Florida tag enter stage left?

"Some industry insiders say Disney might be acting preemptively to avoid legal action related to the 2013 law. Opponents have already sued arcade games at Chuck E. Cheese and Dave & Buster’s, saying the chains are in violation of the broadly written rules."

Well that sucks. From what I've read the pins aren't very well maintained, but at least they're out there in the wild to be played.

Disney died for me when I went 2 years ago and saw the Fiesta Fun Center at the Contemporary Hotel turned into a meeting hall. That arcade blew away the tomorrow land arcade back in the day.

The miniature arcade replacement had an Elvis with no 3rd flipper, and they were operating it that way.
Sickening, as all my good memories of Disney have vanished.

And yes, the 5 pins at the TLA are abysmal, all with OLD codes too.

Well this suck's, as it was a place to go when its was raining.

all people on here do is bitch about how bad their pins play, anyhow. no big deal.

I am glad to see those kiddie gambling games go. I have watched kids pump 40 quarters into redemption games and they looked just like they were bellying up to a slot machine. The only thing that was missing was the members only jacket and a smoke dangling from their lips.

Sad thing is, by giving up/targeting redemption machines, they toss Pins/Vids..

Baby with the bathwater,,,,,,.

Lawyers..........the scum of the earth!

a 1 day pass to magic kingdom costs $104 with tax. Why would you waste any time playing video games or pinball machines? Not even if they were on freeplay for me. Sorry. No big loss. If it's raining, suck it up and run to stitch's great escape or monsters inc laugh floor, space mountain, or even carousel of progress.

I didn't realize they had NEW Sterns in there

that sucks

But the resorts were where you chilled after and hit the arcade also. Sucks they will be closed. I always hoped someone would start servicing the pins. I wonder what it means for Disney Quest.

Sounds like they're just removing the redemption stuff/counters and not necessarily closing the arcade.

I think it sucks. It might not be something you spend more than 10 minutes at, but if there's rain in the area, it's 100 degrees out, you've been at the Magic Kingdom 2 days already and your kid wants to take a break and win something small, who cares? Let em.

The real tragedy is that it's not happening for a legitimate reason, but just to avoid getting caught up in more BS legislative battles. THAT'S what sucks.

This is a quote from the link.

"Closing on Feb. 8m the Tomorrowland Arcade in the Magic Kingdom will close, with those games going to hotel arcades, as replacements for the games that issue points for prizes."

^^^THIS. That arcade set the bar BITD. I wish there were more/any pictures of it online from it's heyday.

love Disney bummer to hear!

....and lawmakers.

None of the pins in Tomorrowland arcade worked when I was there in October so not sure how that it is a loss.

What about Disneyland in Cali...is that arcade still there? I remember being blown away by it when I was a kid. It was the only arcade I ever saw that spanned 2 floors.

Right now its just the first floor and has been for quite some time. They have Tron and Cyclone there as of late. Use to have POTC. Also have quite a few 80's arcades plus 2 fix it felix uprights.

Edit: also have not seen IJ since last spring if I recall. I asked one time not too long ago where it was and the lady said "oh, it's being worked on...parts are getting really hard to find because the machine is so old".

What, closing it? I was going to go there on vacation too and rock all of Labnip's scores. Guess I can't do that now

Very few pay that much to spend a day at Magic Kingdom. Most buy multi day passes, which brings the price down. By the time you have ridden rides for several days straight it is nice to have something else to do for a little while. I have annual passes to WDW and USF. I very often try to find things other than the rides to do. I always enjoy playing the pins I find in the parks. I, for one, will miss them.

I have a picture of myself in the early 80's playing my first pinball game in that arcade (Haunted House). Not only were the games great, but they had that full size shooting gallery for one token

You forgot to add politicians, bankers and insurance companies. And we should throw landords under the bus while we're at it.

I choose to use the full price of the ticket to make a stronger point.

Do the pins function when you go? I've been to WDW 5 times and none of the games have ever functioned well enough to put money in them, even if they were at a boring bar/bowling alley. Honest question. The tron at pop century was the only pin that functioned well enough to play. As a matter of fact, the only pin they had there that i never played wouldn't even take my money. The coin mechs were messed up. I came back 6 months later and it still wouldn't take my money! lol.

Let's see it! I loved that shooting gallery too. I had my caricature done in the arcade there when I was about 8 or so. I think my parents still have it. It had me pointing a gun from the shooting gallery at a target right next to it and was captioned, "At this range I can't miss..."

In my experience, one of the pins at the tomorrowland arcade was totally inop, one was pretty much unplayable, and the other two or three (depending on how many they had) were playable, but not perfect by any stretch. The pins in the hotels I visited tended to be in decent shape. The pins in Quest were generally beat to hell. Shrek at Universal is typically in decent/better shape, although it is so loud in there that you can't hear any of the call outs.

