Dispensa's Castle of Toys
Encyclopedia
Dispensa's Castle of Toys was a toy store near the Oakbrook Center shopping center, in DuPage County, Illinois
. The store opened to the public in 1967. Kiddie Kingdom amusement park opened in 1975. Kiddie Kingdom closed its doors for good in 1984.
The store received a fair amount of attention due to its unique shape, as a stereotyped castle. It was a staple of Chicago
television advertising, particularly during the Christmas
season.
Its jingle
featured a woman singing this song, with a child's voice interposing spoken comments:
Despite the visual attempt to rhyme, the last line was pronounced the proper way, "Ill-i-noy", rather than the colloquial "Ill-i-noise".
The site of the toy store and "Kiddie Kingdom" is now occupied by an office building called the Oakbrook Terrace Tower.
DuPage County, Illinois
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 916,924, White Americans made up 77.9% of Dupage County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 70.5% of the population. Black Americans made up 4.6% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.3% of Dupage County's population...
. The store opened to the public in 1967. Kiddie Kingdom amusement park opened in 1975. Kiddie Kingdom closed its doors for good in 1984.
The store received a fair amount of attention due to its unique shape, as a stereotyped castle. It was a staple of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
television advertising, particularly during the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
season.
Its jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
featured a woman singing this song, with a child's voice interposing spoken comments:
- Dispensa's Castle of Toys
- (It's a toy store!)
- Dispensa's Castle of Toys
- (It's a castle!)
- Dispensa's Castle of Toys
- (It's toy-mendous!)
- Come to Dispensa's Castle of Toys
- Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois
Despite the visual attempt to rhyme, the last line was pronounced the proper way, "Ill-i-noy", rather than the colloquial "Ill-i-noise".
The site of the toy store and "Kiddie Kingdom" is now occupied by an office building called the Oakbrook Terrace Tower.