Hundreds Wait in Line for Zhu Zhu Pet at Toys R Us

Black Friday started off in St. Peters, Missouri, with a mob of residents at the Toys R Us store on Mid Rivers Mall Drive and Veterans Memorial Parkway. The traffic drove into the busy parking lot across from the Mid Rivers Mall trying to find a free space to park. There was a line of people stretched the entire length of the shopping center that started to work it's way around the back of the buildings just before the store opened at 12:00 midnight.

We stopped to video-tape the crowd and ask them what they were hoping to buy. Some of the things the shoppers mentioned they wanted were deals on iPods, Lego sets, and DVD players. Some of them said they weren't sure what they were going to buy, but they knew the store had some great sales they wanted to take advantage of for Black Friday. The toy with the greatest demand was the Zhu Zhu Pet Hamster, which most parents were calling a "Gerbil".

The Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters, which are selling at Toys R Us, are typically around $50 each. "If you've seen any of the kid's TV commercials at all lately then you have undoubtedly seen the Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster collection. These lovable, life-like Zhu Zhu Pets (pronounced Zoo-Zoo) are the hottest toy of the coming Christmas season. Even the CEO of Toys-R-Us says they are going to be the hit toy of the season and that they will have a tough time keeping them in stock as more and more youngsters want these lovable hamster pets. There is no arguing the fact that pet hamsters are a great gift for kids of all ages, but you also need to be prepared to take care of cleaning up after them and regularly feeding them among other things. The Zhu Zhu hamsters give your children all of the fun of having a hamster but without the mess and constant care!" (http://www.zoozoohamsters.com/)

According to the Toys R Us website, the Zhu Zhu Pets are "Determined to make one of the biggest shopping days of the year enjoyable for customers, Toys"R"Us has big plans for Black Friday shoppers seeking a Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster, one of the hottest toys of 2009. The first 100 customers in line at their local Toys"R"Us store on Black Friday will each be given a ticket for the opportunity to purchase a Zhu Zhu Pet (with a limit of one per household).* With thousands of additional Zhu Zhu Pets being made available in Toys"R"Us stores throughout the day on Friday, and thousands more of the highly coveted Zhu Zhu Pets arriving regularly throughout December, gift-givers will have the best chance of finding the precocious little hamsters at Toys"R"Us."

We spoke with a few people at the very front of the line who were waiting impatiently for the doors to open. The first five people in line were a group that had been waiting together since 3:30pm. Just behind them was a very fun and entertaining guy named Mark Hynes. Mark was full of energy and jumping around trying to stay warm in his oversized coat, he said "I'm freezing my BEEP off." He heard rumor that Toys R Us was selling the Zhu Zhu Pets for $10.00. We asked how long he had been there, and he said "Too long!" and added he came shortly after the people in front of him at 3:30pm.

The turn out was incredible. The store did an amazing job at containing the crowd and getting them to enter the store without incident. They had two officers from the St. Peters Police Department, standing at the entrance, providing security. As people started entering the store, they ensured no one was cutting line. They used a shopping cart to block people from overcrowding and encouraged them to enter in single file. They also only allowed a few to enter the store at once, waiting a few seconds to get each group well within the store before more entered. This tactic allowed them to maintain order and keep people from bum rushing as they entered the store.

The entire scene was amazing, cars buzzing around the parking lot, people chatting, and wrapped in blankets to stay warm. From the turnout at the St. Peters location, you wouldn't think for a second that the economy was suffering. Toys R Us is going to be raking in the cash for Black Friday. They better stock up on those little hamsters before Santa comes to this town or there will be some sad little children on Christmas morning.