Toys 'R' Us 1991 Day Before Thanksgiving Raw Footage

A 20 minute video of raw footage from inside a NYC Toys “R” Us location on the day before Thanksgiving.

[@deusprogrammer_thekingofspace]

It's a shame that when we are having the time of our lives, we don't know it until it's over.

[@llorenstorrespr4409]

You couldn't say it any better. Very true & can be painful to some of us.

[@BuddyLee23]

NOW I've had the time of my life? No, I never felt like this before. Yes I swear, it's the truth…

[@nylesprint]

Greatest comment ever 🎉

[@bodilly6221]

@@llorenstorrespr4409very painful

[@KittiesGalore]

​@@BuddyLee23😅

[@_Channel69]

That feeling being in a Toys R Us as a kid is indescribable

[@drewski1535]

To the person that recorded this you have no idea how many people out there you have made smile or cry getting to relive these moments again can’t believe how fast these times have flown by they really were better times

[@bodilly6221]

I wasn’t born then but I’m still filled with nostalgia

[@akoww1000]

The man who filmed this worked for ABC News, so glad people like him kept unedited footage of things like this

[@jeltoninc.8542]

What a sad life to feel you must live in the past.

[@drewski1535]

@@akoww1000 found some other vids like this on here saw one with Sears and heard those old registers felt like I was a kid again

[@drewski1535]

​@jeltoninc.8542 u can keep the present times I want nothing to do it

[@10percent4DaBigGuy]

truly sad most kids will never understand the joys of running into a toy store! the toy store was a happiest memory from my childhood!

[@TheLockdownKidNYC]

These poor parents - struggling to remember which Turtles toys they already bought.

[@ericcartmansstrengthandpow5960]

Can't be double dippin' on a turtle purchase, nomsayin'. If I had unwrapped a duplicate turtle on Christmas morning I would have torn the house apart and then been all like, "But MeeEEEEeeeEEeEem I already have wacky action MichelangeloooOOooo!".

[@Religious_man]

So what? F'em. Such "parents" have spoiled their children with that $hit. Why do people sympathize with the parents over the children?

[@mikeg2491]

@@Religious_manyou don’t know how many kids only get as little as 1-2 toys per Christmas it’s naive to assume every parent there is showering them with gifts.

[@phoenixman8569]

​@@ericcartmansstrengthandpow5960alright sweetheart, we'll take it back on boxing day and get you the dommy somthing one tomorrow....

[@ogre706]

Back when we had to drive out to buy videogames... today we just download them and save a lot of time not having to drive out, browse a store, etc. And what do we do with all this extra time we now save? Scroll through social media endlessly. Our lives have become more convenient but the quality of our existence hasn't improved much.

[@theguybehindyou4762]

Enjoy it while it lasts. Survival is about to become a top priority...

[@Moonlite.88]

The digital era is destroying the gaming industry. It's just the beginning stages of you will own nothing and be happy. Sad times we live in.

[@Absolute_Goblin]

Well how else would they get you to carry around a tracking device that transmits all of your personal data to them?

[@sub-zero5983]

​@@Moonlite.88yup and 2030 is right around the corner

[@kimmykimko]

​@@Moonlite.88so glad I'm not the only one on these videos who is awake.

[@charliep5139]

Seeing a whole wall of ninja turtles brings back great memories. Also, there was no better joy for me as a kid then seeing a video game slip in the sleeve, meaning that they had it still in stock, taking the slip out of the sleeve, and walking up to the counter, when your parents told you that you could get a game! Great times

[@bw2273]

Haha! That's right! I remember what I swear was like 4 aisles of these things in the early 90s - NES, SNES, Gameboy, Genesis, etc. Hundreds of video game slips.

[@LadyEE83]

If only we could go back to this! I would’ve been 8 at the time. Those toys r us trips are some great memories! Look how many toys there were. Toys barely take up a few aisles now.

[@laurenlongfellow9714]

This is literally a toy store though lol of course all the aisles will be toys.

