When We Had to Grow Up: Remembering Toys R Us
Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 4:16 pm
With the news that has been circulating the past weeks, if not months, about the future of the toy store chain Toys R Us, the North American (Canada and USA) staff of Seibertron.com have pooled together some thoughts on what the stores meant to them growing up, what they do now, and what it might mean going forward now.
Be they Toys R Us kids or not, fond memories or barely present, there is something that struck a chord with a lot of children who grew into toy collectors, from Transformers and beyond. This is an homage to that, and an invite to anyone else to share their story. Let's reflect on the great memories of the past now, and let us know some more memories to the ones described below, and what you will miss the most.
william-james88:
Toys R Us is, with no exaggeration, my favourite store in the world. Some of my fondest memories, as a child, is going to Toys R Us with my mom and the money my grandfather had given her to find the perfect toy for me on my birthday. Every one of these trips is a memory I hold dear, even the time I picked up some Space Jam toys (say what you want, but a two pack of Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan was a dream come TRU).
Of course, Toys R Us is where I got my first Beast Wars toy, Terrorsaur, when I was eight. At the time, I did not know toys existed for the show I liked so much - though it was called Beasties in Canada - to the point that I remember telling my mom that when I grow up I will design toys that actually transform. I seriously did not know toys were advanced enough to have this happen.
I remember walking into the store and seeing all those gorgeous Transformers in there, toys I did not think could be possible. I remember a wall full from top to bottom of carded bubbles with so many different characters, shapes and sizes. It was breathtaking, especially as a kid. And I remember, later that year, seeing a column of Beast Wars Megatron toys, the purple on that T-Rex really popping against the neon yellow background, and telling my mom that this is what I wanted for Christmas. I remember seeing Street Sharks on the shelves, picking up a Mickey Mouse Viewmaster projector, and a Pride Rock Polly Pocket type set in a row filled with Lion King products.
I understand that this fairytale land I am describing might have changed in the US in the past years, with prices not being as competitive, and the selection not always being phenomenal. But our memories never fade, they are still with us and they will still be with us once all Toys R Us stores close in the US, if this is indeed what will happen. I am lucky to live in a country, Canada, where the stores are likely to stay open and where even my kids can be Toys R Us, as I was. So while this is the end of an era for many, the store we all loved will still, hopefully, be out there for others.
Bounti76:
I didn't live near a Toys R Us growing up. The closest one was 15 miles away, and by the time I could drive myself, I'd lost interest in Transformers, and toys in general. When I got back into collecting, around the the time Revenge of the Fallen came out, I would occasionally check a Toys R Us if I was near one.
I remember seeing MP Grimlock and thinking that he was a cool, modern version of the Grimlock toy I'd loved to pieces (literally) as a kid. Picked him up, and have kept him in package since. I found a couple of exclusives there, and it's the only place I ever saw Generations Metroplex and Titans Return Fortress Maximus on shelves. But by and large, the stores seemed dated even a decade ago, and I never really grew up with a love for the stores and catalog that most did. Still, it will be sad to see an outlet for toys that most non-specialty retailers will never stock, close. RIP, Toys R Us.
WreckerJack:
My fondest memory of going to Toys R Us was when I was 9 years old. I really liked Pokémon but I didn't have a Gameboy to play it on. I saved up all year and worked hard to get good grades. By the end of the school year I had saved up about a hundred bucks (which is one million dollars in kid money!) to go and buy a Gameboy, Pokémon Blue version and a strategy guide. I had chosen the electric green Toys R Us exclusive Gameboy Pocket. Still have it in my desk drawer to this day in fact. I remember trying to read the guide on the way home by the street lights while my dad lectured me about not letting my mom catch me playing video games too much.
As I got a little older, in my junior high school years Yu-Gi-Oh was the 'in' thing. Sometimes on Saturday mornings I would convince one of my parents to drive me out to the store to go and play in Toys R Us Yu-Gi-Oh league. It was a lot of fun to just show up and play cards with the other kids. It was more friendly than the tournaments and competitive play at card shops. I can still remember getting up early, driving over there when it was a sunny yet chilly morning to go and play. I'd often have time to get a donut or something to eat before and talk about my favorite cards and strategies with friends. I miss those times.
