In 1981, a small soft-sculptured doll takes a deep breath, as instructed, while a registered nurse presses her stethoscope against the doll’s chest. The doll’s owner looks on with worry as the nurse plays along, listening for a heartbeat, monitoring vital signs. After a moment’s pause, the Little People Baby — later rebranded and mass-marketed as a Cabbage Patch Kid — is declared fit and ready for adoption. The child beams with relief, hugs her new doll tightly and joins her mother at the bright red checkout counter inside Fantasy Island Toys.
A staple in downtown Fairhope now for 50 years, the toy store has brought countless childhood fantasies to life through the decades, like back in the ’80s when Ginger Milligan, then-nurse and daughter of store owner Jeane Byrd, offered wellness checks during the doll adoption event. The gesture blurred the lines between retail store and play space and certainly created lasting memories for young shoppers. As Milligan and her sister, Kathie Byrd, reflect on some of the most popular toys from years gone by, the pair answers in unison: “Beanie Babies and Cabbage Patch Kids!”
The Cabbage Patch Kids craze swept the nation, particularly in 1983, and the dolls were one of the most popular items at the locally owned toy store, with lines of eager Eastern Shore shoppers extending out the door to buy them. Sisters Milligan and Byrd eventually became co-owners and were stunned by the toy mania that followed in the 1990s: Beanie Babies. “I’m telling you… Beanie Babies…” Milligan says, shaking her head in disbelief. Children could not get enough of the collectible animal bean bags, and stock flew off the shelves.
Toys like these would be impossible to find at times, but the sisters always met these fun, exciting challenges head-on. Due to their efforts, Fantasy Island Toys has brought the best to Fairhope shoppers throughout the decades, just as their mother, the store’s founder, intended — even though Jeane Byrd did not initially set out to open a toy store. “First, it was decopage, then she got into dollhouses and collectible furniture, and a salesman sold her a train and said, ‘Why don’t you sell toys?’” Milligan explains.
“It was an evolutionary process,” Byrd adds. “She was always involved with children… I think that’s where her heart was.” Byrd began working in the store alongside their mother, and Milligan followed when nursing shifts became too difficult to balance with family obligations.
Fantasy Island Toys has been responsible for countless memories and special times for the local community. Over the years, Jeane Byrd hosted several Halloween parties on her family property, where customers enjoyed food, games and family fun. The toy store also had a float in the annual Christmas parade, so the family would spend weeks preparing it together after work. One year, they even built a giant rocking horse for the float. These moments are a small example of the impact Fantasy Island Toys has had on the community in Fairhope, where interesting shops and family-oriented activities shepherd little ones through childhood and beyond.
“We want to continue what Jeane, Ginger and Kathie built because it’s such a staple to the community,” says Stevi Bell, who now co-owns the toy store with her sister, Amanda Calhoun, after the pair purchased it in 2022. “The whole community feels ownership of the toy store. It’s theirs.”
In the store, children can let their imaginations run free as they shop for games, puzzles and longstanding favorites like dolls and stuffed animals. “Every community should have a toy store,” Bell insists, to which Calhoun agrees, adding, “I think it’s important to get the kids in the store and let them play and discover things on their own.” Here, children and parents can forget about screens and distractions, instead focusing on interacting and playing as a family.
The sense of family at Fantasy Island Toys makes it unique and special, and Bell and Calhoun continue emphasizing these values. Growing up, the sisters moved every two years due to their father’s work, so after Calhoun settled in the Bay area, her extended family followed. Owning a toy store together seemed like the perfect next step for the sisters. Their third sister and brother-in-law own Pearl, the oyster bar across the street from Fantasy Island Toys, so the location is perfect.
Like their predecessors, Bell and Calhoun face the latest toy fads, one of which is the NeeDoh stress ball. “It’s been shocking,” Calhoun says. “We get, like, 70 calls a day about them. There’s different fillings, shapes and sizes and kids are hunting them. Their grandmothers are driving them around to all the stores. Their parents, too.” The toys are nearly impossible to keep in stock, but that makes it even more thrilling when a rare shipment arrives and kids flock to the stores to claim them. Just as the generations before them amassed Beanie Babies and Cabbage Patch Kids, today’s youth delight in collecting the squishy, brightly-colored toys, which offer a sensory experience that can also assist with anxiety, focus and stress relief. How long the craze will last, no one can predict; but whatever the next craze is, Fantasy Island Toys is sure to have it on shelves — that is, until they sell out in a matter of minutes, and the cycle repeats. But that’s all part of the fun.
Beyond stocking the latest popular toys and classic favorites, the sisters respect and appreciate the toy store and the local community, and this resonates most of all. “It makes me want to cry,” Bell says. “It’s just the best thing that’s ever happened, career-wise. I get to lead the most fun community-centric business in the cutest family-oriented town surrounded by my family. You could not dream of a better scenario… It’s hard to articulate how amazing it is.”
For 50 years, Fantasy Island Toys has brought magic and wonder to a community that has embraced it with open arms. For the families that have owned it, the store is their lives. Schedules revolve around peak seasons, family members babysit kids, husbands help during busy times, and everyone pitches in to support one another. It is hard, family-oriented work. And they wouldn’t have it any other way. Bell and Calhoun are honored to continue the legacy, and Milligan and Byrd will continue to champion them — and stop by the store, of course, because Fantasy Island Toys will always be a part of their family, too. After all, as Byrd says with a laugh, “We still have people to shop for!”
Fantasy Island Toys • 335 Fairhope Ave. 928-1720. fantasyislandtoys.com
