Skylander Day was a success

We headed out early to make sure we were going to get a Sidekick. We have them all but wanted to get one for our cousins that just got Skylanders Swap Force for Christmas.
Mom and Tucker went to a play at the library with the Cub Scouts. I took Grant to a merit badge clinic with the Boy Scouts. So that left me with Evan and Lindy for two hours. <evil Ha Ha Ha> Oh the fun we could have.
First stop: GameStop. Interesting side note: The particular store we went to only had one employee scheduled for the first hour the store was open. There was a long line with lots of technical questions, it wasn't all Skylander stuff either. As soon as we walked in the door Evan saw series 2 Bash and he let everyone in the store know with a very loud scream. A quick look around soon told us that the Swappers we were after would not be found here. GameStop was doing a special of by $20 of Skylanders and get a free "mini" Skylander. Yeah, they lost some credibility on that one. Hello! They are Sidekicks. To get above the line of $20 I gave in and bought Lightcore Flashwing. We picked out Barkley as our sidekick and plan to send it to our cousins as they recently started into the Skylander world.
Next we headed to Toys R Us. They had a deal of buy 3 guys for $35 dollars (on figures priced 14.99 and above). So that pretty much left Giants and Swappers. And we have all the (standard) Giants. Everyone knows who we were looking for: Spy Rise, Rubble Rouser and Stink Bomb.
The first 2 were easy finds sitting on the shelf with the rest of the Skylanders. Also in the aisle with us were two other families. One boy was trying to pick out a Swapper for his birthday. He didn't want Rubble Rouser and I could tell he was an amateur because he wasn't looking deeper on the racks. I stepped in front of him and nabbed Spy Rise that was hiding behind someone on the front row. Oh well! It turns out he was after Stink Bomb. And so was the boy from the second family. He wanted the deal of 3 for $35 but couldn't find Stink Bomb either.
So there we are, three families staring at the shelf, all looking for the same guy that wasn't there. I have done this enough to know that staring at the shelf doesn't help the figure appear. I grabbed the Arkeyan Crossbow battle pack and made a quick exit.  This is where it gets interesting. In looking for the best line to check out from I glanced around the front of the store. My eye caught something I hadn't seen before, a very small section of Skylanders hanging out in the iPod/Tablet area. I took off immediately to see the selection. I moved so fast (because I was excited) that I left my two little ones by themselves to figure out where I was going. The packages were high which made it easier to see behind the ones in the front. It only took a second but I found him, STINK BOMB! There was only one and for a split second I thought about giving it away to one of the other kids looking for it. I don't think Evan would have taken too kindly to that as he was hugging the box and saying, "My Stink Bomby!" After quieting him down we uneventfully checked out.
Next to Toys R Us is another GameStop. I was feeling generous and wanted to get 'free' sidekicks we went in. I made the observation that normally their prices for Skylanders are higher than today (10.99 vs 9.99) so to exceed $20 I would have to get more than two regular guys. Two at 9.99 just wasn't going to cut it. We would have to get another lightcore or Swapper. After seeing the customer in front of us fail at talking the employee into letting 2 @ 9.99 qualify, I didn't want to waste my time or breath. We called it a day and left.

Our haul for the day:

• Series 2 Bash (finally)
• Lightcore Flashwing
• Arkeyan Crossbow with Grim Creeper and Thorn Horn Camo
• Stink Bomb
• Spy Rise
• Rubble Rouser

Legendary Night Shift Hunting

Legendary Zoo Lou

On Sunday, Toys R Us started their slow leak of new Skylanders. This weeks release: Legendary Zoo Lou. Instead of a white "panda," he is a black "panda." Or as Jonev calls him, Blue Zoo Lou. He does have a blue tint but it is like a car paint. Depending on the light it can look blue or black.
Interesting to note that his wand or whatever that thing is in his hand is really gold on the figure. All the artwork we had seen showed it as the dark color. The package show the dark color wand and even Skylanders.com shows the dark color. What's up with that?

We picked him up yesterday along with another new Skylander (that shall remain nameless until December 25th).

I think we should have time to play with him tomorrow and check out if the animals he call are still green. I hope not. That would be awesome if they are gold are black.

Next week the schedule shows that Legendary Night Shift will be released. Of course that will be another purchase. We have a spreadsheet of all the figures and which of the kids get to call each "his or hers" or is it Dads or the entire family. I know... quite nerdy and organized. It truly cuts down on the fighting. So on that spreadsheet, no one claimed Legendary Night Shift. Should be interesting deciding...

How many variants do you have? Which ones? Do you like having to get variants? Do you hate TRU for making them so appealing?
Which variants are left to be released... Enchanted Star Strike, Nitro Freeze Blade and all those that got released on the German site... soccer, spring, jolly, etc...

Swap Force is OUT!!!

As of midnight today Skylanders Swap Force is available for purchase. But you already knew that.

WSD (wannabe Skylander Dad) went to a local Toys R Us for the midnight launch. There were about 20 people in line at midnight. WSD picked up his xbox pre-order with a free light core Hex. He also picked up all the characters he set out to buy. The list was documented in the last post. 

Legendary Free Ranger

Legendary Light Core Grim Creeper

Enchanted Hoot Loop

At Walmart the employees knew about Swap Force but did not know if they had recieved any shipments. WSD explained that the game "launched" 30 minutes ago so a good bet would be that they have something. After a radio call to the back the stock guy came out to talk with WSD about what exact character(s) he was looking for. He was super helpful and nice and did not seem put out at all that he was being asked to do random things in the middle of the night. 

Tomorrow will be Gamestop and Target. Maybe even Toys R Us. 

No school or work makes it a great second day after launch. 

SWAP Force Launch: What's the plan?

Saturday nights at our house usually end later than most nights. This Saturday will be no exception, except it will be really late. The "old" Toys R Us, as the kids call it, will be having a midnight launch of Skylanders Swap Force. There may be one near you- check out the list.

I plan to be there to snag the exclusive guys that are only at TRU. You are a true Skylander fan and already know but just in case a newbie happens to read this, here they are:

Legendary Free Ranger	Legendary Light Core Grim Creeper (that guy has a lot of names, must be a nephew of mine)

 

After TRU, there are 4 Walmarts before I get home and I will go to each one if I have to. I'll be looking for Enchanted Hoot Loop. Of course I will be very tired and I hope the first one will be a winner.

Enchanted Hoot Loop

Soon after I plan to pick up Nitro Magna Charge with Rattle Shake at Target. Oh and I can't forget about the Dark Edition at Gamestop.

The Skylander fan community is great. There are so many dedicated fans. One of my favorites to follow is portalflip.com. Portalflip created a Launch Day Survival Guide.  It has all you could need to remember, take, use and plan for launch day... err night.

What is your plan? Where are you going first? TRU? Walmart? What character are excited to get, then play?

Just over 48 hours from now...