[@theguybehindyou4762]

Video games are the new toys

[@candacebrozak7363]

I LOVED watching this! Tremendous thank you to whoever took this back then. So grateful to see!

[@thomashardin911]

Nostalgia attack! 🤘☕️⚡️

[@BuddyLee23]

Clearly intentional stock footage. Whoever did it was probably assigned to doing it and undoubtedly was compensated. I wonder what they do now. Imagine coming across the stock footage you yourself shot 30 years ago (and likely forgot all about).

[@QuaidShun]

it feels like the closest thing to time travel

[@Metallizombie]

Seeing entire aisles dedicated to one type of toy, it’s a bygone era for sure. I’m sad kids these days don’t have huge toy stores to get lost in

[@theguybehindyou4762]

I miss the sections dedicated to GI Joes (the realistic kind, not the shit with Cobra).

[@islandbee]

​@@theguybehindyou4762- In defense of Cobra. I thought 80s era GI Joe was great. Along with Transformers. Cobra Commander and Starscream voiced by Chris Latta.

[@theguybehindyou4762]

@@islandbee The concept could work if done right, I just never liked how Cobra has been handled. But then, I need my entertainment to be as believable and realistic as possible.

[@nikkole9951]

Omg the Barbie aisle! I miss an entire aisle covered in pink! This takes me back. I got to be five years old again for a few minutes. Thank you!

[@QuaidShun]

feels like the closest thing to time travel

[@jayweiss4378]

My generation had it all…. Born in the 70s and grew up in the 80s and 90s😎

[@tedbell4416]

Absolutely

[@samhain81]

@@tedbell4416 Cheap housing, bills, food. You better appreciate how good you had it, and still do.

[@abelreytor7722]

See the difference of people back then , you put a camera on there face they smile, you do that today, they want to ripp your head off!!!

[@pepinocabron]

My relatives always bought me the wwf figure toys (hulk hogan, macho Man, ultimate warrior etc) at toys r us in the 90s. This store was like Disneyland for kids.

[@user95395]

Disneyland is Disneyland for kids.

[@bgpinoy]

Just watching this, even the store smell comes back. Some memories just take you back to most of the senses.

[@Abominabletable]

Something about those old lego foldover-reveal style boxes feels so right.

[@Dooblecaine]

50 dollar video games in 1991. That's similar to around 113 dollars today. Outrageous! I forgot just how expensive gaming was back then. Thank a parent if they were buying you these games back then, because it wasn't cheap!

[@spol]

Crazy!!

[@Metsfan7232]

1991 most Genesis games were $49.99. 1992 and on many Genesis games were $59.99 (a few later than that such as Phantasy Star IV had MSRP of $90-$100). PS1 (released in 1995) games were usually $39.99….CDs cheaper than cartridges.

[@hamburgerfrenchchips]

15:47 Cantonese speak

[@stormyalice]

Federal minimum wage is only $3 more today than in 1991. Think about the prices of stuff you see in this video compared to now. And then think how little we earn compared to then. The 90's was a time where things shifted and it started to take two people to work to afford a home. Now it takes a lot more than just that.

[@laurenlongfellow9714]

And people wonder why everyone is miserable now. We’re literally being crushed to death.

[@blueamenaa749]

Yes exactly. There are destitution wages. It's like watching a fiscal genocide....

[@kimmyymmik]

Almost no one is paying minimum wage stop lying 😂 even mc Donald’s offers 13+ I haven’t seen below $15 and I just moved from Texas to wi and same thing.

[@Metallizombie]

Some prices are similar. Video games were 39-69 and aren’t more these days. Action figures have gone up, a 3.75” Star Wars figure would’ve been 3.99-6.99 and they’re about 12 now. So it’s hit and miss.

[@Metallizombie]

@@Countcho I mean, I can’t claim to be an expert. All I know is that I made $5.50 an hour in 1998. I paid $60 for N64 games and 29-49 for PSX games, and $5.75 for most toys

[@edospina97]

That pallet of TMNT Technodromes would be worth about $20,000 today.

