Archiving the History of the LEGO Retail Experience
With the news that Toys R Us would be shutting down all of its stores, I took a trip to capture the state of their LEGO department before it became messy due to liquidation sales.
I’ll start the photos in the LEGO section, but then give you an extended tour of other parts of Toys R Us.
This is what the LEGO selection looked like at the Rockefeller Center store during the holidays 2017.
I am constantly amazed at how many incredible new sets LEGO comes out with. There are so many that I don’t actively collect anymore, but it is nice to see them all. Here is a look at what was on the shelves at Toys R Us in the summer of 2017
They were redoing some of the walkway right in front of the LEGO Rockefeller Center store, which resulted in LEGO creating a new tented entranceway:
I visited the Rockefeller Center LEGO Store in New York City, and at first was surprised to see so many sand green pieces on the pick a brick wall. Until, I finally realized what their little mini-build was for, then it all made sense: 
I was pleasantly surprised to see new Spider-Man LEGO sets at my local toy shop. I picked up the new Ghost Rider set:
When I go to Toys R Us, the most interesting finds are the little polybags and small boxed sets that are usually not on my radar. This time they had the Ninjago battle pack, and I wasn’t expecting to find the snowman set. I had remembered that being a seasonal promotion only at LEGO Stores — not something you find in June at Toys R Us.
Whenever I look at LEGO at a store like Toys R Us, what is always fascinating is seeing what I would call the “leftover” themes — the sets or themes that I can’t believe are still on the shelves, long after LEGO has shined a promotional spotlight on them. This time, there was that one Hobbit set on the shelf that jumped out at me.
Probably the highlight of this trip was the Captain America polybag.
My first trip to the LEGO Store this year, their Flatiron store. It was nice to see the new modular, the Ghostbusters HQ, and others. My honest take: I can’t keep justifying spending $200+ on so many of these big sets. I’ll still be collecting, but fewer and fewer purchases:
I’m still surprised that Barnes & Noble continues to carry so many toys, but it was nice to see some 2016 LEGO sets on the shelves already.
