research my guess was right. While the Mr. Gattis franchise will continue on, it no longer is what it used to be and there aren't any located anywhere close to me now. Mr Gatti’s will forever hold a nostalgic place in my mind for having awesome dessert pizza, and just a fun family place to eat at. Do you remember Mr. Gatti's? If so please share your memories and if you like the content on this site, please consider Showing Your Support. C YA!
The 80’s and 90s were a pure goldmine for toy lines. Many toy lines were often forgotten due to the sheer amount that was released. I feel like Supernaturals is one of those lines. While I only had a handful of these, I feel they are an important part of the 80’s toy line history.
Produced by Tonka in 1986, Supernaturals used an almost medieval warrior theme, which never gets old to this day. They would add some variety within this genre though featuring such characters as a Viking, Native American, Pirate and an egyptian themed snake charmer. Each figure would come with some sort of weapon and a shield. There were also a smaller set of figures which featured the “Ghostlings.” These were all shaped like small hooded figures but were mainly all the same. The key selling point and what made Supernaturals stand out where the holograms. Each figure had a chest piece hologram as well as one on their shield. These holograms would have two different images depending how they were turned. This technically would “Unleash the hologram power!” This was by far the coolest part of the toy, and I still think they are cool to this day. The holograms were fairly new to us at this time, but were also done very well. Just check out the details in this picture!
Around the same time of the Supernaturals came Visionaries, which seem to be a lot more popular among kids and toy collectors alike. This may have been because the Visionaries figured not only had holograms, but also were about the same size as GI Joes and had more articulation. Here is a picture of a Visionaries figure.
Here is a Supernaturals and Visionaries figure side by side. You can see some similarities.
If memory serves correct, only one line of these toys was produced, yet it seemed like there was a good variety. There were a few vehicles and play sets released, but it wasn’t until doing further research in the internet age that I discovered them. Supernaturals are a very underrated toy line, and anyone that collects toys or 80’s pop culture items should try and pick up at least one of these at some point to add to your collection. Did you have these toys or remember them? Share your thoughts below and if you like these articles consider supporting the site. Until the article C YA!
Well...we are fresh off of an exciting Wrestlemania weekend, which included a fantastic NXT event, an emotional Hall of Fame ceremony, and of course Wrestlemania. Some people loved it, some hated it, and somewhere in the middle. One thing about pro wrestling fans that you will find is that they are one of the most passionate fan basis of any form of entertainment in existence. That being said I witnessed the negative side of that after the Wrestlemania weekend fall out. This was not only from within the wrestling community, but from “outsiders.” People that don’t understand our love for wrestling, people that say “it’s that fake fighting stuff,” and people who simply need to take a look in the mirror and look at what entertainment they are into before casting stones.
First off I’ll address the famous “Fake” comments. Is it fake? NO! Wrestlers put their bodies on the line night in and night out to perform for our entertainment. Is wrestling predetermined? Yes! But you know what else is predetermined? Popular shows such as Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. Those shows ALSO contain “Fake” fighting, not to mention killing. The mass majority who don’t understand wrestling also like to make fun of those that discuss passionately about aspects of wrestling of it in depth. Things such as storylines, wrestlers that fans want to win and lose, and everything else that should happen every week on tv. You know who else does these things? Fans of popular shows such as Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. It seems my social media feeds are always full of people talking about results of those shows as well as reality tv and sports. And everyone has the right to do that! Even though i’m not a fan of some of those things, it’s cool to see people passionate about what they dig. Bottom line is that everyone needs to not only have more respect for others opinions, but realize what every form of entertainment you are into is the EXACT same as being a fan of pro wrestling. If you like Game Thrones, My Little Pony, The Dallas Cowboys, etc, and you feel like being vocal about it, go for it! Just realize you are in the exact same boat as wrestling fans saying Roman Reigns sucks, or that WWE should book better matches. You must realize that you being a fan of Zombies, Dragons and midgets, Vampires, staged auto tune singing contests or misc sports involving some sort of ball and points are in the same realm of wrestling. So the next time you see or hear people talking about wrestling,just remember to support what you love instead of wasting time bashing what you hate. C YA! In the last entry of “What’s on my mind?” I talked about nostalgia and things that bring back memories. One thing that ALWAYS brings good memories back for me are toys and pop culture items from my childhood. Many times I’m reminded of such items scouring through many of the retro social media accounts that i keep up with. This time around, I was reminded of a classic 80’s toy that somehow slipped through the cracks for most people. Like anything I’m into or intrigued by, I started digging around on the google machine trying to find out all about this toy line. Sadly I discovered there is very little history and info about these fine military toys known as Flying Fighters.
