Milwaukee shoppers share their "doorbuster" stories

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- "Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for coming out," said Toys "R" Us manager Charles Kopsea.

A line of around 50 people waited outside the store on 27th and Howard in Milwaukee. Close to 100 showed up by the time the store opened at 5 p.m.

"I'm here with my wife, Jennifer, and we're here to pick up a kid-friendly tablet that's almost $100 off," said Nick Pfister.

He was first in line, but he's usually opposed to shopping on the holiday.

"I liked it when it all started on Friday but this year it just worked out," said Pfister.

"We've been out here in the rain in the snow, in the cold but it's fun," said Dawn Olszewski, who considers Thanksgiving shopping a tradition.

Toys "R" Us was the first store they stopped at, with 14 more stores on their list.

"After this, we go to get cappuccinos and then in the morning we always end it with breakfast," said Olszewski while waiting in line.

All of Dawn Olszewski's grandkids are on the nice list, and that list is key.

"We map everything out," said Olszewski. "We scope the stores out the days before... and make our list what we got to get at every store and we're in and out."

With that gameplan, she was in and out of the store 10 minutes.

Many stores are open late for shopping. For instance, Toys "R" Us opened Thursday at 5 p.m. and will stay open until 11 p.m. Friday -- open 30 hours straight.