I thought I'd do a more extensive scribble about a fun place that maybe people don't know about or haven't been too. I feel like this is becoming less and less of a thing now, but its still something fun to do that I think most people would do. Its still fairly popular too from the 3 times I've been in the past year or so.
And that's an important thing to note about Build a Bear... its not an "all the time" thing. I went there 3 times in the past year or so because I was making Minions... Minions are my total favorite and I needed to build all 3 and my sister ended up building all 3 as well.Well okay I built 2 for her and she built one for someone special last weekend... and she actually included the 2 of hers in her wedding. She and her husband danced with the minions to the minion version of "This I swear" which is adorable. Anyway since I just went this weekend... I figured I'd let you know how it was.
A lot of things that you can add in... are a little gimmicky. For little kids they make it really special and unique and cool, but for parents I can just see going "NO!" and in fact several parents in line do go "NO!"
The bear itself is in the $10-$20 range. I think the most affordable I found was $12 and the most expensive was $35. The Minions are all $25... so it isn't really cheap. And then there are add ons. You could add clothes, which are around $12-ish. The minions overalls were on clearance for $9 when they were originally $12.50 and I'm sure a lot of the fancier outfits are more than that. I heard one mom complain one time that her son would always take the clothes off of the bears so she didn't let him get any even though he wanted them. Plus there are accessories, you can add smells now... you can get multiple outfits... its a lot for parents...
That being said... its like Disney World. If there are ridiculous prices and charges... it isn't something you do every day... just try to watch the kids be happy. I'm an adult. I didn't need to build a minion... I didn't need to put overalls or noises in it... but it makes me happy. The smells was a bit too much for me, but the little girl in front of me asked the woman "Ohhh what smells are the most popular" and the woman was happy to tell her "Well do you like Cotton Candy?" And it was just very nice. Its cute seeing little kids that aren't shy and workers that just have fun with them.
My sister was building her minion for a special reason and the workers were really nice and excited for her. They were very helpful and my sister and I just had fun making our minions. So even if there are gimmicks... I think that it is a unique and fun experience for kids to do every once and a while.
That being said too... it can get to be more than once and a while too. I had to have all 3 minions with sound and in overalls... so I'm sure little kids are like "well I can't just get Nemo, he needs a friend!" So they build Dory and then their brothers and sisters say "well I want 2 now" and then it can get out of hand quickly or you can be making multiple visits in a short amount of time... it can get to be too much pretty fast I think. But it is really really fun.
So is there a lot of "add ons" to build a bear- yes! There are tons, it can get to be "well I'm just going to buy this $12 toy and thats it" to being $40 really quickly. It kind of made me feel icky when I first saw that they had scents and if you wanted to be "eco friendly" you could get a reusable backpack and then they ask you to give to the build a bear foundation... like they're just asking for A LOT of your money... but really it is the funnest place for kids and they make it as fun as they can for kids. And I'm not saying all the people working there are the most amazing, but I don't think I've had a bad experience with someone at Build a Bear and I'm sure everyone working there has had bad experiences... so its nice sometimes to see people with actual patience that are just happy to help you.
So there's my little experience at Build a Bear recently... it is a bit much... but as I've said, I don't have anything bad to say about it. Its something you have to do once, no matter what your age is.
Byeee!
-Shannon
And that's an important thing to note about Build a Bear... its not an "all the time" thing. I went there 3 times in the past year or so because I was making Minions... Minions are my total favorite and I needed to build all 3 and my sister ended up building all 3 as well.Well okay I built 2 for her and she built one for someone special last weekend... and she actually included the 2 of hers in her wedding. She and her husband danced with the minions to the minion version of "This I swear" which is adorable. Anyway since I just went this weekend... I figured I'd let you know how it was.
A lot of things that you can add in... are a little gimmicky. For little kids they make it really special and unique and cool, but for parents I can just see going "NO!" and in fact several parents in line do go "NO!"
The bear itself is in the $10-$20 range. I think the most affordable I found was $12 and the most expensive was $35. The Minions are all $25... so it isn't really cheap. And then there are add ons. You could add clothes, which are around $12-ish. The minions overalls were on clearance for $9 when they were originally $12.50 and I'm sure a lot of the fancier outfits are more than that. I heard one mom complain one time that her son would always take the clothes off of the bears so she didn't let him get any even though he wanted them. Plus there are accessories, you can add smells now... you can get multiple outfits... its a lot for parents...
That being said... its like Disney World. If there are ridiculous prices and charges... it isn't something you do every day... just try to watch the kids be happy. I'm an adult. I didn't need to build a minion... I didn't need to put overalls or noises in it... but it makes me happy. The smells was a bit too much for me, but the little girl in front of me asked the woman "Ohhh what smells are the most popular" and the woman was happy to tell her "Well do you like Cotton Candy?" And it was just very nice. Its cute seeing little kids that aren't shy and workers that just have fun with them.
My sister was building her minion for a special reason and the workers were really nice and excited for her. They were very helpful and my sister and I just had fun making our minions. So even if there are gimmicks... I think that it is a unique and fun experience for kids to do every once and a while.
That being said too... it can get to be more than once and a while too. I had to have all 3 minions with sound and in overalls... so I'm sure little kids are like "well I can't just get Nemo, he needs a friend!" So they build Dory and then their brothers and sisters say "well I want 2 now" and then it can get out of hand quickly or you can be making multiple visits in a short amount of time... it can get to be too much pretty fast I think. But it is really really fun.
So is there a lot of "add ons" to build a bear- yes! There are tons, it can get to be "well I'm just going to buy this $12 toy and thats it" to being $40 really quickly. It kind of made me feel icky when I first saw that they had scents and if you wanted to be "eco friendly" you could get a reusable backpack and then they ask you to give to the build a bear foundation... like they're just asking for A LOT of your money... but really it is the funnest place for kids and they make it as fun as they can for kids. And I'm not saying all the people working there are the most amazing, but I don't think I've had a bad experience with someone at Build a Bear and I'm sure everyone working there has had bad experiences... so its nice sometimes to see people with actual patience that are just happy to help you.
So there's my little experience at Build a Bear recently... it is a bit much... but as I've said, I don't have anything bad to say about it. Its something you have to do once, no matter what your age is.
Byeee!
-Shannon
Comments
Post a Comment