Tour This Inventor's Workshop In Florida For An Unforgettable Animatronic Adventure

Aaron Fechter flew too close to the sun on wings made of pizza. Or maybe robot wings? Something like that. Bad metaphors aside, this Orlando inventor reached dizzying heights in the ’80s as his animatronic band of wacky characters, The Rock-afire Explosion, took over the country, one ShowBiz Pizza Place at a time.

Flickr/Jonathan Haeber

For those of you who have never heard of it, ShowBiz Pizza was the precursor to Chuck E. Cheese's. Even if you've never heard of it, you will probably feel deja-vu when watching The Rock-afire Explosion. Fechter refused to give over the rights after the demise of ShowBiz Pizza, so they were replaced by Chuck E. Cheese's (eerily similar) band.

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Flickr/Jonathan Haeber

Today, the warehouses that were producing hundreds of these lovable robots are now semi-abandoned, with half-finished Beach Bears and Billy Bobs wrapped in dusty plastic. There is a fully functioning band that Fechter still programs to play popular hits and even some original songs. In recent years, they have become sort of an underground hit, and even played back-up for CeeLo in Las Vegas.

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Flickr/Jonathan Haeber

Whether you find his creations fascinating or terrifying, you have to admit Fechter's brilliance and resilience are impressive. He's been rich and he's been broke, but he has never stopped inventing. For anyone interested, He continues to give tours of his workshop, Creative Engineering, Inc., in Orlando, for a fee. Inventing isn't cheap.

If you only have a few minutes, here’s a video of the band programmed to a more recent hit:

If you have a little more time and want to learn more about this fascinating story, here’s a documentary on the rise and fall of Rock-afire:

You can learn more about Creative Engineering here.

What do you think of Creative Engineering and its story? Do you remember ShowBiz Pizza Place or The Rock-afire Explosion? Do you know of any other cool places we should feature? Please leave your comments for us below!