Do stores like Target, TRU, Wal-Mart, etc. have particular days when they lay out new stock and are thus more likely to have sought-after items on display? I'd imagine they re-stock their shelves just before the weekend, but I didn't know if there was a systematic process or if they just re-plenished empty shelves as they went along.

Nope.

Can't speak for the other stores, but Rite Aid has a rolling freight delivery system.

My old store initially received their weekly freight shipment on Thursdays, but when the first holiday that the Distribution Center had off (union contract) the freight day shifted to the next business day (Friday). It shifted again to Monday following the next holiday.

If you are checking out Rite Aid stores, ask when they receive their freight.

There's no national toy restocking day for any particular chain, but I've noticed that the Walmarts and TRU around here restock on the same day each week(different days though). One of the out of town Walmarts stocks every Monday at midnight, the local one on Thursday, the local TRU on Friday night, the out of town KB on Thursday night. Without fail, though depending how lazy the employees are they might stretch into the afternoon or whatnot.

Might be worth going once a day for a week and noting when there's new stock out. Then tailor your hunting to those days. Unless you live in a very competitive area (with lots of collectors and/or scalpers) you can usually find stuff easily if you're there the same day. Though from what I've read from some people that live in areas with hardcore scalpers you have to get there when the cases are opened. That's not the case here though.

Yeah, most stores have set days during the week when they receive stuff, particularly big chains like Wal-Mart and TRU, and even smaller places like Spencer's and Suncoast, but it varies from store to store. You can just ask people who work there and most of the time they will tell you when they receive shipments.