[@cancel.lgbtq.6892]

I couldn't afford it then and I surely couldn't afford it now. LOL

[@randomfools808]

Thought the same when he zoomed in.

[@codymattison8189]

​@@cancel.lgbtq.6892 Totally agree with your profile name... how sad this world has become these last couple of decades especially.

[@cancel.lgbtq.6892]

This brought back great memories. Me , and my stepbrother used to go to Toys R' Us every Saturday with my stepfather to pick out toys. I miss the good old days.

[@guardian08527]

8:11 God, the Lego Knights and Pirates in the background. My 2 favorite Lego sets of all time!

[@LostnFound1026]

The peak age of toys and video games, everything a kid could want. Just the experience of walking into a toysrus with my parents was a dream. I cherish my memories.

[@Der_Kleine_Mann]

Toys'R'Us was such an amazing place throughout the whole 90's, even here in my small city in Germany. I always loved the experience when we went there. Basically all my Toys back then came from there. My first real bike without the support wheels also came from there. Good times, good times. A few years ago the Toys'R'Us has closed, which says a lot about the times we're in right now😔

[@arwyn1025]

Still open in Canada.😊

[@Der_Kleine_Mann]

@@arwyn1025 Oh really. That's at least some good news👍

[@travisthree11]

RIP Toys r us. Kids will never know what they're missing out on.

[@theguybehindyou4762]

I think it was brought back somewhere.

[@user95395]

People so notice the camera are embarrassed to be filmed. Refreshing.

[@shanac5536]

Cell phones really have ruined alot. We don't answer the phone because we think everyone is a scammer, we don't answer the door because we can see who is there from our cameras, it's sad really

[@tedbell4416]

100%

[@rodriguezsp8059]

To go back to this time even for 1 day . I would’ve been 10 . 😢

[@mrnobunnyzone9433]

I was 5 years old ......home alone hottest movie out .....ice ice baby biggest record out 😂 my little brother was born....all i had to do was wake up....food was ready breakfast lunch an dinner....just wake up an go play outside 😢

[@jackson5116]

13:23 the infamous video game ticket wall. The worst possible way to sell games to people (get their hopes up they had the game, only for there to be no ticket for it!).

[@MiketheratguyMultimedia]

It was so exciting though. I remember grabbing a few tickets of games I hoped to buy (well, planned to get my parents to buy for me) which never got used. Somewhere I still have one for a Genesis game somewhere.

[@AurumUsagi]

It was an effective LP measure, though of course, there had been occasions where TRU would run out of tickets for that one item, and that caused inconvenience. Though it was (and still is) common practice for video game stock to be hidden away, because of their high value and ease of stealing, even though most TRUs in the warehouse format had a rather convoluted entrance where there was normally push barriers and a customer service desk straddling the entrance and exit.

[@Peppers19781978]

I remember the walk to that video game section. Felt like forever for a kid. Not knowing if the ticket would be there. Then the anticipation when you took it up to the little booth to finally get your game. Buying video games was like going to CVS and buying meds. I remember how bummed I was when Mario 2 was sold out for a few weeks. Kids today have no idea.

[@tedbell4416]

Haha

[@mrxager18]

My mom and I traveled all over town to find Bebop and the Foot Soldier and when we finally found them it was like finding gold. We went to Shoney's to celebrate!!

[@kimmykimko]

I loved Shoney's, always had to have a strawberry shortcake for dessert.

[@winterlynn9012]

I remember this exact Toys R Us! Great times and great footage! My poor mom probably spent hundreds if not more on TMNT action figures, the movies, and just any TMNT related merch my 2 brothers and I could find. From 89 till about 92 we were obsessed. Around 93 I was 10 and becoming more interested in makeup and clothes and my brothers were nearly 13 and into skateboarding, girls and metal and all our childhood TMNT stuff was either donated or given away or possibly thrown out. Seeing those boxes of action figures again brought back memories of the excitement we'd experience when mom would take us to Toys r us to buy new ones. And that video game aisle! 😍

[@joshbutler3755]

Toys R us always had the biggest selection of Nintendo games. If there was a game you couldn't find anywhere else, Toy R us would have have it.

