Walden Galleria Mall

Came here twice (2 days in a row) on our mini-vacation. This review will only be on JC Penny and Box Lunch with few statements on other shops as those were our most recent visits.

The Galleria mall in general is a huge mall with ample parking (free of course). They have all the regular/known retails and Buffalo local indie shops. There is even a movie theater inside the mall. Dave & Buster's for game night. Food selection has typical food court but also various restaurants attached to the mall- so there are good options. Cheesecake factory, 5guys burger joint, high end steakhouse and even a Brazilian steakhouse. Great selection of various ethnic cuisines (Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican and that Brazilian steakhouse).

Reviews below:

1. JC PENNY
The first visit was on Saturday to JC Penny for photos. Our friends convince us to do family photos and couple photos (which I had always secretly wanted but never done as it seemed "tooo american" of us. Didn't make sense when I don't have kids to take photos for those holiday cards). Easy process to check in and wait to be seen. Seems like they are running behind. 2 rooms with 1 photographer in each room. There was abit of a wait as we saw another family ahead of us. We had 10:30am appointment and was early. Seems like they overbooked as more families came and one came super early (an 11am appointment that came 15min early). It was getting crowded and kids getting antsy. Finally, photo time had some minor hiccups as kids were antsy and done with smiling lol. After photos, the waiting area was super crowded with families that we wanted to leave. Some of us (including me) didnt like the crowds (still Covid time) kept asking if we could pay so we could get out as we didn't plan on ordering any special prints (canvas, etc) and only wanted digital prints (access to all pics and can decide at later time if we want any special prints). After awhile, we were able to view photos, pay and get out.

2. APPLE
Stop by the Apple store as hubby of the friend had an appointment to fix his airport. Was abit of a wait so we decided to walk around and browse. Saw Santa getting ready for his station and he was kind enough to greet/make small chat with the kids. They were so excited to see Santa (super early).

Went looking for AUNTIE ANNE'S for pretzel time but they were closed. No one was manning the booth and the only thing on was the slushie. No warm pretzels for us and kids were sad. Distracted them by taking them up and down the escalators until it was time to go. Afterward we left to return home as it's nap time for everyone .

Sunday, came to browse for souvenirs and sightsee.

4. 5 BELOW
Great deals and larger options than the ones in NYC (Bensonhurst + Gateway locations). Was able to find certain trading cards for card game we've been looking for. Also was looking for candies.

5. BOXLUNCH
Was looking for the trading cards and didn't find any here. We did see many amazing deals and more anime stuff. Ahh love boxlunch and was there was one in NYC. Closest one is in NJ and Staten Island mall. Decided to order stuff on the website to ship home.

6. FYE
Had so much cool merchandise which also included much funko pops and anime stuff. They are known for the games, music and movie stuff. No trading cards tho. We are on the hunt for a certain game trading cards.

7. GREAT ESCAPE ADVENTURES
Large toy shop that have games (board, card, puzzles, etc) with accessories and also included pokemon/yugioh cards. Went looking for the One Piece trading cards but didn't see it. Very cool place.

After 3hrs at the mall, we decided to return and get dinner stuff for game night with friends. Need pizza ingredients for home made pizza.

I love coming to this mall I also use this mall as a training area for my service dog. There are a lot of great and exotic stores to stop at and the employees in the stores I went in are absolutely amazing. They have urban air, Dicks warehouse, Regal, Dave and Busters, Cheesecake Factory, 5 wits (which is a blast I've done all 3 room and all 3 rooms are handicap accessible which is great) there is a wide variety of of shops and restaurants so you can find what your looking for.

Like so many businesses struggling to exist in NYS they are trying hard to present a good product, the effort shows. Still has the distinct smell of recreationals. Many big stores are gone but that is true of everywhere. Still has many relevant name brand stores to sell t from and is probably the only true mall left in the area. It is clean and service remains reliably good. If you are looking for a mall shopping experience, this is your best option in the area.

First time going inside in years, last few times I've been here it's only been for the separate restaurants. Nice to see a mall that still has stores.
Bad that the best buy sign is over the upper level entrance where jack astors used to be. The Best buy is actually on the other side and other end from that entrance. It's a quarter mile walk one way. I didn't mind the physical activity but we were in a hurry.

I hate those escalators especially going up overall the mall's okay and I'm very disappointed

It's seen better days
Vacancies on the rise and some LOW RUNG 'newer' tenants.
It's Best days are behind it

There's a decent selection of stores and restaurants and parking isn't terrible usually. If you're trying to go to one of the restaurants, parking can be more of an issue. They do offer valet parking but I'm not typically inclined to want to do that. Some of the new additions (like 5 and Below) add an additional level of convenience. The food court also has decent selection so if you're there with a group, typically there's something for everyone. I have found that some stores open late or close early, which can make planning difficult. On the whole however, it's a solid shopping choice.

I have been to a number of malls in my life and I am happy to say that Walden Galleria is one of the nicer ones I have been to.

Very brightly lit, accessibility for those who need it, and good, open-air design. I also like the setup of some of the major restaurants (Cheesecake factory, for example) and the movie theater. Plentiful parking also. The place reminds me a lot of Orland Square Mall in Orland Park, IL.

Looking forward to shopping here again when I come back!

It must be very very challenging to be a mall owner these days.

With Covid mall traffic has dropped drastically, largely of course because they were closed for a while. But even though that are open again it still isn't that busy, which is great if you want to stop the spread of Covid but can't be fun for the store owners.

The small is no exception. It's just not as busy as it used to be. But it does remain clean and well-managed and well lit and has easy parking.

I look forward to the day that it's more crowded. I still won't come that often, but at least the stores will have enough business to keep them open.

Update 108 2021

Yo i truly enjoyed shopping at this mall so much to offer. I spent an hour there with my daughter. Everything was great