Austin is getting a LEGO store. (Houston, San Antonio: buy, live, friendly)

[eileenkeeney]

Originally Posted by oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots

I vote we rally for a K-nex store in Hutto!!!

Do they even have KNex stores?

It always bothered me that the K'Nex rods were not made to be the same diameter as the Lego Technic Rods.
Imagine the possibilities.

I finally gave up on a Lego Roller Coaster I was making, and instead used K'Nex.
I later learned that someone else, who had been inspired by my project, did build one out of Lego. He used the older style train track, I had been using the newer track, but conceptually the concept, of placing the track on its side, was similar.

[eileenkeeney]

Originally Posted by Jennibc

Lego is a privately owned company so they don't expand as rapidly as other corporate entities might. There are entire states that don't have a single Lego store so I imagine having two in the Austin metropolitan area is really unlikely and for whatever reason they selected Barton creek mall.

Legos are pretty expensive so I imagine that the higher median family income in the Barton Creek mall area had some play in the decision.

And Lego at the Lego store is more expensive than Lego most other places.

One reason Lego is expensive, is that it is high quality, meaning higher engineering and production costs than the knock offs.
Play with Lego and then play with the knock offs, you will notice a huge quality difference.

Tyco did have a decent quality clone, but Lego bought out their rights to make the product.
There was a time when I had to buy Tyco to get pink and purple.

One color I never see on the Lego piece wall, at Lego stores, is pink (unless it is something like flowers).
I would love to see various sizes of pink bricks and plates available on the back wall, where one can buy by the bucket.

[thesonofgray]

Originally Posted by eileenkeeney

And Lego at the Lego store is more expensive than Lego most other places.

One reason Lego is expensive, is that it is high quality, meaning higher engineering and production costs than the knock offs.
Play with Lego and then play with the knock offs, you will notice a huge quality difference.

Tyco did have a decent quality clone, but Lego bought out their rights to make the product.
There was a time when I had to buy Tyco to get pink and purple.

One color I never see on the Lego piece wall, at Lego stores, is pink (unless it is something like flowers).
I would love to see various sizes of pink bricks and plates available on the back wall, where one can buy by the bucket.

Maybe not on the wall, but on the website: LEGO® Pink Brick Box | Brick Buckets | LEGO Shop (http://shop.lego.com/Product/?p=5585 - broken link)

[G Grasshopper]

Originally Posted by eileenkeeney

I feel guilty owning so much Lego, knowing that plastic is bad for the environment.

Eileen, I understand your concern here. I have always hated those big "hunks of plastic" that are toys for children, especially things that could be made out of other materials (playscapes, etc.) I especially hated, when I had a young child, when people would give him plastic toys that had a single use, and were outgrown quickly. So the toys I bought for my son were wood blocks, toys made by makers that used wood, and lots of art supplies. But I always lifted Legos out of that aversion because I believe they are the type of thing that can grow with the child, be used for many years, and be handed down to the next generation. That seems a little goofy, I imagine, but I have kept my son's Legos, and they come out when we have younger guests. The kids always love them (and sometimes after the kids have left, my grown son and I make a "creation".) Toys with that kind of lasting creative value are different in my book from the hunks of plastic toys that will reside in landfills after only a few years.

[RoamingWolves]

Originally Posted by G Grasshopper

Eileen, I understand your concern here. I have always hated those big "hunks of plastic" that are toys for children, especially things that could be made out of other materials (playscapes, etc.) I especially hated, when I had a young child, when people would give him plastic toys that had a single use, and were outgrown quickly. So the toys I bought for my son were wood blocks, toys made by makers that used wood, and lots of art supplies. But I always lifted Legos out of that aversion because I believe they are the type of thing that can grow with the child, be used for many years, and be handed down to the next generation. That seems a little goofy, I imagine, but I have kept my son's Legos, and they come out when we have younger guests. The kids always love them (and sometimes after the kids have left, my grown son and I make a "creation".) Toys with that kind of lasting creative value are different in my book from the hunks of plastic toys that will reside in landfills after only a few years.

I totally agree. Its only harmful plastic trash if you throw it away.

We never let go of the legos. its not like they stop working. at worst we break an occasional single piece.

[BJB817]

Yep, I still have all mine from when I was a kid. Some of the sets are over 30 years old now. Geez...

Now we just need a lego land or whatever they have in CA. That'd be the BOMB!

[mimimomx3]

A Playmobil store would be AWESOME!

[diablo234]

I dont know if any of you guys go on the Dallas forums but I just found out that Grapevine Mills is supposed to get a Legoland Discovery Center. I posted an article there if anyone is interested.

[eileenkeeney]

Originally Posted by mimimomx3

A Playmobil store would be AWESOME!

I don't think there is enough to this toy, for a whole store.
I like the toy, in fact in the play set category, it is the best out there.

Do the feet of the Figures (people and animals and such) fit on Duplo Bumps?
I don't think they do.
Another case where compatibility would have made combining the toys much easier.

[eileenkeeney]

Originally Posted by BJB817

Yep, I still have all mine from when I was a kid. Some of the sets are over 30 years old now. Geez...

Now we just need a lego land or whatever they have in CA. That'd be the BOMB!

After going to LegoLand (in California) I was thinking that Lego should have left the amusement park business to Disney, and then contracted with Disney to build a LegoLand within DisneyLand and DisneyWorld.
In DisneyWorld it would fit well in Epcot, as a side kick to the Denmark attraction.
I am not sure where I would place it in DisneyLand.