The one thing I most get nostalgic about is Bionicle. I was aware that Toys R Us charged a couple bucks more for them but they usually had what I wanted. It beat driving around from store to store and winding up not finding anything. Bionicle fans of the 2000s will remember that the red and green characters usually sold first leaving a sea of brown Bionicles to warm the shelf. Toys R Us always seemed to have a good selection of them so I could get the characters I liked best. It was always so nice to see the rows of canisters lined up because I knew how much fun it was going to be to buy one, take it home, and build it.
I'd spend hours in my room making up stories and battles with my Bionicles. Back in those days I didn't have internet during the week, cable, or any games besides my Gameboy so I entertained myself with figures. I had superheroes, Pokémon toys, and some DBZ guys. I'd spend many an afternoon as a kid spilling them out on the floor in my room coming up with whatever plot lines I could dream up. Anything was possible. The creative play and storytelling I experience with toys is definitely something to get nostalgic about.
Tyrannacon:
Toys R Us has been a staple of my childhood since the 80s and well into my adult years. It was the place to go while growing up to get myself everything from dinosaurs, to Jurassic Park/Jurassic World things, Star Wars stuff, and of course Transformers. The only other store I used to visit to get myself new toys was KB Toys. Toy stores like KB and TRU brought many a smile to my face and I would always spend a lot of time in there just looking at things and amusing myself. Sometimes I didn’t really buy anything as it was just about being in the environment itself.
Unfortunately, KB Toys eventually went under here in the US and now with TRU having the same fate I feel worried about the possibility of ever encountering a toy store and feeling that twinge of happiness I almost always felt when I went into one to get lost for a bit. TRU really helped though for me when I was feeling down or just anti-social to feel better and made it so my mental health was easier to shoulder. I am saddened, but I also understand that nothing lasts forever either.
Cobotron:
I have actually been frustrated with Toys R Us over the course of the last 5 years. Some of their practices made it easier just to shop elsewhere. I was feeling kind of jaded by it, but now that they're leaving the landscape, I am remembering better times when they were a staple of my hunting grounds, and nostalgia is taking over.
I grew up at Children's Palace, so TRU wasn't a real force in my childhood. I got back into collecting in college, in the late 90s, and Beast Wars was certainly a catalyst. I remember convincing my roomates' with cars to drive me to the local TRU and wrangling the likes of Dinobot and Primal. They were fun trips and always some good brotime with the friends who humored my "silly habit".
Later at the turn of the century I would finish college in Chicago and there was the marvelous downtown State St. Toys R Us. It sat directly in the path of my school and my CTA train stop. Many toys were purchased there. Not just Transformers. And there were always sales. Sales GALORE! Even when it was just a stop to see what was new, they offered a warm respite from the harsh Chicago winter winds on my commute to and from school.
Things had been rocky between us lately, but you will be missed you goofy old giraffe. Thanks for the good times!
xRotorstormx:
Oh Toys R Us, never did I think I would see the day that you would no longer be with us. Growing up, my parents would always take me to the store to pick out a toy if I did well on my report card or to commemorate a special occasion. KB Toys and Caldor were great but Toys R Us always seemed to be the go to place for the "good stuff". My childhood store was in Milford, Connecticut on Old Gate Lane. I can still remember walking in and the "window" where you would bring up paper receipts for everything from bikes to video games was on the right just past the maze of aisles when you first walked in.
I remember getting G2 Optimus Prime and getting it home but the electronics didn't work, so we ended up having to go back and return it. It was also the spot where just about every other toy line I became obsessed with like Mighty Ducks, Extreme Dinosaurs, and Jurassic Park was purchased. Every time I go back to visit family, my dad and I would always make a trip to the store to stir up old memories and see what we could buy without my mom finding out (yup even at 32!).
One of the first things that my now husband and I did when we first met was go to Toys R Us because he wanted to show that he supported my hobby of collecting. When I started my job upon moving to Michigan, there was a Toys R Us just down the road so it became a part of my daily routine whether it was a lunchtime hunt if the weather was bad or a quick stop on the way home. Over the last few years, when the shelved stopped restocking and the crowds had dissipated, it was becoming evident that something was wrong but walking in and finding something I had been looking for always put a smile on my face.
I stopped by Toys R Us this past Thursday and was trying hard to fight back the tears until I found a little stuffed Geoffrey. It's hard to believe that something that has been a part of my entire life is no more. Toys R Us, you will be forever missed and forever a part of our lives. Thanks for all the memories that I will cherish fondly for the rest of my life.
---
And how about you, Seibertronians and other readers? How does this news affect you? Do you have good, fond memories of the store? Does it hold a special place in the past? Are you not that invested in it at all? Join us, the Twincast Podcast crew (with their similarly themed episode here) in remembering what has been a staple of the Transformers collecting base for a long time, whatever your memories might be, and share some stories.