Produced by Hasbro in the late 80’s these toys consisted of a set of military fighter jets. To my knowledge there were at least four different models to collect and battle with. These weren’t just any jets though, as they came with electronic sounds, and a joystick attachment where you could actually fly them around in your own imagination! They also came with some sweet stickers and a unique squadron patch. Of course these HAD to be used in my GI Joe battles even though they weren't even close the the same scale. Flying Fighters also came with plastic missiles that surprisingly could interchange with some GI Joe vehicle missiles. I owned the F-14 Tomcat (Pictured above) and man did I ever get the good out of it. I played with it so much it literally started falling apart from “battle damage.” Sadly though, this was the only one I ever owned to this day. It seemed like this toy line didn’t last long, and I'm trying to figure out why. Military toys have always been popular with boys,yet none of my friends ever owned any to the best of my knowledge. As mentioned earlier Flying Fighters were produced by Hasbro which had huge success with other toy lines such as Easy Bake Oven, My Little Pony, and most notably Transformers and GI Joe. In my opinion Flying Fighters didn’t appear on many kids radars at the time because the market was simply flooded with licensed toy lines. The 80s and 90s were truly toy ADD for most of us. There were just so many good toys from a variety of genres, it was hard to just settle on even a few. All that being said I’m glad to have the opportunity to shed some light on Flying Fighters toy line. May this blog entry spawn others to put out more information about it on the world wide web for us nostalgia enthusiasts. Do you remember these or have any other memories of military vintage toys? If so leave a comment, and if you like the "What's on my mind?" series consider showing your support. Until next time C YA! I just spent the past two hours down the YouTube rabbit hole. We all know that is easy to do from time to time. This time around i found myself watching what on the surface seemed so random. Some of the stuff I was watching included urban exploration videos from abandoned theme parks and malls, as well as old commercials and promotional material for numerous video games, toy lines and random stores and restaurants. No I wasn’t planning a vacation or making a list of stuff to buy. All of these things I was watching was stirring emotions. The joys of a child, combine with the sadness of seeing things you love destroyed and growing up. Finally I started piecing together why I was watching all of these things. NOSTALGIA! While some say you can’t live in the past I strongly disagree. Some would even argue that if you enjoy reminiscing about the past, you can never move forward as a person. Some may even say it’s time to grow up. Well if remembering the joys of an old theme park, or how awesome it was to buy wrestling figures, GI Joes and play various Nintendo games all night is a bad thing then I don’t want to live!
Lets face it, being an adult sucks on so many levels. I would much rather go back to the days when responsibilities were few and far between, and the most important decisions made were deciding between the latest video game release, or bolstering your action figure armies for a future epic battle. This is what nostalgia does for me. It brings joy ( and sometimes sadness) to an otherwise mundane life as an adult with responsibilities. Society has started to become a little more acceptable in the last few years to the “nerd” culture, but we are still looked down upon by most and told “You need to grow up.” However nothing will ever be able to replace nostalgia. While nostalgia means, and is represented by many different things for many different people, I would like to share some of my nostalgic memories/items and why they take me back. I mentioned awhile back about how much I loved Nickelodeon growing up, so you already know how I feel about that. Watching old pro wrestling, and buying wrestling figures takes me back to my earliest memories or entertainment. Old theme park footage, KB Toys commercials, and old videos from Aladdin's Castle arcade take me back to a better more simple time of pure fun. There is so much to talk about these topics individually that they warrant future entries of “What's on my mind?” Until then I will continue to enjoy memories from the past things that I enjoyed, and I encourage you to do the same. Leave your comments of what nostalgia means to you? Also if you like these articles I continue putting out, please consider checking out the “Show Your Support” section of the website. Until next time… C YA! While I rarely speak or write about politics, I really felt the need to get this out there. And Yes of course this title isn’t written properly, but it's what I think of when I see groups of people talking about politics. More so, it's what i want to say to them butting into their heated conversation. I say heated because thats what ive seen lately. The 2016 election season is upon us, and people are showing their true colors. No i'm not talking about the red republicans or the blue democrats, i'm talking hatred, racism and not having any common sense. For me I've never understood any of this nonsense. I must first say I am not taking any political side here as to me they are all a farce anyway. They RARELY do anything they promise, and depending on the state you live in, your vote may not really count anyway regardless of what some may say (Do your research). In fact there have only been two candidates EVER that I have agreed with on the majority of their stances. I won’t spend anymore time going down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole of why I think presidential elections are a waste of time, but rather look at them on a smaller level. The level of humanity. Politics and religion are two things that always show people's worst sides. No matter what you stand for or what candidate you endorse, YOU ARE WRONG! Well not to me, but according to social media you are. In the past two weeks I have seen extreme levels of racism, hatred and violence not only threatened on social media but in front of my eyes In national media outlets. It's amazing to me that people have the time and energy to waste disagreeing with others like this. I personally could care less what anyone else thinks about pretty much anything. Let alone political issues that for the most part are out of your control. I’ve always enjoyed the statement,” Promote what you love instead of bashing what you hate.” Seriously, why would ANYONE rather sit on social media or sitting at the dinner table, arguing with others instead of playing games, watching a movie, or jamming to some tunes. What is my advice? Ignore all of it and find something fun to do! Don’t get online or check your social media accounts as much. How about trying to spend more time doing activities you truly enjoy? Things that make you feel good. Things that are just plain fun! Our time on this planet is short, so enjoy it while you can. I think everyone should stay informed about what's going on from the world issues all the way down to your local level. However just because someone has a different opinion than you doesn’t mean you should hate them. Friendships and family members getting torn apart over opinions is nonsense. So no matter if you are a supporting Hillary, Trump, Sanders, Cthulhu, or the Armageddon in the 2016 presidential election, just try to keep a level head, stop hating everyone, and just try to enjoy your life.
