Furby Mania Hits Fever Pitch.

Byline: Wende Schwingendorf and Dan McKay Journal Staff Writers

* Shoppers flock to stores in search of holiday gifts

Attention shoppers.

Welcome to the mad, mad world of holiday consumerism at its best -- the day after Thanksgiving.

"I was dreaming about Furbys last night," said one shopper waiting for the elusive toy at Montgomery Ward early Friday morning. "Tonight, I'm going to have nightmares."

As early as 3 a.m., some shoppers were already in line for the season's hottest toys: fuzzy Furbys, holiday Barbies, anything with the Rugrats. At mid-afternoon, stores all over the city were packed with shoppers.

No sales figures were available Friday, but Coronado Shopping Center beat last year's attendance figures for the day by a wide margin.

Retailers hope the crowds get even bigger in the weeks leading up to Christmas, thanks to the recent rise in consumer confidence and sharp gains in the stock market.

That's a much better outlook than most merchants had just a few months ago, when many feared that…