And only recently did I catch an NPR piece about the Danish company’s comeback too!
We dropped by Austin’s only one at Barton Creek Mall (one store over from Apple) because Somara wanted to get a new case for her iPhone 4. The choices were Hot Topic and Apple. I convinced her to go to the south side of Austin since we could hit one destination instead of two separate trips up north (Doman and Lakeline). Besides, I weaseled this destination in. I found out about its existence yesterday from a lady with a Lego-person keychain. To show her I was a fan, I showed the one I got courtesy of Rock Band. Then I asked where she got hers.
How is it? It’s relatively small compared to the lines of products Lego carries. There’s a whole section obviously dedicated to Star Wars, their most successful license but the generic stuff they’re known for is present: City, Atlantis, those lame attempts at action figures. Plus they had small amounts of Toy Story, Prince of Persia (soon to be in the discount bin next to the Last Airbender and Jonah Hex toys), Spongebob and Harry Potter.
The best part is all the bins of generic blocks. All you can fill in two sizes of cups for eight or 15 bucks. There are some specialized parts like wheels, axles, shingles, doors, antennae and control panels.
Due to the mall not being officially open until noon, there was a birthday party happening when I first walked by. Curiously, I asked how much these events cost. Not bad. For close to 200 dollars, the birthday kid and 10 guests get the store to themselves for an hour plus other goodies I didn’t quite memorize.
Something I need to discuss with my sister-in-law Anje.