[@rogdawg123]

hello beautiful 😍

[@Hurricanelive]

Even though you knew you couldn't have it all... being surrounded by it all held a mighty fine magic all its own alongside getting to choose those one or two items that were yours to take home. Sometimes we chose poorly but most of the time we got something we were pretty proud of. But my fondness is before the BrU box reset, just aisles that stretched on and on and up and up.

[@McFlurryMachineIsDown]

I was 10 months old back then. Sometimes its cool to look up how things were when you were born. Great time travel.

[@JurassicGamer2]

I was boorn in march this year so you were older than me :D

[@nickprovence]

​@@JurassicGamer2I was also a March 91 baby.

[@MistaFrisco]

This is how I remember Toys R Us, toys damn near stacked to the ceiling. In its final years it just seemed a bit bare to me and I could just feel it was coming to an end. I’m grateful to had experience Toys R Us in its hay day.

[@generallobster]

This is so painfully nostalgic. I remember the store in color and HD--this looks like an 80's VHS, but in person, it was spectacular.

[@danavipuzzles7308]

Man, hearing the sound of those cash registers in the end. I haven't heard that sound in probably over 20 years, but I remembered it immediately. Brings me back to the good old days. I was 5 years old when this video was filmed and having had a Toys R Us right next to where I live, we'd make trips there fairly regularly. That Toys R Us got a few renovations over the years and then, sadly, closed down about 5 or 6 years ago. This also reminds me of all the other stores that no longer exist... Waldbaum's, Nobody Beats the Wiz, Radio Shack, Blockbuster...

[@susanhurst3292]

This brings back, good memories, visiting my aunt in New Jersey, first stop the mall, then to Toy r Us, and Kaybee Toys stores!

[@MatthewTurner-ms8ov]

I was born in 1991 in Brisbane Australia. The 90s and the early 2000s was the best time to grow up in. I seen 2d video games transition into 3d. This was a huge era of gaming. Up to 2012 up to 2015 was good as well. Plus my grandfather fought in ww2 and all the Anzac parades we went to to (Veterans) gave me a sense of the old school life. The tv shows where much better back then too.

[@DangerKennyB]

13:23 ladies and gentlemen, I give you...THE WALL. The Wall where we all hung out, just staring at all the games, flipping them up to see the screenshots, wishing we had every one of them.

[@VnceWilliam]

The glorious days of owning physical copies of video games.

[@TheGeoffreyZone]

Man. The nostagia levels are very high. If you went there, you'd have the best time of your life. It's sad that things like this don't exist anymore.

[@nylesprint]

1:06 chick hid her face like Deuces, and bounced to KB Toy stores 😂😂

[@user-ez1si5bn1e]

I really crying right now .this reminds me when my grandparents was living .we always went here . watching this make me feel comfort

[@alyssa0411]

No swarms of people running in and stealing whatever they can get their hands on. People actually paying for their items…

[@tedbell4416]

Amazing isn't it

[@akoww1000]

Those legos sets are very sought after now. Love watching these type of videos of people leaving their homes to go shopping

[@retrocollector1999]

I was born in 1999, and never enjoyed the legos which came out when I was a kid. So I made it my goal to always collect the Lego sets from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and early 00s. What I loved about this video is seeing some of the sets I own back when Toys R Us initially sold them 😎

[@pinebarrenpatriot8289]

Great times. I was in 8th grade about to start high school in 1991. I would of been in the Sega Genesis aisle😊

[@DerekMcDouglas]

Dude, this was back when Springdale Mall in Mobile, AL was just a shopping mall with McRae's and Gayfer's and Toys R US was still inside the mall.

[@snowy12841]

The mom at 10:28. I think we all can relate.😂

[@illuminatedperspectives2894]

BACK WHEN CUSTOMER SERVICE WAS ACTUALLY A THING

[@violetblack1981]

Aww this makes me sad… those were the best years of my life 😢

[@tedbell4416]

Sure was 😢 everybody we knew was alive

[@andreww1212]

Look how well stocked and vibrant the store is. I loved going into Toys 'R' Us when I was young in the early to mid-90s. I remember just seeing rows and rows of action figures like in the video along with the Hot Wheels. Pity. Buying online definitely took away a chunk of humanity.

