We visit Party City for the first time in 10 years to say goodbye.
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FunTranscript
00:00What about this gaudy wreath for seven?
00:02Oh no, nothing.
00:08Jonathan!
00:09When I'm grown up can I buy the company Party City?
00:12Um, maybe.
00:16Maybe.
00:16So first I'm gonna be a gymnastics champion in the Olympics.
00:20Then I'm gonna be a ninja warrior champion.
00:23Okay.
00:23Then I'm gonna be a cub scout leader as well.
00:26Oh that's great.
00:27And I might help some old ladies.
00:29And then I'll own the Christmas store that we have to say goodbye to.
00:34When they close the store, where the heck are the dancing penguins supposed to live?
00:38It's in the store.
00:40And then I'll own this company so I'll be really successful.
00:44But look, nothing held back Party City.
00:46We came here 2015 Halloween.
00:48That was the last time I was in the store.
00:49Oh is that right?
00:50Look, I'm gonna miss it because it does fill a gap.
00:53They are expensive.
00:54Yep.
00:54But if you want like nice looking plastic cutlery.
00:57Yeah or a nice balloon.
00:59Like something fancy.
01:00I always loved it because it was like a city and a party.
01:04Oh one last Halloween ride.
01:06Five percent off.
01:07My memories of the store are just vague.
01:08Look at these cute little baskets.
01:10Are they for sale?
01:11I would buy one.
01:11They should be selling fixtures because I would absolutely buy one of these.
01:14We can ask.
01:15What's in Junt's teeny Party City cart?
01:17I have a Pier One rolling carrot.
01:20Really?
01:20I do.
01:20I bought one.
01:21They were 10 bucks and what a deal.
01:22I should have bought a bunch.
01:23I've got a couple of these because they're useful.
01:25They're actually super nice.
01:26They're really durable.
01:27These little junior mints.
01:29Gloria loves this stuff.
01:30I mean I love this too.
01:31You can only get like three mints in there.
01:33It's perfect for her honestly.
01:34Gloria, you could buy out all their junior mints.
01:37I love junior mints.
01:40It's my favorite thing.
01:41I eat them.
01:42I even eat them.
01:44You even eat them?
01:45A squeaking?
01:46And tongue sticking out.
01:48I don't need to remind anybody.
01:49Nina worked at iParty.
01:50When it was iParty.
01:51Oh it used to be iParty.
01:52That's right.
01:53Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:53When the world was a little more I.
01:55There was a time when everything was I.
01:57That's right.
01:57Now just Apple is I.
01:58That's gone away.
01:59And there was also a time when everything was E.
02:01And that was shortly before everything was I.
02:02Yeah, yeah.
02:03E-machines, you know, E-trade.
02:05Are you aware there's another store?
02:06Presumably it's still going to be around so.
02:08Right.
02:08Look, that's suspicious, right?
02:10Because it already has a mouse but its tongue is like down here.
02:12Or are those just whiskers maybe?
02:14It's got a double mouse going on.
02:15You're right, Gloria.
02:16It's got a bad double mouse.
02:17She said it was suspicious.
02:18Selection of Funko Pops as is the style of the day.
02:21Because what could possibly keep a store alive more?
02:24Apparently not.
02:26We laughed about that in 2015.
02:28I'm still laughing about it today.
02:30You said, Frankie, you can get this stack of fake Benjamins.
02:32Presumably so you can make it rain.
02:34This is a pack of oversized novelty $100 bills.
02:38Presumably so you can make it rain.
02:40Presumably.
02:41I don't think I make that joke anymore.
02:42That joke is kind of like we've moved on from that joke.
02:45You need quite a few to make it rain properly.
02:47Yeah, you need to buy four packs to really make it rain.
02:50Why has the dancing started?
02:52Because there's music.
02:54This is the gap that Party City fills.
02:56All red M&M's.
02:57Yeah, or this is visually very nice.
03:00If I was having a party and I wanted to like color it up a little, this is gorgeous.