It seems all over the net people are bashing redemption games and are happy that Disney is getting rid of them... Let me try and set the record straight.

FYI Seaworld is in the process of closing their arcade.

First off the moving the Contemporary arcade from the first floor was a really poor decision, however the GM at the time did not like anything to do with any kind of recreation especially the arcade. I still hear from guests almost daily how great it was when it was down stairs. Their were 15 pins in that arcade. Now that it's upstairs there are only four.

I work in one of the redemption arcades...(I can't say which one) however all the games from the Tomorrowland arcade will be dispersed among the redemption arcades. Including the pins where they will receive much needed TLC. The reason for the removal of the redemption games is due to a lawsuit against the senior "arcades" which are just online gambling rooms brought on by the Seminole Indian tribe which has a charter with the state gov't that states they are the only ones to own/run any type of gambling establishment in Florida. They want them shut down. The legislation passed a statue that defined the difference between gambling/gaming machines (slot machines video gambling etc..)and amusement machines. However the definitions were vaguely written causing a conflict. It was basically written to make senior arcades inoperable. All games had to be operated only by coins. So tokens, swipe cards are illegal under this. Also you can only win tickets up to the value of 75 cents and the largest prize could not cost more than 75 cents.

Another bill was passed to better define the difference between gambling/gaming machines from amusement/ticket redemption games/claw games/prize games in FECs or other arcades. Again it didn't do the job and the lobbyists and lawyers that represent the gaming "arcade" and bingo association claimed that these games found in FECs/D & B/CEC and other arcades are kiddie gambling machines. They claim that the lobbyists and lawyers that represent us (redemption arcades) have not proven that these games are not gambling devices. I'm not sure how they can be when no matter what the outcome is you still get a ticket or two. Gambling machines are all or nothing they are designed to take your money maybe tease you with a small win and make you play more to lose even more money. The reason they did this was to get the heat off of them.

Four new bills were introduced last year that would finally correct the language and properly define the difference between gambling machines and amusement machines along with raising the number of tickets that could be won from a game and the value of the prizes that they could be redeemed for. Unfortunately they were killed in the gaming subcommittee. Surprise surprise. The sentors/representatives that sponsored these bills have resubmitted them with some changes in language that should finally solve this mess. However the legislative session doesn't start until after we have pulled all the games out. If it passes I don't know if they will bring these games back, I highly doubt it.

Because of this Disney is pulling out the redemption games because they want to follow the law even though it was shown in an investigation that we did not violate any gaming laws with the games that we have. Lots of guests have said they are upset that the redemption games are going away. Hundreds if not more will become upset as news spreads and/or when they come back to Disney. I've been here quite a few years and I know lots of famlies that have been saving for years to get the high end prizes that we offer. They are going to be devastated. They do not consider this gambling, if they did our arcades wouldn't be so popular as they are now. Yes there are people who don't allow their kids into arcades that fine and I can understand why. There are also people who tell their kids to not play the claw games (which the state considers gambling even though skill is involved) or the prize games because they consider them to be a waste of money because of their reputation of being "rigged". I totally understand that also.

Now the big picture is that all these other arcades in Florida are now worrying since Disney didn't continue the fight. They could end up being shut down completely. This will definitely hurt the coin-op industry in the state. Will the law be enforced and regulators actually go and shut them down? More than likely they won't do it. In an older article a police officer said he wouldn't arrest chuck e. cheese in front of kids.

As far as CEC and D&B are concerned the lawyers for the association wants to file a lawsuit against them to force them to shut down until they remove the so-called "gambling" machines. However they have to wait in line until a Federal lawsuit against them is settled.

I'm sorry for the long rant, it's just so frustrating to only see 99% of posts from people cheering for the removal of the redemption games.

Very good info!!

I don't understand why you would play pinball at Disneyland/Disneyworld when there is so much more to experience with your family? seriously don't be "that guy" who makes the wife and kids wait as you play pinball. The family will remember the good times and fun rides. Every time I take my family to a theme park I skip the arcade, I can play all the pinball I want back home without looking like a douche.

Perhaps I can help you understand. Not everyone's trip to Disney World/Disneyland is the same. For some it is a once in a lifetime trip or a very short visit to the parks and they wish to spend all their time enjoying the attractions unique to the Disney parks. For many, however, it is another day in the park, possibly to enjoy the sights, people watch, or just get out and enjoy the day, so they may not be interested in spending all of their time (or maybe any of their time) riding rides.

I personally went to Disney World many times last year where I only rode a couple of rides in a day, and even rode no rides some days. I have annual passes and often just go for the evening, to get dinner and walk in the gardens or visit an arcade etc. I am not "'that guy' who makes the wife and kids wait as [I] play pinball." My wife and girls (22 and 25) often play pinball with me. Other times, I play pinball when waiting on my girls to ride a ride for the umpteenth time that day, so I am waiting on them rather than the other way around.

