A Great Place to Visit - Lasting Toys!

If you like LEGOs and are anywhere in the vicinty of Toronto, Canada there's a place you have to go to.  Even if you're not in the vicinity...if it's like an hour and a half drive...it's still way worth it.  This is one of our favorite places - Lasting Toys.

Lasting Toys is an independent LEGO store in Mississauga, Ontario.  We first discovered them a few years ago, I think, back when they were in a much smaller store.  They are packed floor to ceiling with LEGOs.  They carry old & new sets - they still have a few LEGO Agents, Rock Raiders, and Aquanauts sets!  They have all sorts of accessories and books, too.

On our most recent visit we picked up the Ocean Interceptor from the DINO line, some BrickStix, an old Bionicle polybag, the Mirkwood elf polybag, and a Friends polybag for LEGOGirl.

It's really cool being able to see older sets on the shelves.  They tend to have a good assortment of rare and hard to find items.  It's just a really cool place and I highly recommend a visit.

LEGO Birthday Cake (#40048)

We recently traveled to our closest LEGO store and picked up a few things, like the new Heroica set Ilrion and a Core Hunter for LEGOBoy.  Right now when you spend $50 or more at a LEGO store or LEGO.com you get a cute birthday cake set to celebrate LEGO's 80th birthday!  We had some VIP rewards to use, too, so we made out pretty well.

But getting back to the cake... it's set #40048 - 24 pieces.  I really like the plate they have it sitting on.

It's a cute little set with some fun pieces in it.  We also got to check out a lot of new LEGO sets while we were at the store.  There wasn't much new in the build-a-mini or pick-a-brick wall, though.

That's all for now!

A LEGO Exclusive - 3300003

This weekend we attended our first ever LEGO Store Grand Opening.  We went to the store in Victor, NY about 20 minutes before it opened.  The line was a bit long, but not terrifying.  The main purpose of our trip was to try and get one of the exclusive LEGO Brand Retail Store models they were giving away. Fortunately, they had a decent supply on hand, so we were able to get one!

It's a really cute set.  The door handles are attached to transparent clear headlight bricks, which is the first time we've run into those.

There's a Pick-a-Brick wall in the back, and a stack of cups next to the register.

On the sides are LEGO sets, with technics acting as the displays.

We also finally caved in and bought the VIP-Members only Mini Modulars set.  I'll try to post about that soon.  It's still a work in progress.

Visiting a LEGO Store

I know, I know...Fridays are supposed to be building challenge days, but life has gotten a little hectic. I'm managing to find time for a quick post, though, so that should count for something!

Last week the LEGOFamily and I went to visit our nearest LEGO store, which means visiting a foreign country.  The closest store is just outside of Toronto, so we made the trip up there.  (A new LEGO store will be opening at the end of the month in upstate NY...YAY!)

It's very cool to see all the sets and displays that the LEGO store has, and they usually have a small clearance section.  But for us, the big draw is the Pick-a-Brick wall.  For one price you get to jam as many pieces into a plastic cup as you can.  The supply of pieces is limited, but it's still a lot of fun.  I should mention that we are casual Pick-a-Brickers.  I've read accounts of people taking the time to stick pieces together to minimize the empty space in the cup.  We do try to fill up the cup completely, but we don't take any extraordinary measures in doing so.

LEGOGirl, being a LEGOBaby, thought it was great fun to reach into the bins of pieces and pull out pieces to walk around with.  Thus we ended up taking home some pieces we really didn't need more of.  If you haven't ever experienced the joy of Pick-a-Brick, I'd encourage you to do so.

We also enjoy the Build-a-Mini kiosk.  There you can build any minifig you want from the available pieces.  This time there were parts from some of the recent collectible minifig series.  It's fun to be able to take home some specially designed little people.

One of the cutest moments we had in the store was when LEGOGirl found the keychains.  There were many cast-offs at the bottom of the display, and she had the best time hanging them back up on the hooks.  Of course, she didn't care about putting Kai back with all the other Kai's, and LEGOMom couldn't let that slide.  And then LEGOGirl decided to start taking them all down again, and then it was time to be picked up by Mom.  :)