Major Magic is closed

The animatronics were going to revolt and start killing people.

Police blotter....July 5, 2010...Toledo, Ohio....

Chuck E Cheese, noted rodent game purveyor, wanted in the murder of Major Majic, noted game purveyor and band leader....

WItnesses say the rodent was last seen wearing a purple baseball cap and shirt with a "C" on the front of each clothing article...suspect described as buck-toothed, big eared, and relentlessly "happy"...

^ I laughed.

It sounds like they were operating under new management, as recently as September 2009

http://www.showbizpizzaforum.com/showthread.php?4656-Major-Magics-Toledo-Ohio-under-new-management&p=45871

the place was an absolute dump

It probably would have done a little better if it had been better maintained.

My kids went to a couple of birthday parties there & it was dingy. A coat of paint & a carpet shampooing could have done wonders.

I liked the layout better than Chuck E Cheese. (Party area was larger & more distinct, etc.). Just a few minor changes & I think it could have done better.

Those places are filled with germs, not maintained, and packed with kids that parents think it's a daycare.

..."parents think it's a daycare."

Isn't that the problem with a lot of public commerce spaces now? Parents just let 'em run loose with no supervision or consequences if caught doing something jerky.

I long for the days when an adult could be in a public space and scold/physically restrain a child from destroying property, annoying people, etc. Now, "Angel Boy's/Girl's" parents sue you for emotional distress.

Man, that's terrible. This place's heyday was 20+ years ago, but still it's sad.

I never made it back there for a pizza. The owners could seriously sell that recipe or start a new pizza chain... it was really good. Much better than a bunch of other places.

Wait a minute....parents are supposed to supervise their own children in a public place ?!?!?! I thought it was just me who thought that way.

Awww.

Sad stuff. I actually had been going there a lot in recent years. Celebrated the big 3-0 there.

I really appreciated the aging animatronics -- the Major had had his cracked visage puttied up and poorly repainted so many times over the years he looked like some kind of horrific burn victim -- and the pizza was some of my favorite anywhere.

Wish I had the money to buy it and reopen.

That's sad. We just went there over the winter (posted about it here), and it looked like the new owners were starting to clean the place up. The pizza was absolutely fantastic.

is there a local-owned substitute?

I had been wanting to go back. I remember being frightened by the lifeless band as a child.

I do not know any other locations. There is the classic Cheese joint, but that is far from locally owned or half as cool.

Any of the stuff left inside? Maybe an auction notice? A few pieces would make great additions to a den or game room.

So...get this.

I am told the people who own the store located in downtown sylvania 'the Bumble' also bought Major Magics...are cleaning it up, remodeling it, and will be reopening it!

The previous owner lost it to the owner of the shopping center in court because he was WAY behind in rent. The place closed because NOTHING has changed in there for Twenty plus years. The place was old. At some point the way things have been done needed to change. you need to inject money in updating games, show, interior, new advertisement etc.. that was never done and so as time went by Major Magics was getting a bad name. Honestly the food was very good. With nothing changing and the negative image in peoples minds it was just a matter of time.

But how do you get kids to a video game place anymore? XBox, Wii, Playstation, and PC games are all so damn good now that an arcade just seems dated.

Dave & Busters is a chain restaurant that features decent food and large arcades targeted towards adults. Maybe that's the only way.

However, you would think that Nintendo/Microsoft/Sony would own/operate "arcades" in major cities to amp up hype for new games. Something like the Apple stores, but for video game freaks. Release new games to the arcades 28 days before they go on sale for home systems. Seems like getting people to try different games would whet the appetite for buying them. Or get places like D&B to be the testing ground so they (the game companies) don't have to rent space/hire workers/etc.

Or maybe I just pine for a lost era of Donkey Kong, Spy Hunter, Double Dragon, and others...

Tempest!!

Gorf!

CENTIPEDE.

Pac-Man

Mortal Kombat AND Dig Dug

CRYSTAL CASTLE

burger time!

whack-a-mole

Dragon's Lair

Q-bert & Frogger

Kung fu master

Also Tron. I remember spending pantloads of quarters on Tron at the Little Caesar's at the corner of Talmadge and Monroe. And Ozzy's arcade right across the street. Those were the days.

My 8 yr old cried when he heard it closed. Real tears! He never ever cries, Dr. Visits, Ol yeller, his sister pulled out his insulin pump(on accident) and he Never cries. The demise of creepy robots and a pizza bar and he loses it.

It is reopening after a 'major remodel'

"Vegas stakes" lovedddd that game on my SuperNES!!

Major Magic's General Remodel? The old owners deserved corporal punishment.