One of the things that Disney tends to do best is provide a variety of entertainment so there is something for everyone. I believe the arcades in the parks are a nice part of the blend of entertainment. They clearly are not for everyone, particularly those wishing to optimize their time riding the rides. However, that does not mean that there are not a large number of us that do enjoy the arcades. I am disappointed that the Tomorrowland arcade will be closing. Does that mean I won't be spending any more time in Disney parks? No, I am going to Disneyland next weekend, I alrady have my airline tickets for Disney World trips in February and March, and airline tickets for Tokyo Disneyland in May. I will still enjoy the other forms of entertainment in the parks, but I will miss my pinball fix.

Time for "Loser Pays"

Thanks for the info acdc_fan. Very informative!
It was always a good diversion while waiting for the kids or wife doing their thing. Fond memories of the arcades in DW.

rviguet you hit the nail on the head!
Pinplayer1967 A lot of the guests I see are people who come year after year or multiple times a year. So they know how to do the parks and how to rest so to speak. Here at the Contemporary we have Chef Mickey's which is a character dining experience. So we see transient guests waiting for dinner so they pop in to pass the time. There are also "locals" who live here that pop in and out from time to time when the hit the parks. When the Contemporary Arcade was in it's original location it was an attraction of it's own. It was pretty much the biggest arcade in the area so lots of locals would hang out there on the weekends not to mention the guests staying here who knew about it. Plus it was open 24 hours! It was close to 4000 sq ft. It held at one point 200 games including a giant shooting gallery half the size to the one in Frontier land. Now we're literally a hole in the wall just a small game room with 78 games four of them being pins.

Glad I could be of service...just wanting to spread the word of why this mess is happening!

And that is what folks are missing. It's not a 'Disney' issue it is a 'give up your freedoms one bit at a time issue'. Eventually New York Mayors will be pushing pins into the Hudson again... THEN folks will be going HEY!!!!

I stayed at the new Lake Buena Vista Villas last time I was there, right next to the Contemporary. My kids were 2 and 5 at the time, and we took breaks during the day to rest, cleanup, eat, etc. There's a restaurant right by the arcade, as well as a general store. A few times I went for a run to grab things at the store (beer!) and played a game or 2 while I was there. Nothing crazy, didn't spend a lot of time, but was a nice break from the general chaos for ME and I was glad it was there. Also got to try out a couple machines (POTC!) that I'd never seen before as I don't get out much.

When I was a KID (mid-teen) I spent HOURS in the big Contemporary arcade mentioned above. It was awesome and a destination itself. No it's not the castle or the rides or the characters, but was a great place to burn a few hours as a kid AND give your parents a much needed break from everything.

Arcades have their place, even in a fun place!

Certain times of the year, the parks close early......the kids go to bed and I can go down to the arcade and play (what else to do at 9pm...watch tv?). Other times the parks are open til 1 or 2 am..... my wife brings the kids back to the room and I hang out to play the arcades in the park between more rides (Pizza Planet arcade is where I grew to like POTC and eventually buy one). Disney is not all about doing rides 24/7.

Fwiw, the Indy pinball at Disneyland is still there and is often out for repair.

I really miss the old main st arcade ad Teddi Barras swinging arcade, they always had the awesome old em games.

Do any pictures of the original Contemporary arcade exist? There are a couple more generic ones online, but I would love to see some if anyone has any or knows of any.

I am looking for them.....I had a few and put them aside to frame for the new game room.....of course now I cant find them

I especially want the one of me playing pinball......what were the odds that 30 yrs later I would be collecting them....there's also one of me playing Robotron with striped tube socks and a cowboy hat (WTF was I thinking?)

Most of those scumbags start as lawyers.

Played them very recently, or tried to. Only Avengers, Avatar, and POTC are operational. The other are two are 'out of order". POTC is unplayable. Left sling doesn't work and the ship doesn't work either. Avengers is playable, but beat up pretty bad.

Space Mountain was awsome though!

That would be cool to see. I just found a picture of the shooting gallery that was down stairs. A guest told me that the Hercules pin was down there. I just have some pictures from 2002-to just before we moved upstairs in '07.

It's no big deal for Disney (arcade revenues) but I can't imagine Indian casino interests or m/any other entities giving them grief and not regretting it…

Played the 4 games at the Contemporary a few days ago. All the games were beat up and appear to have not been cleaned in some time. Elvis's upper flipper is removed and there is a rubber over the area preventing the ball from getting trapped. The POTC and Tron are pretty beat up. The Avengers wasn't too bad, but again - not much fun. What was interesting is as we were playing the pins were damn near played by 30 different people in the couse of an hour. I bet they get alot of play on a daily basis.