Toys R Us is coming back to Charlotte — and we are all ready to be Toys R Us kids again
If you were a child in the ’80s, ’90s and early 2000s, you most likely remember going to the toy juggernaut, Toys R Us, when it was at its peak.
We all remember Geoffrey the Giraffe, the chain’s mascot, telling us the store closed. Now, the chain is moving back into two Charlotte malls: SouthPark Mall and Northlake Mall.
Since we are feeling a bit nostalgic here in the newsroom, we asked our colleagues to share their experiences at toy stores growing up. Do you have good memories of time spent at a childhood toy store, Toys R Us or otherwise? Email us your fondest moments!
Rogelio Aranda, The Charlotte Observer Local News Editor: “My family had a love-hate relationship with Toys R Us growing up in Chicago. We — the kids — loved going, but Papi hated it. He stuck with department stores and the neighborhood Goldblatt’s discount store. Heading down 26th Street to Goldblatt’s meant I’d come home with a Star Wars action figure or better yet, Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. Papi would pick one or two for himself for his “hands off” collection. Usually that “hands off” rule would last a few weeks.”
Adam Bell, The Charlotte Observer Business Editor and Arts Editor: “One of my favorite toy store memories was taking my young kids to New York City for the first time, and going to the Toys R Us flagship store in Times Square. Seeing how big their eyes got when they saw the immense indoor Ferris Wheel there, and running around the gigantic store, was just priceless.”
Genna Contino, The Charlotte Observer Local Government Reporter: “I distinctly remember going to the Pineville Toys R Us when I was in fifth grade to look for Harry Potter robes for a Halloween costume. This was before Harry Potter was super commercialized, so I was out of luck. I also remember visiting FAO Schwartz in New York City when I was little. I begged my parents for one of the giant life-sized stuffed animals they sell, but they told me we couldn’t fit it on the plane home.”
Anna Douglas, The Charlotte Observer Deputy Managing Editor: “My older sister and I both remember really clearly the experience of getting the Toys R Us catalog in the mail ahead of Christmas. We would take turns with it, each using our own color marker to circle the items we most wanted. Unsolicited, basically, we’d give that to our parents in hopes it would become their shopping list for Christmas. Honestly we circled so many things in that catalog — remember, it was so thick some years it felt like a hardback book! — we didn’t expect every item under the tree. But the shared experience of doing this every year with the Toys R Us catalog is a special memory to us. Later on in adulthood, I remember going to the toy store to pick out gifts to donate to families with children whose Christmas wish list made it to an Angel Tree at our church or school. Toys R Us was really just a Christmastime store for us but the memories are strong.”
Melissa Oyler, CharlotteFive Editor: “My siblings and I had our own aisles at Toys R Us (not officially, of course). But on each of our birthdays, Mom would drive us from Fort Mill to the corner of Tyvola Road and South Boulevard in Charlotte. The birthday kid, armed with money from Aunt Nancy and Grandmama, would get to choose where to shop. My eyes sparkling and wide with anticipation, I would spend all of my time in the Barbie aisle, carefully deciding on new outfits and Corvettes and dolls. My sister was always drawn to the end caps — a sucker for whatever the store wanted her to want — and my brother wanted the super boring remote-controlled car aisle. On my birthday, the toy store trip was always followed by a trip to Waldenbooks, where I would pour over The Baby-Sitters Club, Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine new releases. To this day, that corner of Tyvola and South belongs to Toys R Us — in my mind, anyway. And it always will.”
Jodie Valade, The Charlotte Observer Planning and Enterprise Editor: “I had two dates each year that I always looked forward to when I was growing up. First was my birthday, when I’d have a small gathering of friends over for a party and a cake all to celebrate me. But the second date always came about two weeks before my birthday. That’s when we’d take a trip to Toys R Us to get all the party supplies for my birthday and where I could drool over all the possible gifts I would point out to my parents. Strolling the aisles of Toys R Us and choosing a theme for my party was magical. So many delights for a child, so many possibilities! I’d agonize over finding the perfect little trinkets for goodie bags for my friends, and write down a whole list of gift ideas for my parents. With seemingly everything bought online these days, I don’t know if such an enchanting place still exists, if children can still get lost in aisles and aisles of delights like I once could. I’m hoping this new Toys R Us might be a version of that. And I’m eager to take a trip a couple weeks before my birthday this year to see what wonders I might find.”
Lisa Vernon-Sparks, The Charlotte Observer Race, Culture and Engagement Editor: “The Toys R Us in Warwick, R.I. ( now closed) was a regular stop most Saturday’s for my son, Donnie, and me back when he was about in third-grade, more than a decade ago. Donnie was forever on the hunt for a new Lego kit. Once he built them, he wanted another. These kits, including the Creator and The City series, and the Star Wars series were the faves. My son built an X-fighter and Tie-fighters with Legos - massive structures standing at least 24 inches. These kits would run upwards of $25 to $50 or more depending on the size, so I often gave him the side-eye when he picked some of them. He would also skip through the aisles with such joy looking for toys and gadgets of all kinds. His father and I spent literally hundreds one year for Christmas, as Donnie asked Santa Claus for five kits one year. We didn’t want to disappoint him, since we were vested in the whole Santa Claus thing. Sometimes we could find Game Boy/DS cartridges there, but mostly we went to GameStop for the latest games. I remember children playing with the displays and other already opened toys, as if Toys R Us was some kind of toy-petting-zoo. There was always a clamor on the weekends and especially all the days leading up to Christmas. And the check out lines, well, as Mom, I also had on comfortable sneakers and sweats.”
Want more memories?
Check out this retro Toys R Us commercial: Vintage 80’S Toys R Us Commercial.
This story was originally published July 19, 2022 at 1:25 PM.
