Toy Fair Survives The Blizzard of '06

Toy Fair opened today during the largest snowstorm ever recorded in New York City. The snowstorm made travel a nightmare during the opening hours of Toy Fair, and many toy buyers and company representatives could not make it to the Fair at all.

Proving that lightning can strike twice, this storm was larger than the "once in a lifetime" snowstorm that paralyzed Toy Fair in 2003! According to a report from Playthings, at the Toy Fair ribbon cutting ceremonies this morning, only 400 out of the expected 2,500 attended. This is evident in the photo, above, which shows a sole person outside Javits exhibition hall this morning where normally you would see hundreds. Attendance at Javits was definitely impacted--normally, I'm elbowing people out of the way at the Madame Alexander, Barbie Collectibles and Tonner Dolls booths on the first day of Toy Fair, but today I had plenty of room to myself.

Luckily, I was staying at a hotel in Manhattan only a few miles from Javits. Although I waited over 1 hour in the blizzard for a bus, the bus did come, and I did make it to Toy Fair! It was another remarkable experience, and not one, however, that I expected to have so soon again after Toy Fair 2003. It was certainly worth braving the weather to see the new 2006 dolls today--I have so much to report on that I don't know where to start! Be sure to check back each day this week for more live updates from Toy Fair.