CHRISTMAS wouldn’t be Christmas without watching the Home Alone movies.
The first film is set in Chicago, while the second movie sees Kevin McCallister run around New York – and famously head into Duncan’s Toy Chest.
Is Duncan’s Toy Chest in Home Alone 2 a real store?
Home Alone 2’s Duncan’s Toy Chest is based on a real store in New York – but was filmed somewhere else.
When the movie was shot, it was called FAO Schwarz toy store and was situated near The Plaza on Fifth Avenue and 59th street.
The toy retailer closed in 2015, but reopened in 2018 in a new location at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan.
The store famously featured in Tom Hanks’ 1988 box office hit Big, when he and co-star Robert Loggia dance on the store’s giant dance-on piano.
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What was the filming location for Duncan’s Toy Chest in Home Alone 2?
Although Duncan’s Toy Chest was based on a store in New York, the scenes were actually filmed in Chicago.
The exterior of the store is the Rookery building which is one of the city’s historic landmarks.
It also featured as the police headquarters of Eliot Ness in the 1987 film The Untouchables.
The interior of Duncan’s Toy Chest was filmed at the Uptown Theater.
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What other filming locations were used for Home Alone 2?
Plaza Hotel
New York’s iconic Plaza Hotel is the place where Kevin McCallister, played by Macaulay Culkin, stays during his time in the Big Apple.
After finding his dad’s wallet, the youngster checks into the posh hotel and runs up a huge service bill.
After the movie came out, it made the Plaza even more famous.
There is one particular scene that Home Alone 2 fans will remember well – when Kevin bumps into Donald Trump.
The scene sees the boy go up to Trump, and ask: “Excuse me, where’s the lobby?”
He’s then told by the future president: “Down the hall and to the left.”
Following Trump’s cameo, director Chris Columbus said he “demanded” to be in the movie, as he owned the Plaza at the time.
Speaking to Insider, he recalled: “We wanted to shoot in the lobby – we couldn’t rebuild The Plaza on a soundstage.”
Trump, however, wanted more than a fee to use the hotel as a setting.
“We paid the fee, but he also said, ‘The only way you can use the Plaza is if I’m in the movie’.
“So we agreed to put him in the movie,” Columbus added.
But the only reason he made the cut was that during a screening “people cheered when Trump showed up on-screen”, he said.
So the director told his editor to “leave him in… but he did bully his way into the movie”.
Central Park
New York’s Central Park plays a big part in the movie.
This is where Kevin meets The Pigeon Lady, played by Brenda Flicker.
After fearing her at first, the pair go onto become great friends – with Kevin giving her one of the turtle doves that Duncan gifted him at the Toy Chest.
The Pigeon Lady and Kevin even fight off robbers Harry and Marv together.
What happens in Home Alone 2?
Home Alone 2 followed the hugely successful first film and was released in 1992.
After Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) loses track of his father at the airport, he mistakenly gets on a plane headed for New York City — while the rest of the McCallisters fly to Florida.
Now alone in the Big Apple, Kevin cons his way into a room at the Plaza Hotel and begins his usual antics.
But when he discovers that the his nemesis’ the Sticky Bandits (Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern) are on the loose, he struggles to stop them from robbing an elderly man’s toy store just before Christmas.
How can I watch Home Alone 2 this Christmas?
Home Alone 2 will be shown on ITV on Christmas Eve at 3pm.
The first movie will then air on Christmas Day at 5.30pm on Channel 4.
Meanwhile, both films can be streamed right now on Disney+.
You can also rent or buy it on Google Play and Prime Video.
