While Toys R Us stores have been closed in the UK since 2018 the brand has lived on in one form or another in other parts of the world.
The new version of Toys R Us will be opening by Toys R Us ANZ who relaunched the business in Australia in 2019. They plan to rollout the brand with an online and physical retail presence in 2022 and 2023.
Toys R Us closed in the UK in April 2018. 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 a number of these closed, abandoned, derelict and demolished Toys R Us locations on our travels.
Toys R Us in Stockton-on-Tees, April 2021
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 in Basingstoke, May 2021
Visiting Toys R Us
With a keen interest in old and defunct brands we've visited a number of former Toys R Us sites over the last couple of years, the latest being in Norwich and Ipswich.
It'll be interesting to see what the future holds for Toys R Us and how the relaunch in the UK will go.
As can be seen, some of the former locations are still vacant, while others have been let to new shops. Some former Toys R Us stores have been pulled down, with others converted to retailtainment centres featuring trampoline parks and minigolf courses.
It'll be interesting to shop at Toys R Us again in the future
We've played minigolf at Allesley Park and Teezers Retro Golf in Coventry before. There's also a new Galaxy Quest Mini Golf at Laser Quest that we need to play and plans for a Boom: Battle Bar in the city too.
Halloween in the City has returned to Manchester city centre.
We saw a few of the new Halloween monster inflatables that have popped up in Manchester during a wander round town on Saturday.
The full Halloween in the City event is taking place in Manchester on Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st October with a number of large-scale monsters adorning buildings around the city centre as well as other themed activities.
A new indoor mini golf course is opening as part of the new Urban Playground at the Arndale shopping centre in Manchester.
A new competitive socialising venue is opening at the Arndale Centre in Manchester and one of the activities on offer will be mini golf.
The Urban Playground in Manchester is opening sometime this year and will be home to the indoor miniature golf course, The Cube Live and food & drinks.
Putters Mini-Golf at the Urban Playground will be a tech-based course. Visit the Urban Playground website for more information.
The Urban Playground will be another new local venue for us.
The Urban Playground entertainment centre is being created by the Mellors Group who own Skegness Pier and Fantasy Island in Ingoldmells. We've played minigolf at Fantasy Island before. The course there was underneath a rollercoaster! There's a new Lava Creek Adventure Golf course we haven't yet had a go on at Fantasy Island too.
The new Par-59 Crazy Golf venue is opening in Cardiff next year.
Plans are still going ahead for the Par-59 Crazy Golf venue to open in Cardiff, Wales. The location was originally going to be at the Capitol Shopping Centre in Cardiff city centre, however plans have changed with the site now opening in a former nightclub on St Mary Street.
The Par-59 brand is being opened by footballer Gareth Bale and is set to open in Spring 2022.
Par-59 will feature three 9-hole indoor crazy golf courses along with a bar and restaurant.
A look at the Mini Golf course at the UberBlast Family Entertainment Center in North Conway, New Hampshire, USA.
My brother Christopher recently swung by the the UberBlast Family Entertainment Center in North Conway, New Hampshire, USA and sent me these photos of the minigolf course there.
There are plans for a new Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf course in Liverpool.
Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf are planning to open a new indoor minigolf centre at The Lyceum building in Liverpool.
Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf opened its first venue in Bristol and its second location was at Liverpool ONE. There are currently four Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf sites - in Bristol, Brighton, London and Glasgow.
We've played tournaments at the Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf courses in Bristol and Liverpool. We also visited the now closed Leeds location on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.
A look at the Mini Golf course at Haven's Wild Duck Holiday Park in Belton, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.
Our friends Sophia and Karl Moles sent over some photos of the Mini Golf course at Haven's Wild Duck Holiday Park in Belton, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk from their recent holiday there.
Sophia told us they enjoyed a couple of rounds on the course, with the best score from the group being a 25 by Karl. The course record is 24 on the 9-hole layout.
Blockbuster ceased operations in the UK in December 2013. At the start of that year there were 528 Blockbuster locations in the UK. The number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. The remaining stores closed on the 16th December.
I've spent a lot of the last two years reminiscing about 'the good old days' before the coronavirus pandemic hit the planet. One of my areas of interest is in old retail brands - I'm a marketer by profession and two of my first jobs in the 1990's and the year 2000 were at Tandy and Toys R Us. It's been fascinating to find remnants of a number of lost, dead and defunct brands on the high street and at retail parks.
