Free Blockbuster Las Vegas at Sohn vintage shop in Las Vegas

A visit to the 'Free Blockbuster' in Las Vegas.

Emily made a visit to the Free Blockbuster 'pop up' video and DVD exchange/library/dispenser at Sohn vintage shop on her recent trip to Las Vegas.

The first Free Blockbuster was created in 2019 and since then more have been created in the USA, Canada, and one in the UK.

It's been fun following the Free Blockbuster movement's journey, and it'll be interesting to see where they appear next.

Emily took some DVDs from our collection and swapped them out for three wrestling VHS tapes! She managed to get a Free Blockbuster sticker and one for Sohn too.

Wrestling goodness from the USA and Japan!

A happy customer of Free Blockbuster Las Vegas and Sohn

Hopefully I'll get to visit Las Vegas again in the future. It'd be superb to see the Free Blockbuster stall in person - and see what's new there to swap. The people at the store also showed Emily the vintage wrestling t-shirts they had in stock.

Check out the Sohn and Free Blockbuster websites for more information. And check out Free Blockbuster Las Vegas on Instagram.

As well as being a wrestling fan I'm a fan of ALF and Emily bought a vintage ALF keyring and badge for my collection at Sohn!

An ALF keyring, badge, and a Sohn sticker

Sohn seen from across the street in the Las Vegas heat!

Check out the blog posts about our travels to former Blockbuster video shops.

A wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube man at Tom's Watch Bar in Las Vegas, Nevada

Spotting a wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube man in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Emily saw this wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube man at Tom's Watch Bar on her recent trip to Las Vegas.

Back in May Tom's Watch Bar had a different wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube man promoting the venue.

A wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube man at Sinwave in Las Vegas, Nevada

Spotting a wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube man in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Emily saw this wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube man outside Sinwave on her recent trip to Las Vegas.

It's the first skeleton airdancer we've seen.

KISS Mini Golf Indoor Miniature Golf in Las Vegas, Nevada

A visit to the KISS Mini Golf course at The Rio in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Emily has ticked off another course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour with a visit to KISS World featuring KISS Mini Golf and KISS World Museum at The Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

KISS Mini Golf at The Rio became the 1,065th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006.

Emily previously played the KISS by Monster Mini Golf course in 2014 in its previous incarnation at Paradise Road in Las Vegas. That course was the 580th visited on our travels.

You can find the KISS Mini Golf course at KISS World at The Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Visit the KISS Mini Golf website for more information.

PopStroke Miniature Golf in the USA

A look at PopStroke miniature golf courses in the USA.

Emily visited the PopStroke Las Vegas location at Town Square on holiday earlier this year.

The Las Vegas PopStroke venue opened in April 2024 and is home to two outdoor 18-hole minigolf courses - the black and blue courses

The two courses were the 1,046th and 1,047th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

There are currently PopStroke Miniature Golf locations in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Nevada, South Carolina and Texas.

You can find the PopStroke venues in the following cities Tuscaloosa, Scottsdale, Glendale, Tampa @ Wesley Chapel, Sarasota, Port St. Lucie, Orlando @ Waterford Lakes, Delray Beach, Fort Myers, Palm Beach, Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach, Houston @ Katy, Dallas @ The Colony, College Station, and San Antonio. With Daytona Beach, Florida opening in September 2024.

Check out the PopStroke website for more information.

Miniature Golf at Boondocks Fun Center in Northglenn, Colorado

A look back at a visit to the Miniature Golf course at Boondocks Fun Center in Northglenn, Colorado, USA in 2009.

I played the two miniature golf courses at Boondocks Fun Center in the town of Northglenn in March 2009.

My visit came during a trip to Denver to attend the week-long SportAccord conference in the city. During some downtime I travelled outside the city limits to play miniature golf in the Boondocks.

At the two courses at Boondocks Fun Center

As it was '$12 Tuesday' I had unlimited play on the minigolf courses - the 'Caverns Mill' and 'Hillbilly Hallow' - that sit next to Interstate-25. I managed to fit in three rounds on the two layouts.

They became the 82nd and 83rd courses played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

A token from Boondocks

Check out the Boondocks Fun Center website for more information, opening times and prices.

Toys R Us at Macy's in Chicago, USA

A look at a Toys R Us at a Macy's department store in Chicago, Illinois.

