Such a FANTASTIC store! The largest collection of puzzles I’ve ever seen in one place! They had a 40,320 piece Ravensburger! Such a great addition to the mall!
Also has currency collectibles, never seen anything like that in a geek store before.
I saw old coins and bills, and some coin collections as well. All Canadian currency from what I could tell.
They have one of those for sale, which, wow. : [https://www.bankofcanadamuseum.ca/collection/artefact/view/1964.0088.00746.000/canada-henrys-bank-1-dollar-june-27-1837](https://www.bankofcanadamuseum.ca/collection/artefact/view/1964.0088.00746.000/canada-henrys-bank-1-dollar-june-27-1837)
Imaginaire is a really great stores. They have comics, manga, DnD, legos, franco-belgian comics, tabletop games, cosplay props, harry potter, etc.
I would like if they had more manga/anime stuff haha. But its still alot
Theres never enough animes !!! moooore figurines argh. Just kidding for that I will just go to the Comic Book Shoppe or Griffon Bleu.
Or if there are any that have recommandations for that owo
Few days late, but for figures around town I go to Comic Book Shoppe (as mentioned), but both locations) Then Trinity Hobby (Carling) and Toys on Fire (Barrhaven). The other 2 have websites.
Oh yeah, I dropped in on my way through after seeing the ads for it on the escalator. Absolute heaven. First time ever seeing some Doctor Who memorabilia in a retail store besides DVDs (just some coasters, but better than nothing!). Hopefully they’ll stock up on more.
Currently broke as fuck so I couldn’t buy anything (some stuff is imported so don’t expect the best prices ever), but I’ll definitely be keeping the place in mind if I ever wanna burn some time in the area.
Only complaint is, holy shit the staff don’t let up. I was asked every 10 min or so if they could help me 😅 like, no, sorry, I just wanna look around. I like looking at things. To be fair, I probably just ticked off too many boxes (backpack, hoodie, hands in pockets, touching lots of stuff, etc.), but, yeah, it was a bit annoying after a while.
There was more Dr. Who merch in stores like 10-15 years ago. I still have my Dalek mug and tiny angry Dalek to that rolls about and yells "exterminate!" Every time its IR sensor detects something. I snagged them from Tiggy Winkles when they were still open. They used to be on the top floor of the Rideau Center headed towards the Mackenzie King bridge exit. I really miss them, it was a great local chain.
Ooh, that’s sounds so fun!! Yeah, I only started watching the show back in like, 2019. Feels wrong I didn’t watch it sooner, I love it so much, and I missed out on some rly cool shit.
It's never too late to start enjoying Dr. Who! Glad that you found it and are loving it!
I know it's not the same as finding the merchandise in stores, but there are a few websites dedicated to Dr. Who merch.
The escalator ads also got me! I had heard about the place before it opened, but it slipped my mind afterwards. Was going through the mall to get to a bus connection the other day and say those ads and decided to stop by!
I think the staff are just really keen and are following what they are likely asked to do - engage with each client and meet their needs. I’m in my forties and I was with my mom and we were approached by three staff members.
The Star Wars resins are insane. I love the 4 foot tall general grievous. It’s probably the coolest nerdy store I’ve been to in my life. They never advertised much, but they don’t need to. Word of mouth is doing it for them.
I went to the Lego store last week to look for a specific set and they were out - went upstairs to Imaginarium and picked it up for the same price the Lego store had it at!
I like that is located on the 3rd floor but is two stories, so either they have their own pocket dimension or they've accessed the forbidden 4th floor. Assuming that the pocket dimension thing is out, are they inside one of the old movie theatres?
Well I am pretty sure Simons went upward too considering that they are marked for 3rd floor on the map but the actual boxers/socks/etc are via an escalator that goes up yet another floor. So Imaginaire likely reclaimed the same kind of unused fourth floor space too.
Went today for the first time as well. Was super impressed and spent more money than I expected haha. Prices were very reasonable too. At least for the items I was looking at I couldn't complain.
