I've been to enchanted castle a few times back in 91, in fact it's where I fell in love with LW3. It was my understanding that place has been closed for a while. Nice to see they're bringing pinball back. Crap, I gotta go check them out!

Great lineup of Sterns.

Whoa! I must stop there! Haven't been since I was a kid! Maybe on my way home tomorrow!

They did have pins there quite a while ago, but they were not maintained very well. Hopefully this is a new beginning and its great to see another place in the chicago suburbs to play !!

That's 5 minutes from my office. Lunch just got a whole lot better!

The "castle" had 2 black Spidermans back when they were out.

Wow, went over there at lunch and extremely impressed. All games were NIB when they arrived except PoTC which was slightly used (can't tell). I talked with one of the staff there who indicated 8-9 more are coming in next week. He was hopeful they'd be in this week, but should be Monday or Tuesday of next. This is going to be awesome.

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this is so exciting. its nice to see pins on location again.

Good find! I stop into see Kurt at Hemispheres every now and then, and had NO idea Enchanted Castle had pins. Always assumed they didn't. Good to know...especially if the are going to carry such a big collection.

Awesome, I took my wife there about 3 years ago for her birthday (She likes Mini-golf). But they didn't have a single pin! What are they set on, tokens? Are tokens 25cents?

Thanks for the info! We went there 3 years ago while in Chicago and they had no pins at all at that time. The kids still had a blast, though, and we were planning to go again someday....and now we definitely will!

did they say what other machines they are getting in?

Nope, I asked he said he wasn't sure but they would mostly be used (unlike this batch) so I'm taking that to mean not all Sterns.

i am surprised that they found some of those NIB.

$1 seems to be the standard for well kept pins, but the $2 buy-in makes them 66 cents (lower than Stern's current one game price). Wonder if the older pins will be 2 tokens.

I'll have to stop in there at lunch sometime, this is excellent! Grab some sliders and then head in for some pinball.

This is pretty exciting. I was in there a few months ago and pestered them a bit about not having any pins. I'm sure that's not the reason they got em, but I'm glad they did. I'll have to try to roll in there soon and check em out. Curious what other titles they plan to get.

Incredible! I really wonder what has got them to go out and get all these! Not that I am complaining! Hope they have someone on hand to work on em....

My thoughts exactly!

I should probably head there soon before they get beat up and broken down.

-Mark

Nice Avatar! I'm a former Great America employee and I am a roller coaster nut too!

Nice Avatar! I'm a former Great America employee and I am a roller coaster nut too!

Thanx!

I had to do something non pinball-related, just because.
Marriott's GR*EA*T A*MER*ICA*(s) was/were the bomb.

I am probably one of not that many people that have season passes to both former Marriott parks.

How does Great America tie in with pinball?
1) Bally bought Six Flags mainly for the opportunity to purchase Great America (Gurnee) from Marriott as their backyard showpiece.
http://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/27/business/marriott-to-sell-park-to-bally.html
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19840427&id=D28aAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DSoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5572,5564723

2) California Extreme is held across the street from Great America in Santa Clara, CA.

Bally had their hand in too many odd things at that time, and it wasn't long until they divested it all, and a year or so later they went under/were acquired by Williams.

The image below is from Bally's first full year of Great America ownership, the 1985 season. "A Bally Company" is under the logo.

-Mark

GreatAmerica85.jpg

I now have faith again in Enchanted Castle!

If you were big into the arcade scene, E.C. was the bomb in the late 80's - early 90's. Sadly, the last time I was there (about 3 years ago) it was inundated w/ a bunch of redemption crap....

Glad to see the light again!

Looks like they are turning there old crane room into a pinball room! Very cool. Ive been there a few times.

to bad they don't have time cards like the places with swipe cards and $1 a game even for older games is higher then other places that have a base price of $0.75 a game and lower for when you get to the VIP or what even they call it level.

The $2 buy in does lower the price but by working deals and specials the card places can be better.

Also at some places with cards based on how they are setup up (time out time) you can really load up games useing a time card.

but places with tokens and cards still mask the real price of the game Vs places that work on coins.

Cards are easier to keep track of.

The tokens places should offer deals as it's not like you can trade in unused ones for real cash.

I wish Galaxy World would come around again. That place was pretty crowded and had tons of pins back in the day.

Williams liked putting their games on test there.

The past ten years they had about two pins, both in marginal working condition. I think I remember Junk Yard and South Park being there a few years ago. It was so sad, compared to what it used to be.