03:03Like we all have heard of novelty chocolate coins.
03:06Sure.
03:06It's not obvious immediately where you could go buy some.
03:09But nowadays, I go to Amazon.
03:11Yeah, just ship me some.
03:12And pay no 13 bucks.
03:1413 for the novelty chocolate coins.
03:16I expect this to be six bucks.
03:20Sugared gummy bears.
03:21Everyone in all blue M&M's.
03:23They're color coded here in general.
03:24You have your yellow, your pink, your red, you're gonna rainbow here.
03:27You can get a sweet kettle popcorn bucket.
03:29Little chocolatey candies that look like beads.
03:31Pure white M&M's.
03:32Appealing.
03:33Anything like in a monochromatic palette is appealing to me.
03:36Could be for Peach and Bowser's wedding.
03:37One flavor of Jelly Belly.
03:39I mean, I guess if you really love that one flavor.
03:42Plastic tongs that look like silver.
03:44They're nice.
03:44They're so classy.
03:45I love seeing them here, but I could go to Amazon.
03:47Or I could go to Timu and I bet I could get this.
03:49Yeah, but sometimes I need to just run out and buy something.
03:51I know.
03:51Did you do any reading about what's caused the closures?
03:54I did not.
03:55Yeah, I guess it just didn't make financial sense to continue operation.
03:58Like not enough customers?
03:59Steep competition from Spirit Halloween, Walmart, Amazon, and Costco.
04:04And a helium shortage, which has limited their balloon availability.
04:08Party City said the closures were unrelated to the helium shortage.
04:11But at the time, CEO James Harrison said a lack of helium was hurting its balloon business.
04:16Trophies for a silly little event you're having.
04:18All the containers you could organize and put all that candy in.
04:22Clearance.
04:23I mean, this is the normal story, right?
04:24They bring in this liquidator, resets all the prices high,
04:27and then slowly trickle discounts them.
04:29A ready-made Riddler costume.
04:30I love it.
04:31Except it does not come with coat.
04:32Just like the Riddler Essentials kit.
04:34Yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:35Including coat prices to me.
04:36$29.99 for a hat and a mask and a tie.
04:39What do you think of these little like skirty skirts?
04:41They're cool, right?
04:42It's cool.
04:42These are what they fill like the balloon station with.
04:45The very ones?
04:46Yeah.
04:46These are like really good quality balloons.
04:48John was teaching me that they had a helium shortage and that contributed to the problem.
04:52Oh, they had all kinds of medical gas shortages.
04:54It's a finite resource on Earth.
04:56There is only so much of it.
04:57And did you know that almost all of the helium that goes into balloons comes out of medical waste?
05:02You know, many people don't realize that there's helium involved when they're getting an MRI scan.
05:07I love balloons, you know?
05:08Do you need to do like one final pack of 100 to tide you over for the next 20 years?
05:13I have no idea what they cost.
05:14Go on Amazon, you know?
05:15Yeah, I hear you.
05:17F***ing Amazon.
05:18This is like the assorted hats and like bits.
05:2060% off Halloween wigs.
05:22That's a deal.
05:23Maybe.
05:2360% off all this.
05:25Look, look at this cute bell costume for $45.
05:28Well, it's not $45 anymore.
05:3060% off?
05:3160% off.
05:31I love this hat.
05:32I would never dream of wearing such a thing.
05:34But the coloring and foil, aluminum foil.
05:37I wouldn't know where to source this.
05:39Were you just singing the royals?
05:41Aluminum foil.
05:42Yeah, I was.
05:44It's a weird Al Yankovic song, of course.
05:46With aluminum foil.
05:49What about this kind of bling?
05:51Oh, I was looking at this thing.
05:52Yes, this is good too.
05:53This is fascinating.
05:54It's so almost real.
05:55I think the time for this bling has passed.
05:57I think we've moved beyond that bling and now we're more in this bling.
06:00I saw online this really sad party city had just opened that week.