Be they Toys R Us kids or not, fond memories or barely present, there is something that struck a chord with a lot of children who grew into toy collectors, from Transformers and beyond. This is an homage to that, and an invite to anyone else to share their story. Let's reflect on the great memories of the past now, and let us know some more memories to the ones described below, and what you will miss the most.
william-james88:
Toys R Us is, with no exaggeration, my favourite store in the world. Some of my fondest memories, as a child, is going to Toys R Us with my mom and the money my grandfather had given her to find the perfect toy for me on my birthday. Every one of these trips is a memory I hold dear, even the time I picked up some Space Jam toys (say what you want, but a two pack of Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan was a dream come TRU).
Of course, Toys R Us is where I got my first Beast Wars toy, Terrorsaur, when I was eight. At the time, I did not know toys existed for the show I liked so much - though it was called Beasties in Canada - to the point that I remember telling my mom that when I grow up I will design toys that actually transform. I seriously did not know toys were advanced enough to have this happen.
I remember walking into the store and seeing all those gorgeous Transformers in there, toys I did not think could be possible. I remember a wall full from top to bottom of carded bubbles with so many different characters, shapes and sizes. It was breathtaking, especially as a kid. And I remember, later that year, seeing a column of Beast Wars Megatron toys, the purple on that T-Rex really popping against the neon yellow background, and telling my mom that this is what I wanted for Christmas. I remember seeing Street Sharks on the shelves, picking up a Mickey Mouse Viewmaster projector, and a Pride Rock Polly Pocket type set in a row filled with Lion King products.
I understand that this fairytale land I am describing might have changed in the US in the past years, with prices not being as competitive, and the selection not always being phenomenal. But our memories never fade, they are still with us and they will still be with us once all Toys R Us stores close in the US, if this is indeed what will happen. I am lucky to live in a country, Canada, where the stores are likely to stay open and where even my kids can be Toys R Us, as I was. So while this is the end of an era for many, the store we all loved will still, hopefully, be out there for others.
Bounti76:
I didn't live near a Toys R Us growing up. The closest one was 15 miles away, and by the time I could drive myself, I'd lost interest in Transformers, and toys in general. When I got back into collecting, around the the time Revenge of the Fallen came out, I would occasionally check a Toys R Us if I was near one.
I remember seeing MP Grimlock and thinking that he was a cool, modern version of the Grimlock toy I'd loved to pieces (literally) as a kid. Picked him up, and have kept him in package since. I found a couple of exclusives there, and it's the only place I ever saw Generations Metroplex and Titans Return Fortress Maximus on shelves. But by and large, the stores seemed dated even a decade ago, and I never really grew up with a love for the stores and catalog that most did. Still, it will be sad to see an outlet for toys that most non-specialty retailers will never stock, close. RIP, Toys R Us.
WreckerJack:
My fondest memory of going to Toys R Us was when I was 9 years old. I really liked Pokémon but I didn't have a Gameboy to play it on. I saved up all year and worked hard to get good grades. By the end of the school year I had saved up about a hundred bucks (which is one million dollars in kid money!) to go and buy a Gameboy, Pokémon Blue version and a strategy guide. I had chosen the electric green Toys R Us exclusive Gameboy Pocket. Still have it in my desk drawer to this day in fact. I remember trying to read the guide on the way home by the street lights while my dad lectured me about not letting my mom catch me playing video games too much.
As I got a little older, in my junior high school years Yu-Gi-Oh was the 'in' thing. Sometimes on Saturday mornings I would convince one of my parents to drive me out to the store to go and play in Toys R Us Yu-Gi-Oh league. It was a lot of fun to just show up and play cards with the other kids. It was more friendly than the tournaments and competitive play at card shops. I can still remember getting up early, driving over there when it was a sunny yet chilly morning to go and play. I'd often have time to get a donut or something to eat before and talk about my favorite cards and strategies with friends. I miss those times.
The one thing I most get nostalgic about is Bionicle. I was aware that Toys R Us charged a couple bucks more for them but they usually had what I wanted. It beat driving around from store to store and winding up not finding anything. Bionicle fans of the 2000s will remember that the red and green characters usually sold first leaving a sea of brown Bionicles to warm the shelf. Toys R Us always seemed to have a good selection of them so I could get the characters I liked best. It was always so nice to see the rows of canisters lined up because I knew how much fun it was going to be to buy one, take it home, and build it.
