Pay-Your-Age Build-A-Bear Promotion At Rockaway Mall Shut Down

ROCKAWAY, NJ — If you haven't already visited the Build-a-Bear at the Rockaway Townsquare Mall to "pay your age," it's too late.

Build-A-Bear Workshop, inundated with hours-long lines stretching out of the store, is no longer accepting additional guests at its U.S. stores Thursday due to what it called "crowd and safety concerns." The toy company was offering quite the deal: Any "Make-Your-Own" furry friend available in the store could be bought for the price of a kid's age, as long as the child was in the store.Stores nationwide were overwhelmed, and the decision to end the promotion early drew anger locally. The national announcement that the promotion was ending early was posted on the store's page.

"**Urgent Alert: Lines Closed for Pay Your Age Day Event Per local authorities, we cannot accept additional Guests at our locations due to crowds and safety concerns," the alert reads. "We have closed lines in our U.S. and Canada stores. We understand some Guests are disappointed and we will reach out directly as soon as possible."

"If anyone is going to Build-a-Bear at the Rockaway Mall, don't, seriously the most ridiculous event ever. They only let like 10 people in at a time due to the fire marshal, and when someone comes out they don't let someone in. Seriously furious at this point and when I try to leave the girls freak out!" one mom shared online.

Another shopper, however, said things seemed fine.

"I was on your line in Rockaway and it was quiet and calm. We had to get off of the line but never had to leave the mall. If the mall hit capacity due to fire regulations we would have been asked to leave the mall. Poor excuse in order to disappoint a lot of kids and hope not to cause a riot," one grandmother shared, saying her grandson was "very sad."

The promotion was part of a nationwide celebration of the company's launch of the Build-A-Bear "Count Your Candles" birthday experience. But the promotion seemingly worked too well. Photos posted on social media showed lines stretching out the door at stores across the country. Some said they had been waiting in lines for hours, prompting Build-A-Bear to take action.

Social media users complained that the so-called "Pay your age" promotion was poorly executed. Some said that if it's held again in the future, changes would have to be made, including possibly implementing a lottery system, designating pickup times or passing out numbers.

Photo credit: Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images for Build-a-Bear