06:04It had a grand opening sign on it and it had the closing sign.
06:12You can definitely get this at Walmart or wherever else.
06:14They're just throwing it in while you're here.
06:16Exactly.
06:17They got your to-go containers even.
06:18You could have gotten the chef hat from here.
06:20That's lower quality.
06:21Yeah, I think it's for $4 full price here.
06:24That looks like it's paper.
06:25Beer mug pinatas with cheers across the side.
06:285% on solids.
06:30Yes, I don't imagine they've sold many of those over the years.
06:32No.
06:33And what the hell is a solid?
06:34Is a pinata a solid?
06:36I wouldn't think so.
06:37I mean, I guess in the gas plasma solids universe, yes.
06:43I think most of the items in here are solids.
06:45Yeah.
06:46But yeah, the helium though.
06:48Maybe that's where it all starts at the beginning.
06:49Yeah, you get your solids, you get the gas.
06:51I don't know if they have any plasma.
06:52We'll take a look.
06:53You guys have any liquids?
06:54I love a good napkin.
06:54I got some good napkins here.
06:56Yeah, look, a big pile of nice napkins.
06:58What if they had false graph village cloth napkins?
07:01Oh, I mean, I have some.
07:02Do they exist?
07:03I have two.
07:04It looks a little like a, you know what?
07:05But how many dicks have you seen that look like this?
07:08A lot.
07:08They're very hard to come by because any of those cloth goods didn't stick around.
07:12General entertainment.
07:13How do they make these categories?
07:14Look, you can actually just get your own helium tank.
07:16These Party City carts are different colors.
07:18They're fun.
07:19That's legitimately fun.
07:20Kind of, you know, Wednesday is very big with kids.
07:22Yep.
07:23I like it.
07:24Yeah.
07:24You know, I appreciate a little tie-in.
07:26Well, I like shopping for Halloween in January.
07:28I kind of do too.
07:29I don't know that I'll buy anything, but I'm much more compelled by the Halloween
07:33than I am by anything else.
07:34It's empty as hell.
07:35Spooky scary skeletons.
07:38Holographic pumpkins.
07:40RGB holographic pumpkins.
07:42Who would want them in their home?
07:43I don't know if I need a container of fog machine cleaner.
07:46No, not the cleaner.
07:47Not the cleaner.
07:48I'm more inclined to throw out the fog machine every year.
07:50Yeah, just buy a fresh one.
07:51But I would buy this Rubbermaid Toughmaid cart.
07:55I'm sure the fixture sales will come at the end, but we're gonna ask.
07:573D Flip Valentines that are gamer themed.
08:00I love it.
08:00And I remember in 2015, we noticed that the cards were very reasonably priced.
08:04Okay.
08:04And we wondered if they were a loss leader.
08:06All cards, $1 every day.
08:08Maybe the cards are a loss leader for them to get you in the door,
08:11get you buying something, see all the other things, buy it all.
08:13I like the golden cave.
08:14Caves in general are kind of sweet.
08:16$3.52.
08:17In the PM.
08:18Well, I assume like these are the ages which you'd both want to celebrate your child's.
08:22$3, $2, and $5.
08:23Heck with $4.
08:24I love the idea of a confetti, but it's really just like microplastics in a bag for expensive.
08:28Remember when Matt set off confetti in the middle of my house?
08:30I had to pick up.
08:32He hand picked up each piece.
08:33It was incredible.
08:34This was a huge mistake.
08:35It won't sweep.
08:36I said I'd clean it up.
08:37So it's the rest of my day.
08:40Things I do to entertain others.
08:42I have a long-term like love of glow sticks.
08:44When I was a kid, Will and I went to the Little Compton Fireworks,
08:47and we cracked them open and poured the glow all over ourselves in my dad's car.
08:51And we almost were murdered.
08:52And when we do the outdoor movies in Westport, they always have glow sticks.
08:56And it's become like a very big part of outdoor movies.