I'd spend hours in my room making up stories and battles with my Bionicles. Back in those days I didn't have internet during the week, cable, or any games besides my Gameboy so I entertained myself with figures. I had superheroes, Pokémon toys, and some DBZ guys. I'd spend many an afternoon as a kid spilling them out on the floor in my room coming up with whatever plot lines I could dream up. Anything was possible. The creative play and storytelling I experience with toys is definitely something to get nostalgic about.
Tyrannacon:
Toys R Us has been a staple of my childhood since the 80s and well into my adult years. It was the place to go while growing up to get myself everything from dinosaurs, to Jurassic Park/Jurassic World things, Star Wars stuff, and of course Transformers. The only other store I used to visit to get myself new toys was KB Toys. Toy stores like KB and TRU brought many a smile to my face and I would always spend a lot of time in there just looking at things and amusing myself. Sometimes I didn’t really buy anything as it was just about being in the environment itself.
Unfortunately, KB Toys eventually went under here in the US and now with TRU having the same fate I feel worried about the possibility of ever encountering a toy store and feeling that twinge of happiness I almost always felt when I went into one to get lost for a bit. TRU really helped though for me when I was feeling down or just anti-social to feel better and made it so my mental health was easier to shoulder. I am saddened, but I also understand that nothing lasts forever either.
Cobotron:
I have actually been frustrated with Toys R Us over the course of the last 5 years. Some of their practices made it easier just to shop elsewhere. I was feeling kind of jaded by it, but now that they're leaving the landscape, I am remembering better times when they were a staple of my hunting grounds, and nostalgia is taking over.
I grew up at Children's Palace, so TRU wasn't a real force in my childhood. I got back into collecting in college, in the late 90s, and Beast Wars was certainly a catalyst. I remember convincing my roomates' with cars to drive me to the local TRU and wrangling the likes of Dinobot and Primal. They were fun trips and always some good brotime with the friends who humored my "silly habit".
Later at the turn of the century I would finish college in Chicago and there was the marvelous downtown State St. Toys R Us. It sat directly in the path of my school and my CTA train stop. Many toys were purchased there. Not just Transformers. And there were always sales. Sales GALORE! Even when it was just a stop to see what was new, they offered a warm respite from the harsh Chicago winter winds on my commute to and from school.
Things had been rocky between us lately, but you will be missed you goofy old giraffe. Thanks for the good times!
xRotorstormx:
Oh Toys R Us, never did I think I would see the day that you would no longer be with us. Growing up, my parents would always take me to the store to pick out a toy if I did well on my report card or to commemorate a special occasion. KB Toys and Caldor were great but Toys R Us always seemed to be the go to place for the "good stuff". My childhood store was in Milford, Connecticut on Old Gate Lane. I can still remember walking in and the "window" where you would bring up paper receipts for everything from bikes to video games was on the right just past the maze of aisles when you first walked in.
I remember getting G2 Optimus Prime and getting it home but the electronics didn't work, so we ended up having to go back and return it. It was also the spot where just about every other toy line I became obsessed with like Mighty Ducks, Extreme Dinosaurs, and Jurassic Park was purchased. Every time I go back to visit family, my dad and I would always make a trip to the store to stir up old memories and see what we could buy without my mom finding out (yup even at 32!).
One of the first things that my now husband and I did when we first met was go to Toys R Us because he wanted to show that he supported my hobby of collecting. When I started my job upon moving to Michigan, there was a Toys R Us just down the road so it became a part of my daily routine whether it was a lunchtime hunt if the weather was bad or a quick stop on the way home. Over the last few years, when the shelved stopped restocking and the crowds had dissipated, it was becoming evident that something was wrong but walking in and finding something I had been looking for always put a smile on my face.
I stopped by Toys R Us this past Thursday and was trying hard to fight back the tears until I found a little stuffed Geoffrey. It's hard to believe that something that has been a part of my entire life is no more. Toys R Us, you will be forever missed and forever a part of our lives. Thanks for all the memories that I will cherish fondly for the rest of my life.
---
And how about you, Seibertronians and other readers? How does this news affect you? Do you have good, fond memories of the store? Does it hold a special place in the past? Are you not that invested in it at all? Join us, the Twincast Podcast crew (with their similarly themed episode here) in remembering what has been a staple of the Transformers collecting base for a long time, whatever your memories might be, and share some stories.