Though it was never my favorite theme, for some reason the return of Ninjago this winter has gotten me really jazzed for the LEGO Ninjago 2014 sets! Even though the sets aren’t due to be officially released until December, I’ve been out hitting stores in the United States for the past week trying to get an early set. I’ve come up short until this weekend, when I not only spotted a couple of the new 2014 Ninjago sets in stores for the first time, but also ordered the one I wanted the most–The 2014 LEGO Ninjago Nindroid Mech Dragon 70725 is now available from Amazon at a discounted price and with free shipping!

After searching for the LEGO Ninjago Nindroid MechDragon 2014 set for the better part of two weeks, I was ecstatic to finally come across it in person this weekend at a local Toys R Us! There was, of course, a catch–said local Toys R Us was charging a scalper-iffic $109.99 plus tax for the set, so it would have ended up costing me close to $120. I was not amused.

Luckily, I did a quick sweep online and saw that Amazon had broken street date on the Ninjago LEGO 70725 Nindroid Mech Dragon as well, so I went ahead and ordered the mighty Nindroid MechDragon for the discounted price of $82.99 plus no tax and free shipping! The sale price can help to make up for some of the gas that I wasted driving around to stores and failing to find the Ninjago Mech Dragon for the last couple weeks. Thank you, Amazon!!

The other new set that Toys R Us had in stock was the LEGO Ninjago 2014 Thunder Raider 70723. Again, Toys R Us had marked up the price to $39.99–more than 33% higher than the MSRP of $29.99–so I passed on picking up the LEGO Thunder Raider (though I definitely did want it). If their early release of the Mech Dragon is any indication, Amazon and other retailers should have the Thunder Raider Ninjago set stocked in the next few days as well, so I’ll pick it up then at the discounted rate rather than pay Toys R Us’ crazy prices.

Are you excited for the arrival of the 2014 LEGO Ninjago sets, LEGO fans? Which sets are you planning to buy for the January 2014 wave (if any at all)?