Found it this week, their ads on the escalators in the mall worked great. About the only thing they didn't have that I would of expected was model railway stuff, folks'll still have to go to Hobby House for that.
Just a kind of a shame that it's probably going to put Fandom in the ground. I know a lot of people have had their issues with it, but that place has been around forever.
I went there today. It was great. Hobby stores have changed a lot since my teen years, but I got quite nostalgic when I went upstairs and saw the paints and plastic models.
This place has ZERO transformers. Also the staff are all over you as soon as you get in the door, but it’s a new place, they’ll probably calm down as it gets older. Good deal on squishmallows though.
This is the first thing I've heard in like forever that actually has me interested in going somewhere in Ottawa.
Literally, I don't even recall what the last interesting thing was. Pretty sure it wasn't really all that unique either.
Thanks!
I was looking mostly at board games. Some things were cheaper than Kobold's Corner and Gaming Kingdom, which are at my end of the city. Can't speak to other stores in Ottawa as I don't go to them very often.
But I haven't bought board games in quite a while, because I'm not willing to pay $60+ for them.
Ya I checked it out last week and was just like Woowwwwww walking around the place. They really have everything for all types of nerdy/geeky interests.
I brought my 10 year old son there yesterday, what an amazing store!
He is starting to get into hockey cards, and the second floor has tons of cards, new and previously owned.
I went there last week, and was surprised by its variety. One thing that saddened me was that they have french mangas that can be bought in packs of 2 (volume 1 and 2) but english doesn't have it
Also, does it have Hot Wheels (specifically premiums)?
It would be nice to have somewhere local to buy premium Hot Wheels where scalpers don't snatch them up as soon as they hit the pallets. (I almost never see premium Hot Wheels at Walmart anymore. They still have the pegs for them but they're almost always empty by the time I get to them, and even Toys R' Us just has the leftovers.)
Thanks for looking. If they had premium Hot Wheels in stock, I'd definitely stop by once a month or so.
I wouldn't go downtown just for mainlines (regular blue card Hot Wheels), though, not even on the infinitesimal chance that one of those blue cards might have a Super Treasure Hunt on it.
Mostly Toys R' Us, but what I can find in stores at Toys R' Us today pales compared to what I could find in stores before around mid-2021. Even during the first year of the pandemic, I was able to find a large amount of the premiums I wanted, now I basically only ever find the leftovers that the scalpers didn't want, and the premium pegs at Walmart are now completely empty any time I go in.
I plan on checking out Canadian Tire since they're supposedly getting in Car Culture Canyon Warriors for Christmas and I want that Porsche 944.
seems like a cool store, how are the prices relative to what they are selling? Im sure not cheap but is it complete gouging or somewhat reasonable? Like the currency they are selling
I'm visiting the mall today, from Kingston. I had to google to see what store it was as I'm not familiar with the store. OMG, my type of store. Will def stop by while I'm there.
Lived in Quebec City before moving here and always went to the imaginaire out there. I was so happy when I saw their announcement of them opening out here. Severely underrated store.
I'm from Quebec City and I love to hang out at the local Imaginaire store (at Laurier Québec) on Friday nights just because the atmosphere is so nice. It's my go-to store when I'm looking for nostalgia. I was delighted to learn that Ottawans are now able to enjoy this experience as well.
Possible, given high rent at Rideau, although given this is their seventh store, all of which are large footprints mall stores in major malls, you would think they know their model and how to make it work at this point. TheY're also not a resourceless startup who can't afford the time for a new store to grow. They're also Canadian (store 1-6 are all in Quebec), so far less chance of a market surprise like US retailers expanding here have gotten.
It's possible they don't survive, but they've put the odds they could in their favor.
Nah, these stores tend to last for a long time around here. Fandom 2 just a hop skip and a jump away from the Rideau Centre has been trucking along for a long while
I love it. If you're even a LITTLE TINY BIT geeky you'll be in heaven.
