ORLANDO, Fla. – Before Build-A-Bear Workshop stores even opened Thursday on their "Pay Your Age" day across Florida, U.S. and Canada they were flooded with parents and children waiting to build their stuffed animals for as little as $1.
The line to get into the shop wrapped around the Macy's department store outside the Florida Mall before the mall even opened its doors.
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Amy Wilson, of Merritt Island, arrived at the Florida Mall with her three sons, ages 4, 7 and 11, hoping to pay their ages for the popular stuffed animals.
"I mean that's $22 for three bears, which is great, but I'd rather come on a day and pay $20 a piece and only be here for an hour," Wilson said, adding that she met people who lined up at 8:30 a.m.
BUILD A BEAR MADNESS! The line for the Pay Your Age at @buildabear is closed at the Florida Mall. There is still a long line of people waiting to get into the store & stuff their bears @news6wkmg #News6 pic.twitter.com/qWaqYFbsRs
— Amanda Castro (@AmandaNCastro) July 12, 2018
Darline Felix got to the Florida Mall just after 7 a.m. with a game plan. She and her children went to the shop the day before and picked out what they wanted. Felix's family got No. 17 in the line and were stuffing bears by 10:15 a.m., she said.
Was it worth the wait?
"Yes," Felix said. "I paid $35 for five bears."
Social media users posted photos of parents with strollers and small children in lines wrapping around the Altamonte Springs Mall food court with no end in sight.
Don't even try to go to Build-A-Bear Workshop! We went 30 minutes before they opened, and the ENTIRE first floor of the Altamonte mall was PACKED. It's almost comical how crazy it was!! WFTV Channel 9 WESH 2 News News 6 WKMG / ClickOrlando News 13
Posted by Amanda Kossina on Thursday, July 12, 2018
The response to the one-day promotion quickly caused the stores to shut down sales.
"**Urgent Alert: Per local authorities, we cannot accept additional guests at our locations due to crowds and safety concerns. We have closed lines in our U.S. and Canada stores. We understand some Guests are disappointed and we will reach out directly as soon as possible," Build-A-Bear Workshop posted to its Facebook and Twitter pages.
That message was posted at 11 a.m., about an hour after stores opened in U.S. malls on the East Coast.
People standing in line at the Altamonte Springs Mall and Florida Mall were given $15 vouchers.