[@akoww1000]

Watching Cashiers ring in things by hand instead of using scanners lol Oh and the old way of using a credit card was nice to see again

[@hopelovelle]

Hey, thanks for the memories. At this time, I would have been 17 and at home prepping for the big dinner the next day because school would have been out for the holiday, but seeing people pre black Friday shopping, that's the best! And also, I had completely forgotten the way cash registers sounded back then.

[@mountainpeakcloud8442]

That wall of TMNT was glorious! If I was able to go back for 1 day, I would clean house.

[@lizardinthelites]

I was -1 years old. But I like being able to see what stuff was like right around the time I was born. My nostalgia would be early 2000s but this also makes me feel some type of way.

[@moquilla1]

When prices weren’t too crazy, things were easier, and people were nicer to each other.

[@Anarchist86ed]

Most of the stuff in this video is now sold for quadruple the original retail price at vintage tor stores.

[@randomfools808]

The TMNT stuff and games, yes. Barbie didn't hold it's value.

[@nbaoldgirl]

I can barely watch these. The nostalgia makes me feel sad and nauseous 😢

[@RickKoeppen]

8:32 1991 LEGO, I have no words. 😍

[@kimmykimko]

My children were born in 2014 and 2015 and we still had a Toys 'R' Us in my city, its just too dang bad that they were so young that they cant remember it now since they closed.

[@TheJustUsLeague]

Ahhh, the good old days of taking the giant price tag up to the register and she would YELL at someone to go get the item for you while you waited and waited. Now we have Amazon.

[@liparitpoladyan4383]

Time flies to fast.

[@tedbell4416]

Lightning fast

[@user-to4jn9ft2r]

So crazy and sad to think kids don’t have the joy of getting to experience this anymore. It’s now all just electronic things that young kids want. But real toys are just irreplaceable smh

[@jeffmaggard3694]

I can see the people were a little creeped out by the dude filming. It's still nice to see no cellphones or masks.

[@twobirdsstonedatonce]

Loved watching this. Fun to see the stores before they had such a huge emphasis on the video games. I remember 1996 when the N64 came out that was probably the craziest retail year I ever remember

[@ralphjason6720]

I'm a child from the 60s to the 70s and my younger brother and I would jump out of the station wagon and run into the Kmart or whatever department store and go straight to the toy department! Oh my goodness that was so much fun. Looking at each toy that we wanted to have. Our mom instructed us to stay there together until she comes for us. Toy departments now are so depressing. Where are the toys? Anyway at 63 I am a kid at heart. Have a good day all!❤

[@chaddeez8446]

Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit was playing on MTV then.

[@PopCultureAnticSS]

I showed my 72 year old mother and you could see the sadness in her eyes from those good times

[@EbayFigureReviews]

An entire aisle of turtles! Wow.

[@KirksCORNER]

Remember it wasnt normal to film in public in 1991

[@emanuelrivera8048]

I’m more nostalgic of this toys r us location, I went there between 1992-1996 and didn’t know how lucky I had it 😍 There’s a shoe store there now, but riding the escalators and seeing toys stacked all the way the ceiling was the pinnacle of toys. Incidentally the Macy’s store across this old location has a toys r us floor there 🤓

[@faust8569]

TMNT........... i miss i miss i miss 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘 Thank you for uploading A truest wonderful memory...and the video games

[@basti4655]

Pure gold these videos

[@tims6141]

The innocence at this time makes me sad. I miss it. 10 years before the biggest amount of BS changed the world forever.

[@scottharm3932]

I can certainly remember going to Toys R Us to get Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures! 😁😁

[@gamewhiz23]

Makes me want to cry 😭 those toys were so cheap and I miss Toys R Us! I loved that place when I was little!

