A first look inside the new Toys R Us in American Dream mall

EAST RUTHERFORD — Celebrities, executives and press were free to roam the colorful walls of the two-story Toys R Us global flagship store at the American Dream mall on Wednesday night.

Rows of nearly every imaginable toy crowded the shelves — from Calico Critters to Legos to baby dolls to Barbies to Playmobile sets. Giant game board posters decorated the walls. Stations for kids to play were set up throughout the space. Multicolored stars ran through the store, past Geoffrey's Café and Ice Cream Parlor and the two-story slide.

Also at the party were celebrities like Nick Cannon and model Chanel Iman.

Thursday morning, photographers were allowed inside, yet there is no set opening date for the store.

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The location will span 20,000 square feet and mark the return of the toy store in the United States. The store is designed for Toys R Us kids of "all ages."

Toys R Us, formerly headquartered in Wayne, filed for bankruptcy in 2018, closing all stores. In 2019, the company said it was making a retail comeback and opened two stores, including one in Garden State Plaza in Paramus. Both closed earlier this year. 

WHP Global, parent company of Toys R Us, said the new flagship will be reminiscent of the toy store customers know and love, as visitors can shop their favorite toy brands, meet Geoffrey the Giraffe and play with interactive experiences and product demonstrations.

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The Toys R Us store is next to Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park and DreamWorks Water Park.

The location was first hinted at in September during a press tour of the 3.3 million-square-foot megamall in East Rutherford.

During the tour, American Dream and Ken Downing, chief creative officer of mall developer Triple Five, hinted that the toy store would be opening a location. Downing said an unnamed toy store that "disappeared" was under construction to come back.

"Let's just say a giraffe is working really hard back there," Downing said. Toys R Us has had Geoffrey as a mascot since the 1950s.

This comes on the heels of Toys R Us opening its digital flagship store this year together with Macy’s and with Toys R Us shops slated to open inside over 400 Macy’s stores nationwide starting in 2022. 

In March, New York-based WHP Global said it had acquired a controlling interest in Tru Kids Inc., the parent company of Toys R Us, Babies R Us, Geoffrey the Giraffe brands and more than 20 established related consumer toy and baby brands.

Kristie Cattafi is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: cattafi@northjersey.com

Twitter: @KristieCattafi