Philippines 1st Lego Store – Opening Day

Yup! We’ve braced the crowd to see for ourselves the 1st Lego Store in the Philippines. Since, this is my first Lego store, I have not much expectation. I’ve read in other blogs that the products are a bit pricey but there are lots of hard to find items. So, I’m banking on that.

I came around 1:30 PM, a little over the opening of the store at 1:00 PM. I thought that by now the crowd would be lesser. BUT I WAS WRONG! There’s still lots of people. It would have been okay if the line was moving fast but it was not! The strategy they have imposed is a customer comes out first before another goes in. The problem was, some of the customers are taking a long time before coming out.

If you get bored while waiting, you can go around and take pictures.

After 2 and a half hours, I was near the door. At this point, we noticed a flaw in the strategy. Some sneaky customers instructed their kids to go in first by telling the guard that their parents are inside. And after a while, the parent would follow to let them in saying their kids are inside. Please! Don’t follow the inconsiderate people. Other people are properly lining up and waiting for their turns.

I was surprised to see that the store is a bit small. It’s rectangular with people lining up in the center for payment. Because of the crowd, I wasn’t able to look at the Pick a Brick (679.75 Php for 100 grams, minimum) and Build a Mini (499.75 Php for 3).

It has more products than Toys R Us and Toy Kingdom, price is basically the same. I was hoping for a more extensive selection, but I wasn’t able to find the Airport Fire Truck as Edward requested. In the end, I’ve settled for other sets of Lego City.

Here are some of the displays to help you decide on what to buy.

Now, some of the exhibits. Some are pretty impressive.

And now… presenting our haul…

Simpsons Minifigure Series 2 is priced at 249.75 Php. Similar to other minifigures.

This is the 50 Php Spiderman Glider, to purchase this, it’s on a separate line inside. Beside the cashier. It was pre-packed at 5 pcs, the maximum number of items a customer can purchase.

This would be Edward’s birthday present from my sister.

I was aiming to buy this, and seeing it was a lucky find. It was hidden in the shelf below the keychains. If you can wait, this would be a freebie on May 14-15. I have no plans of returning this week.

This is a lucky find as well, I saw this in Lego Shop online and was hoping to see it in the store. Yay! Edward loved this. This costs 499.75 Php.

The Freebie

For the upcoming events…

For the Mini Build, the kids have 5 mins to build their set. They can bring it home. 10 kids per set. And 50 kids per hour.

Some points to ponder:
1. It would have worked better if they have issued numbers to customers, that way the cutting in lines would be eliminated.
2. If the receipt for the cashier is computerized it would be faster. Currently there are only 2 lines, one for cash and one for credit.

Overall, I’m happy with the experience, tiring but fulfilling.