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The Toyark › Toyark Spotlight › Nostalgia Spotlight – Toy Aisles of the 80’s

Nostalgia Spotlight – Toy Aisles of the 80’s

Posted on August 23, 2011 at 4:35 pm by Deefuzz under Toyark Spotlight

Today’s Discussion Point takes a look back at many of our pasts, so this one will be chock full of nostalgia with a chewy retro center. We are looking back at the old toy stores and toy aisles of the 80’s! Many of our favorite properties here on Toyark saw quite a boom of merchandising in the 80’s, even further some of those properties got their start in the 80’s!

There are many of us here on Toyark who lived through the 80’s and look back on those times fondly, and remember the amazing toy aisles that could be found in just about any store, whether it be a dedicated toy store like Toys R US and Children’s Palace, or if you did your toy perusing in a department store like Hills, Gold Circle, Service Merchandise, The Fair, or many others.

What we have for you today is a collection of images of these wonderful toy aisles that have been long forgotten, and ask you to come in and take part in this discussion. Share your fondest memories from these days with us, remember some of the amazing product that was left behind in the Reagan years, and if you have them please share your photos with us! If you have any toy aisle photos from the 80’s, make sure to add them in the thread for us all to see and share some sentimental tears.

Discuss on the Toyark Forums› Views: 25218

Nostalgia Spotlight – Toy Aisles of the 80’s - Additional Images

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Discussion / Comments (Jump to this Thread on the Forum)

  1. Deefuzz's Avatar Deefuzz says

    08-23-2011, 02:48 PM

    Nostalgia Spotlight - Toy Aisles of the 80's

    Here's one I have been wanting to do for a while. I wanted to try to compile more images before I posted, but then I thought I could make this more interactive by throwing it out there and seeing what pictures the rest of you may have access to!

    The toy aisles of the 80's sure were something. You really don't get the same feeling walking into a Toys R US these days. Maybe it was because I was a child, so I was smaller, and everything else around me was so much more imposing. But I remember the excitement just seeing the outside of a Children's Palace or Toys R US as a kid, and becoming practically breathless standing at the end of the toy aisle looking down at the mountainous rows of Transformers and G.I. Joe toys that lined the shelves to what seemed like the heavens.

    I know there has to be more pictures of these beautiful sights out there somewhere! Whaddya got?

  2. hrothgars's Avatar hrothgars says

    08-23-2011, 03:06 PM

    Have to say, these photos are pretty rad.

    Stompers! G.I. Joe Headquarters & a fleet of Skystrikers! Castle Grayskull! M.A.S.K.! Metroplex, Jetfire, Megatron, & Dirge! Thundercats Thundertank!

    That sweater & glasses combo!

    Sooooo much want!

  3. nomad1632's Avatar nomad1632 says

    08-23-2011, 03:27 PM

    thats awesome, the 80s, and 90s were the decades when toy isles were packed not just a single isle like they are now and toys r us's were packed full of figures, vehicles and playsets!!!! god I miss those days!!!!!

  4. bmorr's Avatar bmorr says

    08-23-2011, 03:31 PM

    wow. kids back then didnt have to worry about selection huh? I grew up in the 90s and I dont remember if i had it as good.

  5. nomad1632's Avatar nomad1632 says

    08-23-2011, 03:58 PM

    the 90s were great too we still had kaybees and all, now stores like walmart or target have barely one isle for boy toys and figures and toys r us is like half the size too.

  6. bmorr's Avatar bmorr says

    08-23-2011, 04:05 PM

    yeah i had kaybees in all the malls but they all kinds blew. instead, i dont know if it was regional or not but they had a sister store called Toy Works. better prices than toys r us. I remember the days when beast wars toys were as plentiful on the shelves as the movie toys are now.

    ---but then the economy tanked coupled with the fact that more kids play video games now

  7. ludovicotek's Avatar ludovicotek says

    08-23-2011, 04:24 PM

    Beautiful. Just beautiful. Those pics brought a tear to my eye. *sniff*

  8. synapse17's Avatar synapse17 says

    08-23-2011, 04:27 PM

    Really takes you back. I can remember when there were fewer lines but each line was represented in full. Play sets, vehicles, figures, and accessory packs. Take GI Joe, There's like one peg maybe two of Joe's at my Toys R Us. It used to be 1/4th of a aisles. Too much crap these days.

    Back in the late 80's and early 90's I could walk down one aisles and nothing but Joe's, Turtles, Thunder Cats, He-Man and Some marvel and DC.

    The good old days...

  9. jamesmruddy's Avatar jamesmruddy says

    08-23-2011, 04:50 PM

    I can remember spending hours just looking at all of the things shown in those pics.

  10. darkmega2000 has no avatar! darkmega2000 says

    08-23-2011, 05:21 PM

    WOW, the good old days, before toys became an adult/scalper/variant driven market.

