Today was the first day of the grand opening weekend of the LEGO® store at Castleton Square Mall in Indianapolis, Indiana. In fact, it is the first and only LEGO® store in the state of Indiana. We’ve been looking forward to this event for several months now, and apparently we weren’t the only ones. We arrived just before 11 a.m. — the scheduled time for the opening. I knew it would be busy; however, I never imagined we’d be standing in line just to enter the store. When we got in line, we were told it would probably be 2½ hours. I think it ended up being an hour and a half.
Inside Indy's New LEGO® Store
The store is not very large so it was very hard to browse as the three check-out lines ran almost to the doors. There is a mini-figure building station where the kids can make three Minifigures for $9.99. There is a building station and computers so the kids can go to LEGO.com®. It was very hard to get to these stations because of the crowd.
They were well stocked, and we had no trouble finding the item we were looking for. You can also fill a plastic container with bricks of your choice. The large containers are $14.99 and the smaller ones are $7.99 (I think). If you plan to purchase anything, you are not done standing in line. We stood in line approximately 45 minutes to make our purchase.
Helping build the giant Buzz Lightyear
After making our purchase and exiting the store, we headed over to help a real LEGO® Master Builder construct an 8-foot-tall Buzz Lightyear. Kids do not actually get to place bricks on the Buzz Lightyear, they put together pieces at various stations and then hand them over to the builders. Each child who helps receives a certificate for helping. You couldn’t really tell it was Buzz when we left. I would give it a day or two if your kiddos are wanting to see Buzz. I did learn from one of the employees that the Buzz Lightyear is not at the Castleton location indefinitely. It will be moved to the next new store for it’s grand opening. So don’t wait too long if you want to see Buzz.
We also entered for a chance to win a $50 gift card to the LEGO® store. Every visitor during the grand opening weekend can register for a chance to win the $50 gift card. The grand opening celebration continues tomorrow, April 9, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, April 10, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The first 300 shoppers to spend $35 on Saturday, April 9, will receive an exclusive, limited edition LEGO® Minifigure set. On Sunday, April 10, the first 300 shoppers to spend $35 will receive an exclusive, limited edition LEGO® Minifigure t-shirt. Shirts are available in children’s sizes only.
Yeah! The Indianapolis LEGO® store is open!
Would you believe we went back this evening. My husband wanted to get some bricks for a project he is planning and our son did not mind going back at all. This time they stood in line about an hour and a half. This time I opted to do some shopping of my own. They spent a lot of time in the store this evening. The staff is not limiting shoppers’ time once they enter the store. You can shop as long as you want.
While I waited for them I gathered some good information from the LEGO® employee who was standing at the entrance. LEGO® Club meets once a month. For $25 (or $20 for VIP members) your child can attend a LEGO® Club meeting. The theme for the May meeting is Pirates of the Caribbean. Each participant will receive a limited edition LEGO® Club t-shirt and take part in a special build. Plus all participants get to enter the store an hour before opening for the Club meeting. The May meeting will be held May 21. Reserve your spot early as this event has limited space and is available on a first-come first-served basis.
Be sure to pick up a calendar so you can stay up to date on all of the exciting LEGO® happenings at the new Castleton Square LEGO® store. I also recommend making sure everyone has used the restroom so you won’t have to give up your spot in line to take the kiddos to the restroom. I also suggest bringing things to keep the kids busy while waiting such as Nintendo DS or even LEGO® magazines to look at.
Maybe you’ll see my little guy and my big guy tomorrow. They will be trying to get the exclusive LEGO® Minifigure. It will be the little guy’s third trip in two days! How great to finally have a LEGO® store in Indianapolis. While you are there be sure to sign up for the LEGO® VIP program and you can earn points for your purchases.
