Take a look inside new Toys R Us section at Arden Fair mall in Sacramento

A rebuild of the Toys R Us in Arden Fair mall is not exactly what Sacramentans might remember of the iconic brand that used to occupy roughly 30,000-square-foot warehouses across the United States.

The popular children’s toy store — which filed for bankruptcy in 2018 and closed — relaunched this summer at Macy’s department stores nationwide. The new Sacramento location opened on the second floor of the mall on July 29. It’s roughly 2,500 square feet with a unique selection of popular toy brands, including Hot Wheels, Nerf, Barbie and Sharper Image.

Shea Hamilton used to visit the old Toys R Us at Arden Fair. Now returning with his daughter Maple, he told the 9-year-old “This is a far cry from what Toys R Us used to be.”

That didn’t faze her. She was still ready to look around.

The Bee visited the newly curated Toys R Us section at Macy’s Tuesday. Here’s what we saw:

Kids were ready to shop for toys

Women’s clothes dominate the second floor of the Macy’s at the mall. Nearby, children clothes line the racks.

For kids and parents shopping for back-to-school clothes Tuesday — the new toy display was a welcome distraction (for the kids, at least.)

A reporter for The Bee saw multiple families shopping for back-to-school apparel, only to have their children run to the toy section instead of picking out shirts.

There, kids and adults were excited to see Geoffrey the giraffe, the toy store’s mascot, who hangs out now as a statue on a bench at the entrance to the section.

Luke Herman, 17, told The Bee his family wanted to see the section for the nostalgia. His mom Helen convinced his 11-year-old sister Georgia to take a picture with Geoffrey.

Sandra Takei, a Macy’s employee, told The Bee it visited on the right day. Since the opening in late July, she’s seen kids opening boxes and using the section as a play area. Tuesday was a bit more tame, she said.

“Try Me” buttons on dolls and play sets were scattered across the shelves. Every once in a while you can hear a kid shout “mom, look!”

The section has a few “Last Act!” displays show off the overflow toys from the old Macy’s toy area. The deals here were significant — some things were priced down from $50 to $16.96.

In Arden Fair, you will see roughly 30 displays for brands including Transformers, Fur Real Friends, and more. The section itself is small compared to the space. There’s enough walkway for a parent and child or pair of siblings to stick together comfortably.

The biggest boxes in store hold slides and cars from the “Pop and Play” cardboard building series, and Barbie’s dream house. Science themed toys from #Mindblown Discovery STEM play sets stopped more than a few shoppers. Also in that area, the arts and crafts and baby toy sections were some of the most visited displays Tuesday.

What’s different at the new Toys R Us?

The comeback of Toys R Us features a smaller selection of toys.

Unlike the days of entering a 30,000 square feet toy wonderland, customers can expect a 2,500-square-feet toy section at Arden Fair.

In 2018, Toys R Us filed bankruptcy, as financial troubles continued and online and local competitors rose. Ten Toys R Us and Babies “R” Us stores in the Sacramento closed, as a result, and about 30,000 jobs were eliminated, according to a Bee report in March 2018.

With this return, Macy’s will be in charge of managing the more than 500 stores that are coming back nationwide, including across California.

This story was originally published August 10, 2022 at 5:00 AM.