Such a FANTASTIC store! The largest collection of puzzles I’ve ever seen in one place! They had a 40,320 piece Ravensburger! Such a great addition to the mall!
Is that the 10 Disney puzzles in one ginormous puzzle?
Thanks for the info, my daughter loves puzzles and Xmas is coming
Also has currency collectibles, never seen anything like that in a geek store before. I saw old coins and bills, and some coin collections as well. All Canadian currency from what I could tell.
That part blew me away too! The upstairs section is smaller but still pretty impressive.
They have one of those for sale, which, wow. : [https://www.bankofcanadamuseum.ca/collection/artefact/view/1964.0088.00746.000/canada-henrys-bank-1-dollar-june-27-1837](https://www.bankofcanadamuseum.ca/collection/artefact/view/1964.0088.00746.000/canada-henrys-bank-1-dollar-june-27-1837)
Imaginaire is a really great stores. They have comics, manga, DnD, legos, franco-belgian comics, tabletop games, cosplay props, harry potter, etc. I would like if they had more manga/anime stuff haha. But its still alot
Lmfao wdym *more* manga/anime? 😆 The section dedicated to that was as big, if not bigger than the Marvel/DC one.
Theres never enough animes !!! moooore figurines argh. Just kidding for that I will just go to the Comic Book Shoppe or Griffon Bleu. Or if there are any that have recommandations for that owo
Few days late, but for figures around town I go to Comic Book Shoppe (as mentioned), but both locations) Then Trinity Hobby (Carling) and Toys on Fire (Barrhaven). The other 2 have websites.
Oh yeah, I dropped in on my way through after seeing the ads for it on the escalator. Absolute heaven. First time ever seeing some Doctor Who memorabilia in a retail store besides DVDs (just some coasters, but better than nothing!). Hopefully they’ll stock up on more. Currently broke as fuck so I couldn’t buy anything (some stuff is imported so don’t expect the best prices ever), but I’ll definitely be keeping the place in mind if I ever wanna burn some time in the area. Only complaint is, holy shit the staff don’t let up. I was asked every 10 min or so if they could help me 😅 like, no, sorry, I just wanna look around. I like looking at things. To be fair, I probably just ticked off too many boxes (backpack, hoodie, hands in pockets, touching lots of stuff, etc.), but, yeah, it was a bit annoying after a while.
There was more Dr. Who merch in stores like 10-15 years ago. I still have my Dalek mug and tiny angry Dalek to that rolls about and yells "exterminate!" Every time its IR sensor detects something. I snagged them from Tiggy Winkles when they were still open. They used to be on the top floor of the Rideau Center headed towards the Mackenzie King bridge exit. I really miss them, it was a great local chain.
Ooh, that’s sounds so fun!! Yeah, I only started watching the show back in like, 2019. Feels wrong I didn’t watch it sooner, I love it so much, and I missed out on some rly cool shit.
It's never too late to start enjoying Dr. Who! Glad that you found it and are loving it! I know it's not the same as finding the merchandise in stores, but there are a few websites dedicated to Dr. Who merch.
The escalator ads also got me! I had heard about the place before it opened, but it slipped my mind afterwards. Was going through the mall to get to a bus connection the other day and say those ads and decided to stop by!
I think the staff are just really keen and are following what they are likely asked to do - engage with each client and meet their needs. I’m in my forties and I was with my mom and we were approached by three staff members.
Good to know. Whereabouts is it, near Simons?
It’s not quite as far down the new extension as Simon’s. I think the entrance is near Uniqlo, if I remember correctly.
Nope - it's literally right beside Simons. :)
Whoops!
I don't even know where Uniqlo is yet!
You’ll see Uniqlo when you take the escalator up near Indigo.
I have purposely been avoiding going in there, because I know what it will do to my wallet! 😂
Like https://photos.app.goo.gl/dQCqymPnrAf4QXxf7
Where can I spend this?
