Do you remember Discovery Zone?

The 1990s Were a Different World

It seems like we are seeing 90s nostalgia everywhere, and as someone who was a kid in the 90s, I get it.  The 90s were the last decade when the internet wasn't at the forefront of everything, cell phones weren't as common as they are today, and we weren't so connected all the time.

It truly feels like we are living in a completely different world now than we were then.  And we kind of are. I mean, there was a time when you could leave the house and no one could reach you.  The thought of that happening today is wild.

Growing Up in the 90s

I was a kid in the 90s, so my memories of that decade focus on childhood. I mean it wasn't a proper Friday night at my house until my parents took my brother and me to Blockbuster to pick out a game for our Super Nintendo.  But I also have fond memories of things like collecting TY Beanie Babies (which I'm still mad that they never ended up being worth anything, I kept the tag protectors on and everything) and watching Nickelodeon (Rugrats, Ren and Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life, Ahh! Real Monsters, etc...), and going to Discovery Zone.  These things were all highlights of my childhood.  But whatever happened to Discovery Zone?

What Happened to Discovery Zone?

If you never got to experience the joy of Discovery Zone, allow me to fill you in.  Discovery Zone was a kids' dream, you'd walk in, and everything was colorful. There was a massive ball pit, a huge playground, and the iconic roller slide.  I remember going to birthday parties at Discovery Zone as a kid, but whatever happened to it?

It turns out that Discovery Zone was, at one point in time, an extremely popular franchise with locations across the country.  It was even owned by McDonald's, Blockbuster, AND Viacom (owner of Nickelodeon) at one point in time. So how could it possibly fail?

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I recently watched a video from Company Man on YouTube, and he does a really interesting and in depth breakdown of what happened to Discovery Zone.  Essentially, the brand kind of blew up way too fast.  The brand continued to grow and add on debt without properly studying the areas where they were adding locations, and eventually, they went bankrupt.   You can watch his full breakdown below. I'll be honest, it's quite fascinating.