SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) Response was so overwhelming Thursday to the Build-A-Bear 'Pay Your Age Day' nationwide, that the company shut it down, but not in Sioux Falls.
Anyone still in the long lines at many other locations was getting vouchers for future purchases.
But the Empire Mall's Kirsten Schaffer says there have been no problems at the Build-A-Bear store at the mall with plenty of bears still for the taking. She says the crowds have been well-behaved, no fighting, so no safety concerns.
Thousands of children and their parents lined up at the Mall, eager to get their turn inside the store. Kids were getting a toy based on their age, only a dollar for each year
Here's part of the statement from the company, based in St. Louis:
"..Based on the information available to us before the day began, we could not have predicted this unprecedented reaction to our Pay Your Age Day event. We understand that many Guests were turned away as, due to safety concerns created by the crowds, authorities in certain locations closed Build-A-Bear stores and, in other locations, we were forced to limit the line. Unfortunately, given these circumstances, we were unable to serve all of our Guests for the Pay Your Age Day event, as planned."