My trip to Replay Amusement Museum

[ExedExes]

A few days late, due to forum technical issues!
(WARNING: Long & Pic intensive, all pics are behind spoiler tags for easier reading)

I have a special treat for all the pinball and classic arcade fans here at Racketboy. Being one of RB's top pinball fans here as well as gold level qualified for Pinball Arcade tournaments, I was able to make a trip to the Replay Amusement Museum in Tarpon Springs, FL. This place opened in 2014 and I just became aware of it earlier this year. They have tons of classic pinball and arcade machines, all set to freeplay. Just $13 for the entire day gets you access which was a great deal. Many of the games inside I have not played for 15-20 years or more since I left NJ, at one time one of the hotspots of arcade gaming.

Here it is from the outside.

A sign you see as you walk in.

Another note which I found funny seeing as the street this place is on has lots of antique shops, and this is probably the best antique shop here because you're at least able to PLAY them!

Here are some of the many examples of what you'll see. Atari's famous big pinball Hercules, which I last played in NJ in 2002. It was sadly afflicted with some slightly weak flippers, a problem with a few of the machines here.

Gottlieb's Black Hole! Unfortunately the Haunted House next to it wasn't working, but I'm actually playing this for the first time outside of the Pinball Arcade app!

I get to see the lower level for myself!

This is Bally's Spectrum, with a plunger-less design. Balls are launched from the drain hole here, and notice the other balls nearby!

Here is Orbitor 1 by Stern. What makes this pinball unique is...

The unconventional playfield it has. It is NOT flat, instead, it's like the surface of the moon, it has peaks, valleys, and all sorts of ways for the ball to get lost real easy! The bumpers also spin, so when the ball hits one, it makes it even more unpredictable. This would also be Stern's final pinball in name only until the 21st century.

One of their newest acquisitions, and my favorite pinball of all time, Black Knight 2000!

I never saw this T-shirt offer before!

Here is Twilight Zone, with an alternating-color LED light pattern on the doorway backglass.

As well as the Wizard of Oz machine from Jersey Jack's Pinball. This is the Emerald City Limited Edition....

Number 615 of only 1000 made.

Here's one I had a good time with, Grand Lizard by Williams.

It has a special upper playfield, and the ramps on either side roll the ball up to the lizard's tongue which deposits it onto the playfield!

Of course, electromechanical machines make their appearance here too.

I love how VERBOSE these old machines are in their wording.

I did well on this EM with 6 reels for scoring.

Also a couple of European imports, Butterfly by Sonic from Spain...

And a Magic Castle by Italy's Zaccaria.

Finally, a rare find with a Baby Pac-Man, combining video game & pinball!

Not to worry, there were plenty of arcade games too! Starting with the upright...

AND cockpit Star Wars cabinets!

A few cocktail tables too. Check out Track & Field...

And Missile Command!

This cabinet had 8 games from Williams.

Check out this Vs. System! It had Vs. Gradius on one side & Vs. Dr. Mario on the other!

There were also candy cabs in the back corner, one of them featuring Shienryu!

Finally, nothing like ranking in on Crystal Castles...

And Commando!

I had a great time and I'll be returning again hopefully later this year. You can check them out here.

[Erik_Twice]

Really nice pics, thanks!

[Snatch1414]

Awesome stuff. Thorough pics!

About Wizard of Oz: Something about that machine just doesn't sit well with me. I think it's the fancy screen. It just seems like too much. Everything about that machine is just candy-coated and a little too cutting edge for a pinball machine IMO. It just feels very sterile to me, like the machine has no soul compared to every other pin I've ever played.

[fastbilly1]

I want to play Hercules so badly.

[JoeAwesome]

We've got a Baby Pac-Man in Houston (Speedy's), but the times I've played it, it was either not working or not working well.

[ExedExes]

About Wizard of Oz: Something about that machine just doesn't sit well with me. I think it's the fancy screen. It just seems like too much. Everything about that machine is just candy-coated and a little too cutting edge for a pinball machine IMO. It just feels very sterile to me, like the machine has no soul compared to every other pin I've ever played.

After hearing all the buzz about some no-name company making a pinball, I really wanted to try it. A few things stood out -- that large screen is split into 4 sections outlining current objectives and I had a difficult time with that. But there were multi level playfields as well as outlanes that were shaped a little differently, each giving you a chance to get your ball back by completing an additional timed objective. Plus, the scoring was low, I was getting scores with 5 digits, which is considered average. It was fun as a novelty, but there was just so much more to do.

I want to play Hercules so badly.

It's a trip, especially once you see the cue ball that is the pinball. When I dabbled in emulation with Virtual Pinball, it captured the experience quite accurately but nothing beats the real thing.

We've got a Baby Pac-Man in Houston (Speedy's), but the times I've played it, it was either not working or not working well.

This one worked, but I was too fixed on staying on the pinball segment. I didn't like the idea of having to earn power pills by playing the pinball, but it gave you a good reason to play the better part.

[flash1987]

Not a huge pinball fan but looks super cool. Seems like a great deal too, $13 for all you can play and its basically a museum at the same time.

[ExedExes]

It was, and that's all day too, you can leave and come back because you get a wristband. They also have monthly and annual packages available. It was busy but you were able to get to whatever you wanted to play. There were a lot of regular arcade games too I forgot to mention, like Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters, Toobin', Pengo, Spy Hunter, Bump N Jump, stuff I haven't seen in years, so even though I myself focused on pinball, any classic arcade fan would have a great day there.

[Nemoide]

Oh man, that place looks pretty amazing. It's making me want to take a trip to one of the arcades that are roughly in my area.

[ExedExes]

It was a big deal, and you better believe I would have made it out there earlier had I known about it. Check out YouTube for some decent walkthrough videos too -- the story goes that the owner of this place owns all these games in a personal collection and stuff gets rotated out often, at one time this place had a rare Triple Punch arcade cabinet, that's one you'll never see in the wild much.

This video here was taken around the time it opened, and with a few exceptions, this is what the place looks like now, that Triple Punch cabinet is there too.

I also found this video that was just uploaded last week, that shows a little bit more of the lineup that was present when I was there.