The Big Shop is Lego heaven unless your kids are tired and losing their minds at the end of a long day at Legoland. Then it can kind of become Lego hell.
I can't complain too much, though, as the promise of a toy store at Legoland allowed us to bypass the San Diego Zoo shop without incident. It was also a legitimately fantastic place, with an enormous, thorough inventory. I'm an adult Lego enthusiast, and I enjoyed seeing all the sets I'd ogled online. I saw several I wanted to buy, as well a few Lego-themed jigsaw puzzles, but I controlled myself. We were there for the boys, who were allowed one item apiece.
Our sons are four and two, and they both went for the same stupid giant light-up sword within seconds of reaching The Big Shop. The Lego Group knows how to make money, and they know what they're doing putting these swords right at the entrance to their theme park gift shop. The swords dangled from two sides of a display stand, and one of my kids went left while the other went right, both of them drawn to the swords like Gollum to the precious ring. I didn't want to go home with two loud, cheap, plastic swords when we were surrounded by wonderful toys, and I managed, with great effort, to divert their interest and return the swords to their racks.
I showed our four-year-old Leo all the cool Lego City sets and he picked a fire station before seeing the larger, more expensive Command Rover and Crane Loader. I was happy to pay for this, as it looked fun and was not a light-up sword. We got our toddler Wade a Duplo brick box that came with almost 100 bricks and a cute container, where we'd be able to stash all the Duplos already floating around our house.
We paid for these toys, then instead of being grateful and happy, Leo threw a full-blown tantrum over the fucking sword. We held our ground, but it was a tough one. We had to carry him crying to the car.
We were at Legoland with our friends, who also have two boys, and when we told them about the sword, the other mom said, yep, we have one of those. Turns out she'd had the same experience with their older child--denying the sword, facing the wrath--who then came back to Legoland with his grandparents and returned home with the sword in hand. Truly, the Lego Group is evil for this one.
Our purchases have panned out, though, and I believe both boys are enjoying them more than they would have out the shiny but ultimately useless swords. Leo and I spend days building that rover, and it sparked a general interest in Legos, which has been a very positive development for me. Wade loves his Duplos, too, and is constantly playing with them and announcing, "I'm making a building!" Not a bad outcome, all told, and I look forward to our next visit to The Big Shop. We'll just have to get ready to vanquish those swords again. read more