Random Disney Geekery
 

We were in IKEA on Sunday, winding through the maze trying to find the right department. There was a middle aged couple in front of us doing the same thing. The guy says, "It's like Disneyland. You can't see the other lands from where you are." :D I laughed out loud, and restrained myself from asking him just how much of a geek he was.

They've even got weenies!

I thought they had meatballs.

That's in the fancy shmancy cafeteria upstairs. Downstairs they've got weenies.

They also have meatballs in the little grocery section downstairs. I love IKEA. It saps up all my money though. I went intending on spending close to $50. I left with $200 of small organizational type things. Oh, and a whole new set of dishes and things to cook with. Yes, that's where the money went.

IKEA is so cool, and so completely absent here in Florida. I have only been on that long and fascinating walk once in my life, right there in LA. I saw lots of things I would have bought if I could. I did sign up for their catalog, anyway.

I used to be in on meetings with Disney people trying to figure out ways to create what they called "destination retail" spaces. IKEA was mentioned more than once as a benchmark. Of course, I was the guy in the room who kept saying, "sell cool stuff that people actually want." Not the answer they were looking for at the time.

How fancy shmancy can a place be that offers 2 dollar breakfasts? :)

Are BT and I the only ones that actually go to IKEA for dinner? Well, we did when we lived closer. I miss the meatball combo dinner. :(

I can't imagine going to IKEA for dinner. Then again, I've never been in IKEA.

Maybe I just don't know what I'm missing. Or, maybe all I'm missing is the smell of meatballs, a smell likely to make me want to leave IKEA.

But they have lingonberry sauce!

I'm not a big fan of Ikea (I Kan't Even Assemble).

Personally, I feel like most of their stuff is crappy and designed to fall apart relatively quickly.

So would they be Swedish meatballs? I've only been to IKEA once, in LA, no clue there was a place for eating.

I kan assemble, but why would I want to?

Donna

I go to the one in Burbank. the eatery is on the second floor just before you head downstairs to the marketplace. I like the chicken and safron rice dish. Also on the bottom floor there is a smal swedish market. the ginger snap cookies are good. so is the cereal. kind of a oats and fruit mix. the green bag is better then the orange one.

I'm reading another Murakami novel and there have been at least 2 Disney references so far. He always seems to have to slip one or two in his books. Very funny.

That is certainly the case with some of their stuff. It looks great until you have to move it, then it never looks the same. However, there are some things we have purchased, especially in their kitchen section, that are very durable and a great value. If you need things like utensils for your kitchen, you really can't beat the place.

And Prudence, while we have never had dinner there, we have had breakfast and lunch many, many times. I find myself having cravings for that Lingonberry sauce! :)

Our "coffee tables" (actually really small end tables) are from Ikea and we adore them. Assembly was simple, and we stained them the color we wanted. They're small and lightweight, perfect for apartment life, and only $20 each. The construction is solid. I'd be hard pressed to give them up for something more expensive in future homes. They'll defnitely be useful somewhere in our home for years and years to come.

This isn't to say that they don't sell some crap at Ikea - we've bought our share - but some of their stuff is fantastic.

Don't buy a couch from Ikea. The TV cabinet? Still using. Bookcase? Stil using, considering getting a second. The computer desks? Still using. (The mega-bag of tealights? Still using.) The couch? Freecycled 2 weeks ago.

Your TV cabinet is from Ikea as well, and it held up after being droped down the stair. I was impressed!

I have to admit that I spent years as an anti-IKEA (and Trader Joe's and The Gap) snob. Perhaps it was my fear of assimilation brought on by pop culture like DEVO videos or Fight Club. My cynicism has palliated through direct experience - IKEA is much more proletarian than bourgeois - and the stuff tends to be pretty darn good (as evidenced by the many comments above).

I'm still not really into The Gap generally, but that's probably because I don't groove on their stuff at this point, not because of any vestigial punk rock attitude.

My DVD shelves (and bookcases) are from IKEA, and they hold and look as good as similar pieces of furniture that cost several times their price.

And since we're on the subject of Disney geekery at IKEA (or at least the OP was) - when I recently went back to IKEA in Emeryville to pick up an extra screw that had been left out of a box, the customer service rep proudly showed me her Mickey Mouse tattoo.

After being moved in the rain and shoved in the back of a [nearly too small] Explorer.

As I remember, your wheel well got the worst end of that deal.

I can't even tell anymore. But now I have an urge to go to Ikea and buy a new coffee table.