I haven’t the foggiest idea why LEGO opted to set the official release date for the 2014 LEGO Movie sets three days before the massive release of the rest of the LEGO 2014 sets, but the day has finally arrived! Although all of the LEGO Movie sets are now available for order online, I set off this morning to hit up a variety of stores and see just what I could find from the new The LEGO Movie sets. I had to drive a little bit and hit more stores than I expected, but I eventually managed to see the LEGO Movie Minifigures Series blind bags and every one of the LEGO Movie sets!

I totally wiped out finding any of the LEGO 2014 LEGO Movie sets at retail before their official release date (today–12/29/2013), so I got up bright and early today and trekked out in the cold to hunt for some fresh LEGO goodness.

My first stop was my local Target store. I had low expectations, as this store is fairly slow to stock anything new, but they surprised me by having a hanging case of LEGO Movie Collectable Minifigures Series blind bags hanging in the aisle! I tried to pick up a bunch, but was denied at the register by the “Cannot be sold before 1/1” computer message. I was not amused.

Thus, I ended up driving 40 minutes to my closest Toys R Us store, where many fellow collectors told me they’d lucked out and scored the LEGO Movie blind bag series before Christmas. Unfortunately, holiday shoppers must have wiped out the store completely, as there wasn’t a single The LEGO Movie Series minifigure blind bag to be found (though there were a few assorted sets from the movie). Strike two.

Finally, I gave up and just went to one of my many local official LEGO Stores. This should have been my first stop, but, well… hindsight in 20/20. I walked into the LEGO Store and lo and behold–“LEGO Movie set”-topia!

Not only did The LEGO Store have every single one of the LEGO Movie sets in-stock and available for their regular retail price (including the LEGO Movie Minifigures Series blind bags and the retailer exclusives like the Flying Flusher set), but they also had a window display of some of the sets!

The LEGO Movie Cloud Cuckoo Palace 70803 really is colorful and fun-looking in-person, and the humongous Lord Business minifigure that comes with the LEGO Movie Lord Business’ Evil Lair 70809 set is hugely impressive (pun sort of intended).

I also got to see The LEGO Movie keychains minifigures in person. I really need to see how much I like the LEGO Movie before I want to be parading around with LEGO Movie keychains all over my stuff however (just in case the movie should turn out to be embarrassingly awful).

Unquestionably the coolest thing that I saw today was at the LEGO Store, where a pair of cute senior citizens (white hair and glasses and all) shuffled into the LEGO Store and scooped up every one of the LEGO Movie sets and carried the huge piles of boxes to the register to check out. Amazing! If it wouldn’t have been totally rude, I would have taken a photo then and there. Either grandma and grandpa are LEGO Master Builders, or some grandchild is about to hit the jackpot!

I went ahead and picked up a few handfuls of LEGO Movie Minifigures Series mystery packs, as well as the LEGO Movie Ice Cream Machine 70804 set, and will get some photos and reviews posted for each sometime soon.

Have your local stores stocked the new LEGO Movie 2014 sets, LEGO fans? What have you already picked up from the theme (or plan to pick up soon)?