I often catch a lot of flack for being a pro wrestling fan, but i’m ok with that. People constantly hit me with the same barrage of wrestling being fake and pre determined. OF COURSE IT IS!!!!!!! You know what else is fake and predetermined?.... Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and many other popular forms of entertainment yet nobody questions those. I could rant about this forever, but let's get back on track here. Pro wrestling can be enjoyed for many different reasons. Some watch for the action, the violence and the story lines. Others love it because of the larger than life characters. However there is another reason to love this great “sport” and that's for comedy purposes. The most unintentional form of comedy to me are wrestling jobbers. For those of you who don’t know what a jobber is, it's basically wrestlers brought in to lose to bigger name wrestlers and make them look good. Jobbers aren’t really used in the current wrestling landscape, but they were a staple up until the late 90’s. They tend to either look like super boring non athletes, or are saddled with horrible gimmicks.They usually have a boring or strange name to match the look as well. This to me is pure comedy, and a very key part of making wrestling entertaining. While there are too many jobbers to count, here are my favorite five jobbers that appeared in the WWE (WWF), in no particular order.
The Goon
In the early to mid 90’s, the WWF was all about crazy outlandish cartoon characters, and The Good fit the bill 100 percent. He was billed as a hockey player who was "kicked out of every league he ever participated in." He even had ice skate shaped boots and a sweet hockey music entrance theme. Needless to say he was awful and was primarily a jobber. The gimmick didn’t last long though and he was gone within a few months. It wasn’t until years later I found out The Goon was actually “Wild” Bill Irwin, half of the the tag team The Long Riders, who I was familiar with from 1980’s AWA shows.
Barry Horowitz
Just look at this guy! Who wouldn’t love to watch and laugh at a guy with a curly mullet, who literally give himself a pat on the back as his gimmick. I first remember seeing “Bad” Barry in the WWF, but he would later become just as famous of a jobber in WCW. Every now and then Horowitz would somehow sneak out a win on an even lower level jobber. This was usually seen on Saturday or Sunday morning programming. That alone should tell you how bad the WWF was in the mid 90’s. Regardless, I will never forget Mr. Horowitz and watching him pat himself on the back.
Terry Gibbs
Of all the jobbers I’ve seen in my life, Terry Gibbs is the one I remember most, as he seemed to be one of the most used jobbers on tv. Not to mention he had a boring name, boring ring gear, and looked like someone's dad just trying to earn a paycheck. Although I’m sure he earned at least a few victories, I don’t recall him ever winning a match on tv. The poor guy also had to take on the Ultimate Warrior in the warriors debut match for the WWF. Talk about a tough job. Regardless, Gibbs seemed to stick around on TV for several years. I can only think that's because people either enjoyed laughing at him, or he truly was someone's dad trying to relive his glory days.
Brooklyn Brawler
The Brawler is probably one of the most well known jobbers in the history or professional wrestling. He always looked like he was literally brought in off the streets, and thrown in the ring. His attire and presentation made him seem like a guy that would always start fights in a sleazy bar of some sort. Now i DO remember the brawler picking up a few wins here and there. He was used in the 2000’s on WWE tv to take on big names. He even beat Triple H in a match! The gimmick was great as he competed for the WWF sporadically up until 2013. Brawler would also go onto perform under other jobber gimmicks such as Abe “Knuckleball” Schwartz, Kim Chee and fake Doink the Clown.
