Filed under: Retail
Madison, WI Apple Store: Your Reports
Apple opened a new retail store in Madison, WI this weekend. As usual, we asked any TUAW operatives who may have attended to share their reports and/or pictures. So, did you go, and if you did, how was it? Let us know in the comments. Here's hoping you scored a T-shirt, the Opening Day Contest's grand prize and, dare we say it? An iPhone!If you haven't gone down to the store yet, show us a little love and set the in-store Macs to TUAW!

![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)


Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
bismark said 12:01PM on 7-07-2007
got a call from my dad, mom, and little brother who were in line at around 10 am CST. my mom said they were about 400th in line and it was stretching back into the food court behind them. apparently there were tv camera crews, cake and punch, etc.
Reply
OwlBoy said 12:52PM on 7-07-2007
Yeah, they had cake and soda outside, along with popcorn.
The iPhone area was totally swamped :)
-OwlBoy
Reply
derek said 12:58PM on 7-07-2007
I'm on one of the macbooks right now posting this. The store looks sharp and Madison is happy to recieve an Apple store. There were 400 people here when I arrived waiting in line, about 30 people are trying out the iPhones, and I've never seen such a wide array of ages in one place.
Reply
OwlBoy said 1:20PM on 7-07-2007
Yeah, I was surprised at the number of older folks in line!
-OwlBoy
Reply
haugenhaus said 1:24PM on 7-07-2007
The store looked great, and the celebration was fun. I have long waited for an Apple Store in madison, but at the same time I like to support our local entrepreneurs.
[I'm not affiliated in any way with any interest]
So please remember that www.themacshop.com is local. Together the Apple Store and the Mac Shop can meet all your fruit needs (so you don't necessarily need to view them as competitors).
Reply
Shagam said 2:02PM on 7-07-2007
Good times, Madison:
*Apple staff high-five'd the length of the line before opening and during first customer entrance
*Doors opened to loud applause
*Store looks sharp - maybe slightly bigger than Mayfair Store (our next closest shop)
*Approx 100 people in line by 8:30CST; opening was at 10AM
*Scored a shirt :)
Reply
neko said 2:02PM on 7-07-2007
i was #65 in line. came at about 8-ish maybe. a couple people were on iphones while waiting. the guy in front of me was letting hist 5 year old son take pictures with it. but more about the store. the local NBC was there, taking pan shots of the line. a guy came down the line giving out tickets to people who came to buy iphones so they knew they'd have enough. at 2 minutes till opening, the entire staff ran around the line high-fiving everyone. i finaly got to touch an iphone. found i can't type on those things for my life.
Reply
a dad said 3:04PM on 7-07-2007
We got there around 10 to see long lines. I took my daughter to the play area int he mall for a few hours and then jumped in a much, much shorter line around 11:30. Scored two shirts (one for my daughter) and we hung out a little.
Nice store, and looking forward to having an apple shop in town.
Reply
OwlBoy said 2:15PM on 7-07-2007
Definetly appears a tad bigger than mayfair.
-OwlBoy
Reply
Jon said 2:50PM on 7-07-2007
I arrived around 9:45am and was probably 500th in line. When I finally got up to the doors I got 2 shirts even though I was by myself (I asked for one for my fiancee). I think they had plenty.
I had driven down to Glendale Wednesday morning to pick up my iPhone. I was 4th in line at 9am at the genius bar, it was really all too easy. I see they are again out of stock in Glendale, but waiting in line at West Town I think I saw 50 people or more walk out with iPhones, and the guy right in front of me was able to purchase an 8gb one at around 11:30 after waiting in line for 2 hours. Good job Apple with having enough stock for a Grand Opening!!!!! Only disappointment is that no Apple bluetooth headsets are available anywhere yet :-(
Reply
Bren said 3:07PM on 7-07-2007
I went. Had a good time. Arrived at around 9:10, so had a bit of a wait. The wait in line was kind of fun though. Once the doors opened, we had only about a 10 minute wait. I was one of the first 200 to get in.
I took some pictures, so shall post them once they are uploaded.
Reply
trick said 3:29PM on 7-07-2007
we were in the play area as well! the store has a nice layout, with a kid table that has 4 seats, very nice. I never got to touch an iPhone, I'll have to go back later for that I guess.
overheard Build-a-Bear store employee: "Welcome to the Apple Store -- that just sounds so cool!"
^_^
Reply
andy said 5:47PM on 7-07-2007
Some photos from the day.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9824236@N06/
Reply
Timothy Bratina said 6:15PM on 7-07-2007
Drove up from Rockford (Need an Apple Store there NOW!) with son, daughter & friend. Got there about 9:40 expecting a long line. Some 12 year old came by counting everyone, and we were in the 250 range. Got t-shirts for all, plus one for the wife who was working. 3 year old daughter was able to play with her first video iPod and was mesmerized. (She loves "School of Rock" which was playing!) Both got to the kid's table & took control of half the iMacs. The place was packed! Most wanted to see the iPhone & it trended towards an older +40 crowd. Honestly, I was expecting a larger turn out. We were out by Noon with a constant line of 20-30 waiting to get in the store. T-shirts could have been had until 2:00 pm by my best guess. Went to Michael's for custard. Kicked around State Street for 1 1/2 hours. Six year old son got a tie-dye shirt. A hippy gave him crystal on the street. Daughter bought a necklace at an Indi clothing store. They passed out as we made our way back to Rockford.
Reply
Bren said 6:21PM on 7-07-2007
@ Timothy,
Yeah, I saw that kid count us. When he was counting us, though, he was at around 30 or so, so I guess he was counting back from where he was in line, seeing as I wasn't in the first 30 or whatever to get in.
Darn, not in any of Andy's pictures.
Reply
Dan Deming-Henes said 6:28PM on 7-07-2007
I think I was in the early 70's, cause there was a kid (maybe the same one) who walked by me counting up.
3 Pics:
http://artworkapp.com/openplain/applestore/AppleStoreWestTowne1.png
http://artworkapp.com/openplain/applestore/AppleStoreWestTowne2.png
http://artworkapp.com/openplain/applestore/AppleStoreWestTowne3.png
Reply
Justin said 12:20AM on 7-08-2007
Andy-- I am in most of your pics, creepy stalker. ;) I must have been like 20 people ahead of you! (Tall guy, grey sleeveless shirt, sunglasses on head.)
Reply
Jimmy Crackcorn said 9:40AM on 7-08-2007
OwlBoy writes: "Yeah, I was surprised at the number of older folks in line!"
Newsflash: us "older folks" have been Apple/Mac fans for several decades now sonny boy...
Gotta go find my cane and reading glasses.
JC
Reply
woody9 said 5:33PM on 7-08-2007
I have pictures, but I don't see how to email them to you.
Reply
Bren said 12:25AM on 7-09-2007
http://flickr.com/photos/9844600@N07/sets/72157600724528561/
Enjoy. :)
Reply