08:59When I was younger with Christine, she cut open glow sticks and
09:04sprayed them all around the room.
09:05And for a short period of time, it looked incredible.
09:08And then there was a mess everywhere that you really couldn't clean up.
09:11Sports party?
09:11I mean, not my kind of party, but sure.
09:13Probably in February's.
09:14These sell okay?
09:15Yeah.
09:15I love big bows.
09:17What about a big bow with a balloon in the middle?
09:19That's kind of cool.
09:20Yeah.
09:20It's cheaper than just the big bows.
09:22Yeah.
09:22I just want to pause and reflect on the fact that like a lot of the stock that we've commented on,
09:26you will not see in a Target or in a Walmart.
09:29And you won't consider searching for and buying it on Amazon.
09:32Yeah.
09:32I might buy a bag of bows.
09:34You know, I have a bag of bows, but I'm not going to like find,
09:37ooh, look at this mega bow for a mega gift, a $5 bow.
09:40What would it take to encounter that on Amazon?
09:42You'd have to do a deep search.
09:43But that's, it's just, it's the kind of thing where you go, oh, that gives me an idea.
09:46Yeah, exactly.
09:47That's the beauty of a store like this.
09:48It was curated.
09:49This is a hell of a thumbnail, John.
09:51I mean, you don't have a birthday coming up.
09:52I don't.
09:52Well, it's in May, so.
09:54Oh yeah.
09:54Perfect.
09:55This is a section that deeply appeals.
09:57This is like, you got an event and you got to do some work.
09:59You got to do some management.
10:00And you got your tickets here with smileys or otherwise.
10:03Wristbands of various colors to prevent fraud.
10:06I use these all the time for mounting to walls without having anything stick to the wall,
10:10including heavy stuff.
10:11You can put like diplomas and this sort of thing.
10:12I might buy a roll of tickets.
10:14Do you need a roll of tickets in your life?
10:16Not whatsoever.
10:16But you know what?
10:17They're $8 with the 20% off.
10:19I think Gloria could have a lot of fun with a roll of tickets.
10:21Yeah.
10:21What kind would you want?
10:22You tell me, but I'm thinking red.
10:24I've never had a red movie ticket, but it feels traditional.
10:26And they've got admit one.
10:28Red also for raffle.
10:29Yeah.
10:30Paper garland and rainbow colors.
10:32Cool backdrop stuff.
10:33I dig it.
10:34It's awesome.
10:35You actually have a little party.
10:36Yeah.
10:36Do you think maybe if this store had been a smaller kind of thing, maybe?
10:40I don't know.
10:41I can't tell.
10:41Like, is there too much space here?
10:43Is there too much variety?
10:44Focus on balloons and then the most common types of parties.
10:47Yeah.
10:48And then go all out during Halloween.
10:49So they've always been famously had cheap cards.
10:52Yeah.
10:52This is a buck.
10:53I don't really send cards, you know, two cards a year.
10:55I give one to each of my sisters with some money in it.
10:57But if you were a lady, if I was a lady, I use two cards a year and I put,
11:01when I give my sisters money for Christmas, I put it in the cards.
11:04Yeah, the pop fidgets are very popular.
11:05The ugly sweater is like a giant hideous.
11:08Yes.
11:08I would really like to have one good, not ridiculous Christmas sweater.
11:11The one that you wore for the holiday special was kind of nice.
11:14Yeah.
11:14It's a nice little sweater, but it's not very Christmasy.
11:16Right.
11:16I'm buying a big roll of movie tickets.
11:18Oh, can I use some of those movie tickets?
11:19Yeah, they're for you.
11:20Gonna need those.
11:21What did you get?
11:22She wanted Green Face Saint to turn herself into Elphaba.
11:24I bought her class Valentine's Day cards.
11:26And Gloria decided she wanted an eight for her next birthday.
11:29I got one plus seven equals 18.
11:3211.
11:33Okay, so you only have to wait 11 years until it's back open.
11:39She's gonna pre-open baby.