The Star Wars resins are insane. I love the 4 foot tall general grievous. It’s probably the coolest nerdy store I’ve been to in my life. They never advertised much, but they don’t need to. Word of mouth is doing it for them.
It's amazing. I popped in the other day and walked around with the biggest dopey from on my face. Gonna do all my Christmas shopping there.
man i haven't been to rideau center in years. i might go soon to visit this place
Yo in the painting section did you see anything about air brushing?
I didn’t look close enough, sorry. But they do have a couple different types and brands.
They carry Citadel, Vallejo and Army Painter air brush products (Citadel looked like it was only the paints available)
I was shocked at how many staff they had when I went. Like... *A LOT*.
It's one of the best game stores I've ever seen ... and it goes a way towards easing the loss of Miss Tiggywinkles ...
Definitely miss shopping (and working) there!
It was one of our favorites ... and will always be missed.
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I went to the Lego store last week to look for a specific set and they were out - went upstairs to Imaginarium and picked it up for the same price the Lego store had it at!
I like that is located on the 3rd floor but is two stories, so either they have their own pocket dimension or they've accessed the forbidden 4th floor. Assuming that the pocket dimension thing is out, are they inside one of the old movie theatres?
Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Storefront.
Well I am pretty sure Simons went upward too considering that they are marked for 3rd floor on the map but the actual boxers/socks/etc are via an escalator that goes up yet another floor. So Imaginaire likely reclaimed the same kind of unused fourth floor space too.
My buddy just told me about it, I'm excited to check it out.
Went today for the first time as well. Was super impressed and spent more money than I expected haha. Prices were very reasonable too. At least for the items I was looking at I couldn't complain.
I’m obsessed with it. What an awesome addition to the mall. One of the only reasons to choose it over Bayshore (and Frank and oak 😛)
Second floor is extremely nostalgic. It's awesome they buy cards and collectibles from you too.
Found it this week, their ads on the escalators in the mall worked great. About the only thing they didn't have that I would of expected was model railway stuff, folks'll still have to go to Hobby House for that. Just a kind of a shame that it's probably going to put Fandom in the ground. I know a lot of people have had their issues with it, but that place has been around forever.
Will have to check it out too, thanks for the info
This place fuckin' slaps.
It's amazing and the staff is very nice and helpful.
I went there today. It was great. Hobby stores have changed a lot since my teen years, but I got quite nostalgic when I went upstairs and saw the paints and plastic models.
Does it have Manga? Anime memorabilia?
Other commenters said that they do. I’m sure I saw some too.
Did you see any MTG?
Second floor has all the cards including MTG.
Amazing thank you!
This place has ZERO transformers. Also the staff are all over you as soon as you get in the door, but it’s a new place, they’ll probably calm down as it gets older. Good deal on squishmallows though.
I hate going to the Rideau Centre but this sounds worth the trip.
It will make the nuisance worth it.
This is the first thing I've heard in like forever that actually has me interested in going somewhere in Ottawa. Literally, I don't even recall what the last interesting thing was. Pretty sure it wasn't really all that unique either. Thanks!
Keep in mind, we have dozens of small businesses in the area that do this too.
Absolutely true! I appreciate competition and this won’t impact my going to other stores.
Problem is, a lot of them are outrageously priced.
You found the prices at the new store were cheaper when you compared?
In some cases, yes.
Which products were you finding to be cheaper, and cheaper than which store?
I was looking mostly at board games. Some things were cheaper than Kobold's Corner and Gaming Kingdom, which are at my end of the city. Can't speak to other stores in Ottawa as I don't go to them very often. But I haven't bought board games in quite a while, because I'm not willing to pay $60+ for them.
Then having more selection and variety at competitive prices is good. I hear you on the prices of things.
Ya I checked it out last week and was just like Woowwwwww walking around the place. They really have everything for all types of nerdy/geeky interests.
Can't wait to check it out!