  11. fr0stie1980's Avatar fr0stie1980 says

    08-23-2011, 05:28 PM

    I used to love those days! I now have proof that they existed!!!

  12. nomad1632's Avatar nomad1632 says

    08-23-2011, 06:06 PM

    the best kaybees were the outlets man I remember getting so many sweet buys from the one back home.

  13. omega145's Avatar omega145 says

    08-23-2011, 06:10 PM

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by darkmega2000 View Post
    WOW, the good old days, before toys became an adult/scalper/variant driven market.
    Great first post and welcome! Awesome thread and pics to go along with it. Hope to see more eventually.

  14. nomad1632's Avatar nomad1632 says

    08-23-2011, 06:49 PM

    I agree I hope we see more these pics bring back some great memories!

  15. jamesmruddy's Avatar jamesmruddy says

    08-23-2011, 06:54 PM

    I often wonder if there is some dark and dusty forgotten warehouse out there, filled with these goodies.

  16. ludovicotek's Avatar ludovicotek says

    08-23-2011, 06:56 PM

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jamesmruddy View Post
    I often wonder if there is some dark and dusty forgotten warehouse out there, filled with these goodies.
    Could you imagine? That would be a dream come true!

  17. jamesmruddy's Avatar jamesmruddy says

    08-23-2011, 07:02 PM

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ludovicotek View Post
    Could you imagine? That would be a dream come true!
    Wouldn't it though.

  18. AndyCR75's Avatar AndyCR75 says

    08-23-2011, 07:09 PM

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ludovicotek View Post
    Beautiful. Just beautiful. Those pics brought a tear to my eye. *sniff*
    Took the word right out of my mouth. Oh man..the smell of cheap rubber and plastic as you entered the rainbow-colored wall of a Toys R Us. I was too young to like girls at the time, but that same thrill of seeing a set of nice t*ts is equal to the thrill I got from marching up and down the aisles at TRU, KayBee and Child World.

    Holy Lord, Child World in Cranston, RI. It was like a Sams Club or a Big Lots. It was like there was absolutely zero aesthetic to it. It was basically a building crammed with as much sh*t as you could fit in one store. Action figure aisle? 2nd aisle from the left in the back. Never forget it. I'll occasionally dream of it, or what my mind remembers of it. It was bliss. Absolute f**king bliss.

    http://fogetaboutitri.blogspot.com/2...ild-world.html

  19. AndyCR75's Avatar AndyCR75 says

    08-23-2011, 07:13 PM

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by omega145 View Post
    Great first post and welcome! Awesome thread and pics to go along with it. Hope to see more eventually.
    yeah this is great stuff right here. You see, I think what drives many of us now is just that...NOSTALGIA!!!

  20. bmorr's Avatar bmorr says

    08-23-2011, 07:16 PM

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jamesmruddy View Post
    I often wonder if there is some dark and dusty forgotten warehouse out there, filled with these goodies.
    this:

    Raiders of the Lost Ark: top men + warehouse scene - YouTube

  21. jamesmruddy's Avatar jamesmruddy says

    08-23-2011, 07:25 PM

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bmorr View Post
    this:

    Raiders of the Lost Ark: top men + warehouse scene - YouTube
    Indeed. That is how I would imagine it.

  22. fr0stie1980's Avatar fr0stie1980 says

    08-24-2011, 12:03 AM

    I never remember it being hard to find a toy back then, there were no limited editions or short packs. The only thing that was limited were the mail aways. I remember using the joe points to buy old toys from the little catalog you'd get when you bought a vehicle, you could get a killer whale for $20 bucks and 50 joe points.

  23. Primacron's Avatar Primacron says

    08-24-2011, 02:57 AM

    Back in the 80's large superstores didn't really exist in the UK, and so it was all about the shops in the centre of town, Beaties, Woolworths, even WH Smiths and John Menzies had nice toy sections. (Any other UK'ers remember those?)

    My best memories are floor to ceiling Thundercats, rack after rack of Transformers, entire aisles devoted to Lego, and that was in the town centre!

    With the possible exception of comic shops, maybe Argos and the Entertainer I think you'd be hard pushed to get a decent toy in any town or city centre nowadays.

    What's with the solitary aisle of shelf-warmers in most stores we get nowadays!? (Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda, I'm looking at you!) Thank god for the internet!

  24. MegaPrime33's Avatar MegaPrime33 says

    08-24-2011, 03:48 AM

    It's true what they say that youth is wasted on the young. If only to be an adult in the 80s and 90s where I can drive to TRU and just spend my paycheck away.

  25. MegaPrime33's Avatar MegaPrime33 says

    08-24-2011, 03:56 AM





  26. There are more replies on the Toyark Forums.

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