"Livingston's (Food, Fun & Games) - A wide variety of food for the entire family. Experience an enjoyable blend of live and animatronic entertainment, food and video games. Air-conditioned for your comfort."
— from an old Kings Dominion map
Livingston's was a large restaurant, showplace and arcade located in Safari Village, in the same buildings currently occupied by Outer Hanks and backed by Boo Blasters on Boo Hill. Here's Livingston's, highlighted on an early 1980's park map:
Livingston's was an amazing place, at least to me as a kid at the park in the '80s. It was a cafeteria-style restaurant that had a game arcade located in the front and a cavernous seating area in the back. The seating area of the restaurant was notable because it featured both live and animatronic shows. I don't recall the nature of the live shows, but the animatronic shows featured music and jokes from a jungle/desert-themed cast of characters includingsnakes in pots an explorer dog in a big cauldron and pith-helmeted explorers a fez-wearing gorilla. The seating area was divided into different sections, each area themed to places such as Egypt, jungle and desert. I remember some of the seating being raised up on a dais around the central stage. The food was probably general park fare; I remember only fried chicken, though I remember it fondly.
I wish I had photographs of the interior of Livingston's but, thus far, I have not been able to locate any on the web or in my collection.
Another thing I remember about Livingston's is that it was cold in there— they weren't kidding about the air conditioning! Woe be to the guest who sat down in Livingston's wet from having just ridden the Haunted River or Diamond Falls...
ADDED: Please see mhwinva's excellent post below for much better, more detailed information about Livingston's, as well as a picture and video of the Livingstons animatronic characters in their earlier incarnation.
— from an old Kings Dominion map
Livingston's was a large restaurant, showplace and arcade located in Safari Village, in the same buildings currently occupied by Outer Hanks and backed by Boo Blasters on Boo Hill. Here's Livingston's, highlighted on an early 1980's park map:
Livingston's was an amazing place, at least to me as a kid at the park in the '80s. It was a cafeteria-style restaurant that had a game arcade located in the front and a cavernous seating area in the back. The seating area of the restaurant was notable because it featured both live and animatronic shows. I don't recall the nature of the live shows, but the animatronic shows featured music and jokes from a jungle/desert-themed cast of characters including
I wish I had photographs of the interior of Livingston's but, thus far, I have not been able to locate any on the web or in my collection.
Another thing I remember about Livingston's is that it was cold in there— they weren't kidding about the air conditioning! Woe be to the guest who sat down in Livingston's wet from having just ridden the Haunted River or Diamond Falls...
ADDED: Please see mhwinva's excellent post below for much better, more detailed information about Livingston's, as well as a picture and video of the Livingstons animatronic characters in their earlier incarnation.