11:41Little light up shutter shades.
11:43I like them.
11:43I'm intrigued by all of this, like takeaway boxes.
11:46It was always overpriced, but in theory, I could come and get a bunch of this.
11:49Then if I hosted dinner, I could send my guests away.
11:51Well, Restaurant Depot is opening in New Bedford pretty soon.
11:54And the coolest part is, I think you can drop it.
11:56I mean, don't, but you could.
11:58It's a teeny tiny fork.
12:02Hallway dancing.
12:03They're for like jello shot.
12:04They're for alcohol.
12:05But I'm wondering if I can do something with them for cup scouts.
12:08Now, Nina, being a solid and not a liquid or a gas, they're 5% off.
12:12They're meant to mark your drink.
12:13So you hang them off of cups,
12:14but you have to remember which swim trunks and which skin color your drink has.
12:18But no, you can write the name on the butt.
12:20But look at how teeny you'd have to write it.
12:22Nobody's writing Dan on those butts.
12:24Look, somebody has Josh and Cody pre-written and Ryan.
12:28Because they just come up so damn often.
12:30In any given frat.
12:31That many Cody's?
12:32Cody's, Ryan's and Brad's.
12:33When I was a kid, if I could get them to put a little umbrella
12:36in my non-alcoholic drink at like a Chinese food restaurant,
12:39I felt like I was hot shit.
12:41With Nina.
12:42They used to do it sometimes at the China Royale when I'd order a Shirley Temple.
12:45I saw some lights, like production lights.
12:48Are you just luring me in here?
12:50No, I actually thought I saw them.
12:54What about this gaudy wreath for seven?
12:56Oh, no.
12:58Nothing.
12:58Not even for $3.50, which is the discounted price.
13:00The crown of branches.
13:02Elvin King.
13:03Don't know if you'd sell many of those.
13:04Buffet sets.
13:05I mean, if you use these, if you went through these,
13:07I mean, I don't know what the price is comparatively, but.
13:10I do not like those, but I do like this.
13:14That one's $11.50 and those are $6 for some reason.
13:17I want candy.
13:18Oh, they got Junior Men's.
13:20Oh, you're gonna get some Lemonheads.
13:21Man.
13:22You get some Poker Cups.
13:23Poker Cups, gotta drink them all.
13:26I think I always thought if my career in nursing failed,
13:29I could come back here and now I can't.
13:32There's an error with the Junior Men's.
13:34An error?
13:35It says they have no peanut butter in them, but I'm fine with that.
13:39I'm confused.
13:39The error is that it says there is no peanut butter?
13:42Yeah.
13:42But there is none, factually.
13:45Yeah.
13:45So what's the error?
13:50There is none.
13:52That's not for sale.
13:55They're not selling the fixtures just yet.
13:57But for a buck, you can get some chocolate coins.
13:59Something to remember it by.
14:00Like a dead retail tote bag collection.
14:02Yeah.
14:02It looks like Elmo's mad.
14:04It kind of looks like that scene with Joy in Inside Out 2 where she's like,
14:08of course I'm delusional.
14:10Of course I'm delusional.
14:12He looks like, one, I can count to one.
14:15Two, I can count to two.
14:17Three, I can count to three.
14:19Four.
14:24I can only count to four.
14:27I can only count to four.
14:30It's just a sign.
14:32That little girl thinks I can actually only count to four.
14:36She'll get the wrong idea later.
14:38We can fill out a form for fixtures.
14:39So John and I can fill out forms for those little shopping baskets.
14:42Do you actually want one?
14:43Yeah, I do.
14:44So what are the questions?
14:45What we're interested in, who we are, how to reach us.
14:47As we were cashing out, there was a woman in front of us who spent $314.
14:52So that's the kind of customer they wanted.
14:54But now that customer will go somewhere else for their $134 worth of helium balloons.
15:02Watch out.
15:04I can only count to four.
15:06I can only count to four.
15:08I can only count to four.