Kids’ entertainment is about to get an upgrade.
Irving-based Chuck E. Cheese is preparing to launch the first iteration of its new concept location, Adventure World. The 12,000-square-foot indoor active play experience will tentatively open its doors in early November in Arlington.
“It’s all about kids’ imagination and play,” Chuck E. Cheese president and CEO David McKillips said. “We came out with really a fabulous execution that is going to be so awesome for kids to just run and play and bounce and it’s all about active play.”
McKillips explained that Chuck E. Cheese began experimenting in the active play space about two years ago, putting in trampoline zones and opening its Superhero Playground. The small active play units are only built for kids shorter than 56 inches. But the company wanted to go bigger, tapping into active play on a large scale to be a “destination for entertainment” for all ages.
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“When we looked at where the trends are going in the kids area, it’s really leaning into these massive, multilevel active play areas,” McKillips said. “And who better to do that [than the] number one name in kids, and that’s Chuck E. Cheese.”
Adventure World will feature three levels and multiple activities for kids to enjoy surrounded by familiar Chuck E. Cheese characters. The space will be 20 times bigger than the current active play area in the original concept stores.
David McKillips, the CEO of CEC Entertainment, poses for a photo with Chuck E. Cheese at Chuck E. Cheese in Grand Prairie on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
Kids and parents alike will be able to enjoy all the rides, slides, ball pits and more since there will be no height restrictions.
“At Adventure World, it’s kids and parents all playing together,” McKillips said. “It’s bouncing, it’s playing, it’s having these kids choose your own adventure.”
The company decided to launch in the D-FW market first due to Chuck E. Cheese’s strong brand presence in North Texas. McKillips said the Arlington-Grand Prairie area is one of the highest-volume locations in the entire country for the brand, with lots of families calling that part of the state home.
“It’s natural for us to go into an area that can deliver this wholesome, safe, family active play fun, utilizing our brand name,” McKillips said.
Chuck E. Cheese already has plans to open up several locations of the new concept around the country, with another five to six stores coming next year.
Adventure World is just the latest step in Chuck E. Cheese’s brand transformation.
The company started reimagining the original Chuck E. Cheese concept roughly three years ago, which touched nearly every aspect of the brand. Over 450 locations were remodeled with an investment of more than $300 million poured in thus far.
Chuck E. Cheese launched its Chuck’s Arcade concept at the end of June as well, which was created for “adults and lifelong fans who grew up surrounded by the electric glow of arcade screens, the symphony of digital soundtracks and the thrill of chasing high scores with friends long into the night,” a company press release said.
“We opened up arcades, specifically in malls, resorts, hotels and that just taps into the nostalgia and the vintage affiliation that we have and affinity that fans have for our brand,” McKillips said.
The closest of the initial Chuck’s Arcade locations are Oklahoma City, Tulsa and El Paso.
McKillips doesn’t plan on stopping here. He’s got big dreams for where the brand can go, with new locations and new ideas in mind.
“I want every kid to go to sleep in their Chuck E. Cheese jammies and wake up and have Chuck E. Cheese cereal and make sure they get their homework done and behave at home so they can go to the treat down the street, which is Chuck E. Cheese,” he said. “We want to be the number one destination for kids all over the world.”