Maybe Stern will consider putting their games on test at EC.

-Mark

I wish someone had a picture of galaxy world with all the pins. Place makes me sad if I stop by because all the decor and murals are the same as the good days.

That's exactly right.. Let people buy those tokens in bulk. You want them coming back to use what they can't finish.

You won't even get to look at those murals anymore, unless you break in; I believe they closed for good about a year ago.

-Mark

Is Galaxy World ala Gala Lanes on 64 in Carol Stream?

Actually I'm referring to the Naperville Galaxy World.

I stopped by Enchanted Castle and played most of the games tonight. Just as stated before, all of these games are in wonderful shape. Quite a few of them (especially AC/DC and X-Men) looked super glossy to me, like they had been clearcoated multiple times. All games played pretty well. The Avengers kept getting the ball stuck near the top, but that was about it. One of the employees came over and talked to me and also told me (without me even asking) that 9 more games were on their way there! Can't wait the come back when those are in! Here are two pictures I took.....

IMAG1988.jpg castle2.jpg

Great news hope they keep popping up..

I was there on Friday night. All the games are in excellent condition.

First time I have ever played CSI. I was pleasantly surprised by that game. Other than theme, why no love for this game?

Yeah, this is the one I was referring to, which closed about a year ago.

-Mark

That's sad!

Another one of my favorite hangouts closed forever! I was told that Data East tested their pins there as well? Honestly, at that time (late '80s), I was more into vids. That place had an *incredible* arcade.....

Got it. Naperville is far from the city and near west suburbs, so I never knew about it growing up, or have ever been there, for that matter.

Maybe I should check it out next time I'm up north, but from your description, maybe not.

Enchanted Castle is only 15 minutes from my hometown, so that will be a must!

-Mark

Yeah. I started going there in the early-mid 90's, and I remember it still being pretty good then. I wasn't into pinball, though, so I don't have any memories of specifics.

I caught the pinball bug in 2003-2004, and by that time, the place still had a lot of video games (mostly drivers) and redemption crap, but only a couple beat-up pins, and was pretty dead. I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did. I first noticed it was closed while driving to the Chicagoland Show at Pheasant Run about three months ago; there was a large "For Sale" sign in front.

Here's some more info:
http://forums.arcade-museum.com/archive/index.php/t-233712.html

-Mark

I actually would have liked to see what Galaxy World north looked like. I pass it on my way to work and home every day. I was going to go in there and check out Junk Yard and South Park (which I saw listed online) but by the time I decided to go it was already closed for good. It sounds like they had similar decor and murals to the Naperville location.

The Naperville location is a shell of its former self. Its full of redemption games, a few shooting games, cranes, and broken air hockey tables. The two pins they have need work, one of them usually isnt even on because the DMD and most lights don't work. The only cool part about it is that the old decor remains, and the room that used to house the pinballs (wood walls, stained glass) is still there. I always liked the late 70s/early 80s murals. Still makes me remember how it once was. My sister sent me a pic of part of one of the murals the other day when she stopped by. Unfortunately they have put a bunch of cranes in front of it so its pretty much covered up. Here is the picture she sent....

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I think it is fair to ask....What the h$ll is going on over there? This is fantastic! Has anyone had a chance to ask him what has changed to spark the resurgence? I'd be curious. Looks like Pinside get-togethers have a new location now...

did Ken happen to mention what the other 6 were going to be?

i think it would be safe to say that this would be a way to keep the parents in the place longer. if the parents are bored they will be less likely to give the kids anymore money to play the games. if they have something to keep them there also then they are likely to give the kids more money to play.

that is what i would think at least.

Hopefully a RBION isnt out of the question, thats not too old but not new either. I'd assume since they are working with Stern buying all these machines that they will all be Stern. I was going to stop by after work today but the weather quickly changed my mind. Tomorrow hopefully!

Thought I'd add the latest view.

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I'll be stoppin by after work today, work in Bloomingdale/ Glendale Heights.

I loved Galaxy World(Naperville)! I went there all throughout the 90's. It was where I first played Twilight Zone! I think I also have a picture of the murial too but its in storage somewhere.

I remember when Mortal Kombat II came out they had like 4 machines.

There is a pretty cool arcade here in K.C. which just opened up like a month ago. Unfortunately there are no pins but they have about 40 arcade games. It's also a movie theater call Screenland Crossroads.

I keep prodding the owner to get some pinballs in. He is thinking about it but is limited in space.