FAO Schwarz, New York City

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A bit like Hamleys in London but not quite as big, it is a fairly expensive store stocking exclusive toys for those who can flash the cash. This store was featured in the Tom Hanks show BIG, we saw the piano he dances on although adults are discouraged to have a go at making sweet music. There are some completely impractical gifts here like these huge stuffed dinosaurs they would give me nightmares. Actually this store was in a bit of financial trouble & in danger of being closed but luckily some investors stumped up the cash to keep the legend going

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The flagship store in NYC caters to an up-scale clientele. There is also an interesting section dedicated to re-creations of toys from the 30's and 40's (at 2000's prices, of course).

You can get on line and wait your turn for a chance to play a tune on the collosal piano keyboard featured in the 1988 movie "Big" on the second floor.

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Although we mostly stuck to window shopping on Fifth Avenue, FAO Schwarz was the one store I couldn't resist going into! As a kid I'd watched the movie "Big" and I still remembered the store's giant piano, which I couldn't wait to see first-hand. As it turns out, there is much more to see than the piano! As a Harry Potter fan, I was thrilled to see all the books' magical creatures hanging out in the stuffed animals section, which I could have brought home for a few thousand dollars (!). On the second floor, I also found amazing life-size Lego statues of Harry, Hermione, Ron and Hagrid. Although we didn't buy anything, we spent about 45 minutes just looking around the store – oh, and it's probably a good idea to show up early because we could just as easily have spent 45 minutes waiting in the line-up if we'd gone later during the day. A really fun way to bring out the kid in you ;o)

FAO Schwarz is open from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm every day (11:00 am to 6:00 pm on Sundays).

What to buy: You can basically get all the toys, games and candies you can think of! You can also build your own toy vehicle - I thought that would make for a great NYC souvenir/gift.

What to pay: Same as any toy store. Collection items are of course more expensive.

FAO Schwartz toy store has an excellent location; on Fifth Avenue, next to Central Park. The three floor store looks quite small on the outside, but has surprisingly big selection of various toys. The entrance is usually themed with some topical items -- we enjoyed a set of extremely well done mythical animals from various recent movies, done in teddy bear style. All of them were also sale, the priciest one was around $6,000.

There is quite much of things happening in the store all the time, and some of the toys are on display. Still, not quite like London's Hamleys that is hyper-interactive and entraps children for hours.

The store is probably the best place to buy Legos in New York City -- please advice me, if there are still better ones.

Besides toys, there is a candy store and soda / milkshake bar on the street level. The Apple store is a neighbour, so you can migrate from one toy store to another when you grow up.

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So if you looking for a gift for your children or want to be a kid again check out both this places.

At FAO Schwartz I found there was a lot of what I would call high end toys like $1000 stuff animals, a door man dressed like a toy characters and even an antique toy sections. The store is famous and had in it a piano that you could play by walking on the keys in the floor so the kids there when I was there were having a blast at that.

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No trip to NY would be complete without a trip to this amazing world famous FAO Schwarz toy shop. After a very cold walk around Central Park we decided to head into the shop for a little warmth. However we spent over 2 hours in this great shop. We had a lovely hot chocolate and fudge cake in the sit down cafe area. The staff were very friendly and then we headed off to do some serious shopping!!! Big cuddly toys, board games, action figures, and so much more was on offer over the two floors. There was also a collection of huge toy cars and a large display of Barbie dolls. We also got chance to see 2 of the staff play some wicked tunes on the huge piano which was also used in the film Big. Loads of wonderful toys and staff flying around the shop on scooters made this FAO Schwarz the best toy shop in the world

What to buy: Have a custom made doll built to your design, choose skin and hair colour as well as a massive range of accessories to truly have a one off doll. You are then presented with a birth certificate with the dolls name on and various other facts. Also before you customise your doll you have to place a little heart inside

We bought some paper aeroplanes which were so cool. once made you can throw them quite a distance and they return back to you like a boomerang, Very inexpensive but so much fun

Lots of themed board games, like Nascar Monopoly and New York Yankees Chess set. As i live in the UK these are not in the shops so i took advantage and took a few games back!

So many cuddly toys to melt the hearts of people all ages.

What to pay: You can buy paper aeroplanes for $2 up to $2000 for the big toy cars.
Really its up to you how much you spend

Children are welcomed with open arms here - parents are checked for credit cards!! This children's toy shop is a great fun experience even if it may be hard work on your credit card- this shop really is larger than life.

What to buy: TOYS
TOYS
TOYS

What to pay: Whatever you can afford

This picture was taken coming down from the second floor at FAO Schwarz. We went up there to watch them dance on the keyboards on the floor.

It was very nice and lively in this store. All the personnel was very nice.

What to buy: I bought my little girl (Noel) a stuffed kitten and she named it "Liberty". I only paid $15 for it and it was average size and very nice. Well priced.

What to pay: Alot or alittle, depending on what you want to buy.