🦒 TOYS “R” US STILL EXISTS IN 2026 Yes. I’m serious. There is a Toys “R” Us in San Marcos, Texas, and obviously I had to go inside. And before anybody says it, I know. This is not the Toys “R” Us we grew up with. It’s smaller. It looks different. Geoffrey isn’t welcoming you into some gigantic warehouse filled with what felt like every toy ever created. You’re not grabbing one of those paper slips for a video game. There isn’t an entire wall of bikes that you’re going to beg your parents for even though you already have a bike at home. I get it. But I still loved being here. 🧸 THE TOYS WERE ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD I went in expecting this to be one of those places that uses the Toys “R” Us name but doesn’t really feel like a toy store. I was wrong. There were Hot Wheels. Nerf. Tonka. Play-Doh. Spider-Man. Dinosaurs. Stuffed animals. Classic board games. Action figures. All kinds of stuff that immediately reminded me of being a kid. And sure, the packaging has changed. The characters have changed. There are entire sections of toys that didn’t exist when we were growing up. But kids are still kids. They still want dinosaurs. They still want toy cars. They still want superheroes. They still want to build things, destroy things, make things, collect things and beg their parents for something they absolutely do not need. Some things apparently survive every generation. 🥹 BUT THIS WAS MY FAVORITE PART It wasn’t even seeing the toys from my childhood. It was seeing parents walking around with their kids. Because for most of us who grew up in the 80s, 90s and 2000s, Toys “R” Us was such a ridiculously normal part of childhood that we never thought it could disappear. You’d see that giant colorful sign from the car and immediately start wondering if there was any possible way you could convince your parents to stop. Birthdays meant Toys “R” Us. Christmas meant Toys “R” Us. Getting good grades could mean Toys “R” Us. Sometimes you’d just go there to walk around and look at everything. And then one day we grew up. And eventually Toys “R” Us disappeared from most of America. So standing inside one again in 2026 and watching actual kids walk through the aisles with their parents was just really cool. They obviously won’t experience the exact version that we did. But that’s okay. Because they’re not supposed to have our childhood. They’re supposed to have theirs. 🦒 AND YEAH… I’M STILL A TOYS “R” US KID I’m 100% aware that I am now the adult walking around the toy store getting excited because I found the same brands I played with 30 years ago. I have accepted this about myself. Growing up doesn’t mean you suddenly stop loving everything you loved as a kid. Sometimes you walk into a Toys “R” Us in San Marcos, see a Nerf gun, a shelf full of Hot Wheels and a giant Geoffrey, and for a few minutes you remember exactly what it felt like to be 10 years old again. And I’ll take that feeling whenever I can get it. So no, this isn’t the Toys “R” Us we remember. But I’m really glad it exists. Because I don’t care if I’m 9, 39 or 79. I don’t wanna grow up. I’m a Toys “R” Us kid. 🦒 #toysrus #toysruskid #millennial #nostalgia #toystore @Toys'R'Us - @itsstillthatkid