FAO Schwartz
Do you remember the Tom Hanks movie, "Big" and the giant piano kids were jumping on? I had always known the store that housed this piano was in New York but had thought it no longer existed for some reason, until I discovered the truth! FAO Schwartz is situated at the southeast corner of Central Park next to the Apple (MAC) store. I didn’t think it would be very different from most toy stores I’ve been to but I was surprised.
It was quite unique. The first thing I noticed besides the famous piano was the Harry Potter corner. It had collector items like wands, robes, wizard hats and Hogwarts ties. Even the cashier was dressed like a wizard! The Harry Potter craze spilled into the Lego corner too with life sized characters on display. Years ago, I remember Esso used to give away little smurfs with each time you "pump petrol" (top up the gas) at the station. I saw all of them on a shelf in the store! I didn’t know they still existed!
There was a whole section of different Monopolys - Star Wars, The Simpsons, Disney, you name it. I was intrigued by the detail put into the figures at the doll section. Jack Sparrow really did look like Johnny Depp and so did the ones from "The Golden Compass". I didn’t end up buying anything (and I didn’t have to) but still enjoyed a good two entertaining hours at the store. This place is a definite stopover if you are ever in NYC.
