An opening date has been revealed for the new Toys ‘R’ Us store set for Dorset.

The nostalgic toyshop will open inside of the WHSmith’s Weymouth store on Saturday October 19.

The store will be hosting a grand opening event for customers from 8.30am to 1pm on the day and mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe will be joining the WHSmith team for an official ribbon cutting when the store opens.

The mascot will then be greeting visitors to the store throughout the morning.

The first 50 children visiting the store will also receive a free goody bag worth more than £15.

Ian Sanders, Group Commercial Development Director, WHSmith said: “We are really excited to be opening Toys ‘R’ Us in Weymouth.

“WHSmith is known for being the Hub of the High Street by providing customers with a range of great products and services. Partnering with Toys ‘R’ Us gives us a leading toys and games range in our stores and means customers have even more reasons to shop with us. We look forward to welcoming many more customers into our store.”

Weymouth’s new store will feature a key range of products and activities from top brands including Barbie, Bluey, Hot Wheels, LEGO, Marvel, Paw Patrol, Peppa Pig, Squishmallows, Star Wars and more. Children will be able to access the latest products and play hands-on with their favourite toys at the demonstration tables in store.

A lifesize Geoffrey the Giraffe sculpture also promises to be a popular hotspot for photos.

Weymouth is one of 37 WHSmith High Street stores set to open a new shop-in-shop from Toys ‘R’ Us before Christmas.

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The toy shop chain went bust in February 2018, shutting the doors on all of its 100 shops and resulting in the loss of more than 2,000 jobs.

It announced plans for a relaunch in October 2022, before striking an exclusive deal with WHSmith for concessions in the UK.

Further openings include WHSmith stores in Carlisle, Newbury and Scarborough.

At present, the closest Toys R Us is located at Towngate Shopping Centre in Poole.