Family Fun Center Reduced to Rubble
June 28th, 2006As a child I remember returning home from long trips to Utah and getting excited seeing the dragons on hole 19 off to the right of the freeway heading into town. They always let me know that we were almost home. The Family Fun Center in Escondido is no more. A secondary casualty was the Chuck E. Cheese’s next door. Both of these locations provided me hours of entertainment and enjoyment including a few birthday parties.
I can’t exactly say that I’m surprised to see them go. This part of town has been steadily going downhill for years. Part of this demolition project included what used to be a K-Mart. It was the worst K-Mart in the country though when it finally closed. Twenty years ago it was a much nicer place. There was a restaurant inside and you could buy ice cream cones and Slush Puppies and all sorts of things, but over time it grew worse and worse. I went in there once looking for an obscure toy and the aisles were strewn with discarded merchandise. I am assuming that this was the building that was slated for demolition, but that the new occupants wanted more space so they bought up the Family Fun Center next door for the extra space.
No more bumper boats, no more “maze craze,” and no more miniature golf. Family Fun Center, you will be missed.
When I looked at this picture after getting home I thought it kind of looked like they might be replacing the Family Fun Center with a miniature version of Disneyland with the Matterhorn being constructed first, but alas, I must deal with the sad truth that a Lowe’s Home Improvement store is building there instead.
June 29th, 2006 at 4:03 pm
Wow, Escondido is officially lame. First they demolished the Vineyard movie theater to make room for Albertsons. Then it was the sombrero slide and dangerous merry go round at Kit Carson Park. Now they are tearing down the Family Fun Center and Chuck E Cheeses to put in the third home improvement warehouse in the city? Good decision! I suppose they are going to tear down the rest of Kit Carson park to make way for a mall extension. I feel sorry for this generation of kids growing up in our home town.
Do you remember the massive jungle jim at Glen View elementary? That was awesome!
September 28th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
“Un-f***ing-believable” is all I could think when I found out they got rid of the giant sombrero slide. When the good Lord puts a giant sombrero slide in your life, you get on your hands and knees and pledge your unquestioning allegiance. You don’t tear the freaking thing down. I’ve had horrendous images of construction workers ripping into the thing with chainsaws to get the thing out. Oh, and there was also a giant wagon slide that wasn’t too shabby.
I loved Chuck E Cheese and Family Fun Center. Thank God the muffler man remains. I didn’t survive six years of Lutheran parochial school and drive-by gang shootings to have the best parts of my childhood demolished. For my sake, quit it Escondido.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:29 am
I am sad that the Family Fun Center is gone, but I should point out and reassure you that Kit Carson Park is still there along with the Sombrero slide, the Wagon slide, and the scariest of all: the huge snake that comes out of the ground!