Chatt, TN Toys R Us midnight madness

Wow! What a night! I'm sure pictures will be coming soon, but this was a much bigger turnout than I think any of us expected. At one point, we wondered if we (the ones that costumed up for this) would outnumber the ones coming to get the toys. That was quickly thrown out as the line grew and grew. Still, I didn't make a head count, but I think we had over 20 costumers there. Stormtroopers, jedi, Jango Fett, Padme, Barris Offee, Darth Vader, Darth Maul, Darth Nihilis, and even a Tuskan Raider. Ironically, the only clone in the group was one of the kids that came out for the toys. He was very proud that he was "one of the good guys". I'm pretty sure he was one of the first ones in line as well.

At 11:00pm, everyone that needed to get changed was ushered into TRU. We had a brief glance at the employees putting out product as we went back to the employee lounge to get changed. Once dressed, we went back outside to an even larger line where we helped pass the time as the cameras flashed, lightsabers twirled, and the countdown display slowly got closer to zero.

At one point, the Mall security truck pulled up and a short, round man got out and proceeded to tell us to clear the area in front of the store because people are trying to drive through and there may be drunks on the road. I think everyone looked at each other in disbelief. TRU is not off a road. This is a giant parking lot. Besides, who would be cruising TRU at midnight when all the other stores around it are closed? Then he proceeded to caution us on the lightsabers and how people might get hurt. Um... okay. Anyway, he got back in his truck and parked several hundred feet away and watched. Although it didn't take long for the area in front of the store to fill up again, he didn't bother us after that.

Even through the crowd counted down from 10 seconds to zero, the TRU security guy didn't budge until a few minutes later when the manager opened the doors. I won't bother going over what all was available for sale, but the action figures went quick. By the time we (the costumers) got in, most of them were gone. I asked one of the employees if they had some more cases to bring out and he said that no... that was everything!

We stayed an hour or so as we saw several people get in line with carts full of stuff. One guy told the cashier that he usually gets one of everything the first day and then goes through it at home to decide what he wants to keep and what he'll take back. No joke, but his bill last night was over $800 (I was behind him in line). I personally got about $30 worth of stuff and was able to get the holo Grievous, so I was happy.

My kids were with me and Anakin wanted a Captain Rex figure. He got a Grievous from TRU while Abby scored a coloring book, but I ended up taking him to a nearby WalMart where he had his choice of pretty much everything as by then there was only one other person looking at SW stuff (who was also at TRU earlier). Beside Rex, he found a Commander Gree that he used to have (before his dog Millie chewed him up), so he was happy about that. While we were at WalMart, the stock lady was taking everything off the standalone display and stocking the shelves. Afterward, I asked her what they do with the displays in which she replied "they take them in the back and recycle them". Well, a few minutes later, she came back with the cardboard side panel with a picture of a huge Clone Helmet. Sometimes, it's the free stuff that's the best stuff.

[image=http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh178/dvsith2008/toys%20r%20us%20event%2008/IMG_2199c.jpg]