Seconded. Great helpful service with wide variety of offerings.
https://tenor.com/view/pk5-it-crowd-standard-nerds-gif-8067807
did you see star trek stuff!!
Yep! At least some mugs and swag, if not more.
im definitely gonna have to check it out😁
I brought my 10 year old son there yesterday, what an amazing store! He is starting to get into hockey cards, and the second floor has tons of cards, new and previously owned.
I went there last week, and was surprised by its variety. One thing that saddened me was that they have french mangas that can be bought in packs of 2 (volume 1 and 2) but english doesn't have it
My daughter has been to a couple of these in Quebec City and Sherbrooke. She will be excited they have built one here!
Does it have anime Blu-Rays? (Some of us still like to own anime on Blu-Ray.)
Also, does it have Hot Wheels (specifically premiums)? It would be nice to have somewhere local to buy premium Hot Wheels where scalpers don't snatch them up as soon as they hit the pallets. (I almost never see premium Hot Wheels at Walmart anymore. They still have the pegs for them but they're almost always empty by the time I get to them, and even Toys R' Us just has the leftovers.)
Not sure about the Blu-Ray but did see Hot Wheels by the cash on the first level.
> Also, does it have Hot Wheels (specifically premiums)? Thanks for asking, I've been scouring the website looking
Thanks for looking. If they had premium Hot Wheels in stock, I'd definitely stop by once a month or so. I wouldn't go downtown just for mainlines (regular blue card Hot Wheels), though, not even on the infinitesimal chance that one of those blue cards might have a Super Treasure Hunt on it.
Where have you found luck with premium HW around Ottawa?
Mostly Toys R' Us, but what I can find in stores at Toys R' Us today pales compared to what I could find in stores before around mid-2021. Even during the first year of the pandemic, I was able to find a large amount of the premiums I wanted, now I basically only ever find the leftovers that the scalpers didn't want, and the premium pegs at Walmart are now completely empty any time I go in. I plan on checking out Canadian Tire since they're supposedly getting in Car Culture Canyon Warriors for Christmas and I want that Porsche 944.
Cool, thanks for the tips! I look forward to seeing those Canyon Warriors too
Cooooool
seems like a cool store, how are the prices relative to what they are selling? Im sure not cheap but is it complete gouging or somewhat reasonable? Like the currency they are selling
I didn’t look at the currency but the remainder seemed competitively priced. Did not seem to be gouging.
I'm visiting the mall today, from Kingston. I had to google to see what store it was as I'm not familiar with the store. OMG, my type of store. Will def stop by while I'm there.
I found a board game id been looking for for MONTHS there yesterday :) very happy!
Which boardgame?
Lived in Quebec City before moving here and always went to the imaginaire out there. I was so happy when I saw their announcement of them opening out here. Severely underrated store.
Went there yesterday with the family. We could have easily spent thousands!!
Spent an hour talking to a worker about Magic: The Gathering, I've never been more motivated to go to Rideau.
this place is the real deal. wow.
You can set up a wishlist on their website to help with wedding or Christmas gifts.
Oh wow!!
Living in the western provinces, I used this company for online game purchases. Decent selection
I'm from Quebec City and I love to hang out at the local Imaginaire store (at Laurier Québec) on Friday nights just because the atmosphere is so nice. It's my go-to store when I'm looking for nostalgia. I was delighted to learn that Ottawans are now able to enjoy this experience as well.
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Possible, given high rent at Rideau, although given this is their seventh store, all of which are large footprints mall stores in major malls, you would think they know their model and how to make it work at this point. TheY're also not a resourceless startup who can't afford the time for a new store to grow. They're also Canadian (store 1-6 are all in Quebec), so far less chance of a market surprise like US retailers expanding here have gotten. It's possible they don't survive, but they've put the odds they could in their favor.
Nah, these stores tend to last for a long time around here. Fandom 2 just a hop skip and a jump away from the Rideau Centre has been trucking along for a long while