[@petemolnar6073]

I remember getting the sega game gear early 90’s. Toy’s r us was my second home back then! I’m happy there coming back from bankruptcy.

[@user-ez1si5bn1e]

Toys r Us was high back then .but I love this story . watching this video give me comfort

[@ericflower9855]

The BEST memories ....flipping the cards to see what the game looks like on the back....

[@dogman2047]

Man ,this is crazy! The person filming this has to be an Angel!

[@dangerdoberman]

Enjoy the good times no matter what time you're living in.

[@joshbutler3755]

Toys R us always had the biggest selection of Nintendo games. If there was a game you couldn't find anywhere else, Toy R us would have have it.

[@SkatewithTess]

Is the mom around the 13ish minute mark writing down her son's holiday wishlist as he tells her? So cute 😭

[@PageCrowes]

Skipped the race track isle, damn. Its right there. That was my favorite isle to go down and stare at the great wall of race tracks, slot car sets.

[@slicktmi]

If you were to walk around recording like this in today's world in a toy store all hell would break loose

[@victormaisey7276]

😂

[@theguybehindyou4762]

I'd be happy to forget this era even existed. And once people realize how harmful raising kids on iPads and smartphones is, the old ways might make a comeback, and we may even see stores like this again.

[@slicktmi]

@theguybehindyou4762 i sure hope so they just hand them that stuff cause it's a easy way to shut them up and keep them entertained

[@theguybehindyou4762]

@@slicktmiNot everyone should have kids.

[@slicktmi]

@@theguybehindyou4762 exactly.

[@Blndbmbshell]

omg memories! when Barbie was THE only fashion doll it seemed

[@Christina-yq7xg]

Best of times I'm so happy I was a kid in the 70s 80s and a teenager in 90 it was awesome

[@King_Klownzilla]

The best part of Toys ‘R’ Us was the video game section….if you wanted a certain game, you had to take a slip of paper to the video game seller and someone would bring it out, it was such a magical experience!

[@tedbell4416]

That dot matrix printing sound, never forget it

[@jamesmac357]

Back in the day, Toys 'R' Us was awesome. It is unfortunate that the company took on too much debt, and despite the good times it went bankrupt. Toys 'R' Us had the biggest collection of bicycles for boys and girls. My community Walmart took over, and it stocks extra bicycles each year when parents buy them. Thank you for the memories.

[@liparitpoladyan4383]

Old days were looking up and making memories and now we looking down and not making any.

[@ayebing]

For a good two years of my childhood that wall of ninja turtles was the only thing that mattered to me lol

[@srgtazmania]

Great memories! I’m still have a full TMNT collection that belongs to my now 38 years old son.

[@Belvedere1981]

What a time to be a kid, born in 81

[@TRJ2241987]

Can't believe I don't see The Incredible Crash Dummies anywhere in this video.....my absolute favorite. These were the days

[@smiley77777]

My mom gave me a price limit and I had to run around the whole store looking for the toy I wanted 😢 even browsing was fun and wishing I had that toy. Damn the last time I went toys r us is back in 2006 or 2007 before it closed down and bought my 3 sisters the Nintendo DS’s and couple of games since I could afford it and barely joined the military.

[@Xaveth]

Nowadays, people will just walk in with their friends and steal all those toys right from the shelves.

[@conservativegamer9047]

I wonder if this was recorded for the purposes of consumer behavior research. Either way, it's really cool to have this archival footage from such a creative and colorful era - the 1990s! Everything in the 90s was vibrant and oozed attitude!

[@chill9371]

so cool, I love this 😍

[@AurumUsagi]

The NCR 7052s in this video seem to have a very odd combination of a basic customer display pole and a sophisticated alphanumeric VFD for the checkout operator that displays more information than the customer pole. I wonder why they chose to do this given that the UK TRUs used an entirely different POS system (IBM 4683) which always had an alphanumeric green display.

[@user95395]

Bro i was thinking the exact same thing

[@user95395]

They probably were gay, that’s why they chose such a stylish and superior design. Cishets in this era were cringe at tech.