Emily visited this Toys R Us within a Macy's in Chicago last month.

It's one of over 450 Toys R Us stores you can find within Macy's in the USA.

Emily also went to a Macy's Toys R Us store while on a trip to Texas earlier this year.

Visit the Toys R Us at Macy's website for more information.

Working at Toys R Us

My first job while at university in the year 2000 was as one of Geoffrey's helpers at the Luton store. I worked on the video game and electronics section.

Toys R Us concessions in the UK

There are currently 39 Toys R Us concessions in WH Smith shops, with more planned to open through 2024. Visit the Toys R Us UK website for more information.

The old Toys R Us

It's been very interesting to find that there are still remnants of the brand on some retail parks in the UK and we've visited several of these closed, abandoned, derelict and demolished Toys R Us locations on our travels.

Former Toys R Us locations we've been to on our travels:

• Brighton Hill Retail Park in Basingstoke
• Central Retail Park in Manchester
• Cathedral Retail Park in Norwich
• Deepdale shopping centre in Preston
• Festival retail park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
• Gateway retail park in Reading
• Gemini Retail Park in Warrington
• Interchange Retail Park at Copdock Mill, Ipswich
• St James Retail Park in Northampton
• Teesside Retail Park in Stockton-on-Tees
• The Leisure Plaza in Milton Keynes
• Trafford Centre in Manchester
• Western Esplanade in Southampton
• Wolverhampton Road in Oldbury
• Wyvern Retail Park in Derby

Lost Toys R Us Stores

My book about Lost Toys R Us Stores is available to buy from Amazon.

There were once 105 Toys R Us stores in the UK. The business ceased trading in 2018 and all of those shops closed. It is still possible to find traces of the brand on some retail parks and shopping centres around the UK. The book takes a look at some of those old stores between 2019 and 2021.

Buy Lost Toys R Us Stores on Amazon.

CenterCup - an Arnold Palmer-themed golf and dining concept

A new Arnold Palmer-themed golf and dining concept is launching in the USA.

CenterCup will feature a 27-hole mini-golf course at the venue in the Butler Shopping Center District of Gainesville, Florida, USA.

The CenterCup concept is a new partnership between 23 Restaurant Services and Arnold Palmer Enterprises.

Check out the CenterCup website for more information.

Hopefully we'll get to visit CenterCup on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the future.

Arnold Palmer Putting Courses

Arnold Palmer Putting Courses are a design classic and include all the elements that make a Crazy Golf course great – the Windmill, the Waterwheel, an Obelisk, ledges, bunkers, traps, flat loops, hills and plateaus – everything laid out to make a course interesting, testing and most of all fun!

They're my favourite type of minigolf course and I've visited most of those that still remain in the UK.

The Arnold Palmer branded miniature golf courses were part of the Arnold Palmer Enterprises empire set-up in 1961 that saw the legendary golfer's name licensed and franchised to a wide-range of activities and products including Dry Cleaning centres and an Arnold Palmer brand foot detergent.

A sign at the Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, UK

By 1966 there were 130 Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in the USA, with ten in Japan and some in South Africa.

The first Arnold Palmer Putting Course in the UK opened in Coventry in 1965 and was part of an Arnold Palmer Driving Range. A course was also located at a Driving Range in Sheffield.

Take a look at my blog post about Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in the UK for further information.

City Mini Golf course at Maggie Daley Park in Chicago, USA

There's a Mini Golf course at Maggie Daley Park in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

A sign for the Mini Golf course at Maggie Daley Park

Emily was recently back in Chicago and walked through Maggie Daley Park

A look at the City Mini Golf course at Maggie Daley Park in Chicago (May 2019)

Emily was on holiday in Chicago, USA back in May 2019 and visited the Chicago-themed City Mini Golf layout at Maggie Daley Park.

The course was the 884th visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

  

Check out the City Mini Golf course website for more information, opening times and prices.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Since 2006 Emily and I have visited 1,064 miniature golf courses around the UK and overseas on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. As well as playing minigolf in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Jersey and the Isle of Man we’ve travelled to minigolf courses in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain (Lanzarote and Majorca), Sweden and the USA.

When added to the courses Christopher and his family have visited around the British Isles and Türkiye, Spain (Majorca), Italy, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Indonesia, Croatia and the USA, the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour stands at a combined 1,111 courses visited!