Barry Hardy
Barry Hardy isn’t as well known as some of the other jobbers, but I distinctly remember him because of his look. One can’t deny the awesomeness of the black and white skunk looking mullet Hardy rocked. Add to that a sweet fu manchu and the sweet neon and black striped singlets and you have a winning combination for a 90’s jobber. I can’t say i remember many standout matches from Hardy, and I know he had some success on the independent circuit. He will forever stand out to me though as looking like the cliche late 80’s/mid to early 90’s pro wrestler.
It doesn’t happen to me too often, but every now and then I just want to set down and watch something on TV. It could be a movie, tv series, or some good ol’ fashion pro rasslin! Also with few exceptions, most things I like to watch are older. When I say older I mean anything from the 1980’s through the early 2000’s. Some may say it’s just because I’m a sucker for nostalgia (which is 100% a fact), while others would argue i’ve just turned into a “Get off my lawn” old man. Could it be that entertainment from the past was simply better? In my opinion I think all the above is a good answer. There is just something about going back and watching the things you watched growing up. Not only the memories, but the simplicity of programming and storytelling. Besides watching Hulk Hogan beat up jobbers, I probably spent the most time watching Nickelodeon.
Yes this channel still exists but it is a shell of its former self. In fact I couldn’t even tell you what programs they offer at this time, but I can tell you the last time I tried to watch, it left a lot to be desired. Back in the 80’s and 90’s it was probably the most popular channel in existence for kids. They offered a wide variety of programming for all ages. For small children they offered Nick Jr which was a block of programming with easy to understand animated shows as well as educational shows. Despite being a bit older than what the programming was designed for I was always a fan of shows like Curious George, Fred Penner’s Place, The Elephant Show, Eureeka’s Castle, Gullah Gullah Island and Pinwheel. Nickelodeon also had some great original programming such as Mr. Wizard’s World, All That, Weinerville just to name a few. Great animated shows like Doug, Rocko’s Modern Life, Ren and Stimpy and Rugrats. Nickelodeon also had great gameshows that you would end up either wanting to be on, or creating them in your own backyard. Shows such as GUTS, Double Dare, Nick Arcade, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Wild and Crazy Kids and Finders Keepers. What i would consider my favorites however are the many live action comedy and drama shows classic Nickelodeon offered. Are You Afraid of the Dark, Hey Dude, Salute Your Shorts, The Adventures of Pete & Pete,Clarissa Explains it All and My Brother and Me. They also offered up cool blocks of programming that I always felt were can’t miss tv such as SNICK and Nick in the Afternoon. Wow! That was a lot of shows to list out and a trip down memory lane for me and hopefully for you as well. In the future “What’s On My Mind” columns, I will pick shows and go into more detail about them. Many of these shows (along with more that I failed to mention for whatever reason) can be found with a quick YouTube search. Some of these shows even made it to DVD sets which you can buy from numerous online retailers. So if you are unfamiliar with some of these shows, I highly recommend seeking some of them out instead of watching another reality show or uninspiring movie that got all the media hype. In the meantime, leave comments on what your favorite shows were from classic nickelodeon and why? Also check out the "show your support" section of the website. NOW GET OFF MY LAWN!
Howdy Partners! Let's raise and rope broncos. Well not really but if you remember that from the movie Wayne's World, then you have come to the right place. If you are unfamiliar with what i'm talking about here is the clip:
Welcome to my site, and my first blog entry for it. In the past I had worked for and inquired about working for numerous sites for writing positions. I would then usually end up leaving or not getting future jobs because of different reasons. First being from a creative standpoint. I’m also obviously a creative type, always thinking of how to come up with new projects or new ways to present the subjects i’m passionate about. Sites would want things done or written a certain way from a template, or formulaic standpoint, which I could be ok with, but eventually would lose interest. It was usually due to creative boredom within the genre I was working with. Another issue i ran into was sites not paying the writers. Some sites pay well, and some promise pay and never come through. Look i understand that online content has been devalued over time, and I never got into writing to get rich. I also understand that as a business owner you have to look out for your own interests and product. However after paying my dues, I wanted at least some kind of compensation for my work. One specific example is when i asked a site owner for a guarantee of just $1 per month to continue writing. He said no.
Even though I am not writing for a major site, or getting paid to do so (which you could help me out with that here), I still had the passion to write. So I decided it was time to put the thoughts to paper..err digital space, however i see fit! Here I am! I may not be the best writer and my grammar may not be perfect, but sometimes it's just more important to get thoughts out and posted. I hope to get one of these out each week, covering different topics that maybe some of you are unfamiliar with. It will be a learning experience for all of us! Just like learning how Darkthrone early recordings sound like pizza box drums and chainsaw guitars. C yA! |
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