A Look at Force Friday Retailers: Who should be on your shopping list?
Friday, September 4th, has been designate ‘Force Friday’ and it will be the debut for the new The Force Awakens toys, apparel and collectibles. The launch includes midnight openings for Toys-R-Us and select Target stores along with 24 hour Walmart stores. It will be the first official look at the Hasbro toys even though leaks have been occurring for the past week or more.
Not all details on the individual stores have been released, and we have yet to see any type of checklist to give us an idea of exactly what will be available during Force Friday, although we do have a general idea based on the leaks, a Hasbro catalog that was posted online and from a few advertisement announcements. Below we have a basic list of the stores that are participating, in some way, in the Force Friday event. We’ve listed exclusives, discounts, coupons and other information where we have it. In a separate post we’ll list the Hasbro items that were included in the catalog and that we’re assuming will be available. We also have a list of Lego sets and know that there are Funko POP! figures coming, some of which are exclusives.
One of the more anticipated toys will be the Sphero BB-8 remote control droid. We’ve seen mixed info on this with some rumors pointing to it being a Best Buy exclusive but we’ve seen nothing from Best Buy, or Sphero, to confirm this. The price is reportedly $149.99 and it should be available on Friday, we’re just not sure where just yet.
Force Friday is such a large event that other stores are bound to be participating in some way. Keep an eye on your favorite retailer’s website and in-store advertising.
Amazon
Amazon carries many of the same toys as the retail stores listed below but they will have an exclusive Funko POP! First Order Stormtrooper. We expect these will be online at midnight but don’t know if that will be EST or PST time.
Disney Downtown
Disney Downtown has a ticketed event at both Disney World and Disneyland. Tickets are $50 and will get you a free messenger bag and access to exclusive items. There have been unconfirmed rumors that exclusives at the park will be a BB-8 plush and Kylo Ren Fx lightsaber. We have seen photos of a Kylo Ren lightsaber but it wasn’t confirmed where it was purchased.
Disney Stores
Disney Stores will have a free Star Wars pin for the first 100 people to make a purchase in store. Stores will be closing early on Thursday and opening early on Friday, September 4th. The closest Disney store to us is in Destiny USA in Syracuse, NY and it will be open at 6:00am on Friday. Check the website for your store’s information as the opening times seem to be different at some stores.
Dollar General
We don’t believe that any stores are opening at midnight, but plans for store aisle sets have been posted online and stores will have a selection of Micro Machines, Hot Wheels ships, models, puzzles, role play lightsabers, games, and 12″ Hasbro figures. It may not be the most comprehensive selection but it’s another store to keep on your radar.
GameStop
GameStop will have an exclusive Funko POP! as well but it’s unconfirmed what character it will be.
Hot Topic
Hot Topic is advertising new merchandise for Friday and they’ll have an exclusive Funko POP! Rey figure. The Hot Topic Rey will have her goggles on while there’s also a regular Rey figure without goggles.
KMart
KMart is celebrating Force Friday as well but no mention of opening at midnight. We also haven’t confirmed any exclusive merchandise but they do have a section of their website advertising Force Friday.
Target
There are 207 stores opening at midnight for Force Friday and you can check for your store here on their website.
The stores that aren’t opening at midnight will still have toys and collectibles available Friday morning. They are also holding a Force Saturday event on September 5th that will include giveaways and photo ops at the stores. We believe the giveaway is a lunch box. Target will have an exclusive BB-8 remote control figure for around $80 by Hasbro and a Kylo Ren Funko POP!. A list of pricing has been found but doesn’t guarantee that all of the items on it will be available on Friday.
There are two coupons in this week’s Target advertising flyer, one for $10 off a $50 purchase and the other for $25 off $100. If you don’t have the flyer, you can text FORCE10 and FORCE25 to 827438 to have the coupons delivered to your phone.
Toys-R-Us
Most Toys-R-Us stores will be opening at midnight for Force Friday. The only TRU stores we know for sure that won’t be open are in Parumus, NJ but it would be a good idea to stop in or call your local store to see if they’re participating. We know that there will be some free items for the event, including a poster for attendees, and there have also been rumors that there will be a bagged Lego figure, probably available with a minimum purchase. We’ve heard conflicting information on the Lego figure. One rumor is that it’s C-3PO from The Force Awakens while a new report is that it could be a re-release of the Wullf Yularen figure which was originally the May the 4th 2015 giveaway. Toys-R-Us has a Destination: Star Wars page on their website with a countdown timer to this week’s event along with a link to the Star Wars items in their online store.
Walmart
Most or all Walmart stores that are open 24 hours will have product out for Friday at 12:01. They have an exclusive Funko Pop! Sandtrooper and Dewback set for $20 and will have Topps Star Wars Galactic Connexions disks. Pricing for basic 3.75″ figures will be slightly less than Target (by about $1).