Michael Dworkis
This could easily be a column chock-full of cliches and commonly used phrases to describe the end of Toys R Us in the United States (I say this, because in Canada TRU will remain alive and well for the time being).
This one is about emotion and feeling. For many readers, Toys R Us might have been a giant display before going to Amazon or heading over to Walmart to buy cheaper.
For those of us a bit older, Toys R Us was part of our childhood. Part of buying toys. But Toys R Us was the place to get ANYTHING. When I was young, I fondly recall running up and down the aisles until I found the Transformers section. Seeing shelves full of colorful boxes of Autobots and Decepticons would bring me such joy. At the time, the only other stores were Woolworths and KB Toys. But Toys R Us had them all. I did not have a big collection when I was younger (I have to thank local toy shows, flea markets, TFW2005, and eBay of course for what my collection looks like now), but there was a time in the early 1990’s where I would go to TRU, in the hopes of finding some Transformers, but by 1992, they were no more.
In 1993, I recall turning on the television and re-runs of Transformers were shown on WPIX and re-branded as Generation 2. Suddenly, on a trip around my Bar-Mitzvah, we went to Toys R Us, and with one stunning sight, the spark of excitement and pure elation hit me like new oxygen. There is was, the Transformers, back on shelves. Repaints and remolds of the originals, the likes of Optimus Prime, Jazz, Starscream, and the Dinobots were in front of me. I bought the entire set of Constructions and immediately came home and built them into Devastator. However, there was bonus on this particular trip. As I was going through the shelves, I saw what looked like a classic G1 styled box, black and purple, Decepticon colors.
I couldn’t believe it, but there was a sealed G1 Insecticon Kickback. With only the slightest hesitation of disbelief, I shook myself out of it and grabbed it off the shelf.
It wasn’t all about Transformers. I bought all my consoles there. Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Game Boy, and my N64. I recall how there were pictures of games and consoles, you would take the paper slip, and bring it to the front cashier, who would then bring the game from the back.
As I got older, I have to admit, my fondness for Toys R Us waned. There was still KB Toys for a while, and over the years I could get newer Transformers from Target, Walmart, and inevitably, Amazon. TRU just wasn’t the only game in town anymore. After some poor business situations, TRU gradually became a more expensive option, where the “big box” stores were cheaper.
I suppose I always took it for granted Toys R Us would be around forever. What saddens me the most, is my two children, age seven, might have some memory of it. Our last major purchase was the child-sized Power Wheels Star Wars Landspeeder. 70% off regular price. I never had a Power Wheels as a child, but at this price, I couldn’t pass it up for my kids. My third child, to be born (g-d willing) in a matter of weeks, may never know what Toys R Us was.
Logan James – It’s the End of an Era.
While I spent most of my adulthood wandering aimlessly through Toys R’ Us, picking up some video game or Funko Pop every so often, the real joy in walking through the store was being reminded of how the place meant the world to me growing up. Even though the store lost its luster over time, the place was rooted in nostalgia and providing memories with my family and friends. Hell, even in the past decade the store became a place that had to be visited during my New York Comic-Com weekends, or an escape from the stresses of work. It became a quick stop to roam the merchandise and take silly pictures with friends and my fiancée. It kept giving me utter joy no matter the circumstance.
Hearing that Toys R’ Us was shutting down was heartbreaking. This was the place where I got my first Ninja Turtle figure. The first Game Boy. I’d spend countless hours in there hounding my parents for something, or wishing I could win the contest where you had like three minutes to run through the store and collect all you wanted. I would drill over a new 90’s gaming system, or try to squeeze into the Power Wheels Back to the Future DeLorean. I’d ride a bike through the aisles….well you get the idea.
Seeing the establishment shut its doors is not fun, but as an adult I know that part of growing up is leaving behind your childhood. Toys R’ Us closing up shop is different, but the really terrible thing about it is that I won’t be able to share the same joy I had with my future kids. That’s a feeling I’ll never get again, and that’s really the most sad thing about it.
I’ll miss you, Toys R’ Us. You provided me a ton of wonderful memories as a child and as an adult. Thank you for everything. I’ll always be a Toys R’ Us kid.
Josh Taylor
With the recent closing of Toys R Us, across the country, it got me thinking/reminiscing on the memories I had when I was a “Toys R Us” kid. In my neighborhood, Toys R Us was originally at a shopping center (Twilley Center was the name of that shopping center), but then they moved to the other part of town. At the time they moved, the only time I really went in there was to get horror collectible merchandise (like McFarland Figures, Cinema of Fear, or NECA figures). When it use to be in the Twilley Center, it felt like a magical place. I loved looking through the Nintendo/Sega aisle’s (that’s where I got my copy of Pokemon Red Version, my brother got the Blue Version), getting the first wave of SPAWN toys, and that was also where I got my first sideshow collectible (Frankenstein’s Monster).
Toys R Us didn’t feel the same when the store switched locations in my neighborhood, and honestly I liked looking through KB Toy aisles more than I did Toys R Us. There was another Toys R Us, about an hour or two away, that had a similar layout to the one I use to go to when I was a kid, so when I went out of town to conventions, and on my way home, I would check that store out to feel like I was walking down memory lane. It is upsetting to know that future generations won’t be able to experience walking in a store just focused on selling toys, and games. Apparently there’s still reports floating around saying that maybe some retail chains might set up a toy store in the fall, or maybe a possible return of KB Toys (really hope that’s true). At least Ill still have the memories, and remember how it felt to be a “Toys R Us kid.”
