My family and I were privileged to be granted unlimited-ride tickets to Nickelodeon Universe located in the Mall of America, in Bloomington, Minnesota. We were able to experience the huge indoor theme park just a few days ago, on Tuesday. My initial thought was that it would be busy, since the Mall of America is a tourist destination. It was also the 4th of July Weekend, so more people were in town to add to the expected chaos. Quite unexpectedly, the crowds were not that bad at all!
We walked in to the park and decided to split our group up so that the kids could enjoy the rides they wanted to enjoy before lunchtime. Our seven-year-old daughter, my hubby, our nine-year-old cousin and her father headed for the thrill rides (not my style unless someone wants a splash of upchuck on them). I took our four-year-old son separately on the little-kid-oriented rides. For reference, he is 43" tall and my daughter is about 50" tall.
Since it was early, and there weren't long lines yet, I opted to take my son to the Paw Patrol playground: Adventure Bay. This is a fenced in play area where kids get 20 minutes to run around, climb, jump, and slide through Adventure Bay, while their parents get to lounge around on benches. There are cubbies to put your shoes in, as this play area requires socks and no shoes. The floor and obstacles are padded and safe for all abilities and ages, including a "younger" section which is Cap'n Turbot's boat. There are two climbing gyms areas in the lighthouse and Mayor Goodway's office. In between, there are lots of Paw Patrol themed vehicles to climb on, rocks, and more! This attraction gives you a three minute warning, and it lets you know when your time is up. The play area is sanitized and briefly inspected by the ride attendant prior to letting in the next group of kids. I'd have to say that this is my son's favorite attraction, in part, because he loves Paw Patrol.
Next stop was the Blue's Clue's Ride, Blue's Skidoo, featuring Blue and Magenta. On this ride, littles are able to press and hold a button to rise and lower their pup. The ride goes in a circle about six times before coming to a halt. We liked the fact that kids are in control of how high or how low they want to "skidoo!"
The truck ride, Big Rigs, was next up for us. He chose the back car, and naturally, he wanted to drive. A father son duo rode in the back of his rig, and it made him feel really cool. These big rigs move along a track in a circle a few times, and it isn't too fast nor too slow.
My son was a little too short/young for the Ninja Turtle ride, Shell Shock, but since he is a huge fan, we couldn't help but stop and pose for the camera! Our daughter and the others were able to ride this and thoroughly enjoyed their flight -- so much so that they rode this twice!
We ended up wanting to try the "big roller coaster," Pepsi Orange Streak, and found that our son was just tall enough to try it. Since he is a ninja at heart, of course he wanted to get on the big kid ride. We ended up getting in line, and we were six people behind the rest of our group! Our kids got super excited and happy that our son could ride the coaster too. We switched it up and he rode with daddy, while our daughter rode with me. The girls wanted to ride together, but that would mean two grown men would have to squeeze into one car -- it wasn't going to happen. I was not able to snap a pic, since you place your bags in cubbies for safety, prior to riding. The kids loved the coaster so much that we rode it again. It wasn't too jerky or fast, and I think it was great for kids and adults who like rides, but not super fast thrill rides.
Coincidentally, we ran into Blue, herself! Our son was elated to get to "meet" Blue, especially since he had ridden her ride earlier that morning! He questioned why she was so tall, but still enjoyed meeting her and getting this photo opp. We also saw Dora and Diego, but we opted to head to the next ride: Log Chute.
The Log Chute is the only "water ride" in Nickelodeon Universe, and it is only open set hours during non-peak days. You wait in a line that winds through a cute cave, with nice views in between cave walls. When you get to the front, the ride attendant rushes the last riders out of the log, and motions for you to get in. There are two seats, but they each fit two people each, for a total of four riders per log. There are handles inside of the log on both the left and right side, as well as a padded front piece so you don't slide into the hard plastic on the drops.
The girls finally got to ride together in the front of a log, with my cousin in the back. My son and I were in the front of another log, with hubby in back. The ride started off on a comfortably slow current through a cave with characters like Paul Bunyon and Babe the Big Blue Ox. There were lots of details and music to entertain you on your ride. The Log Chute winds around a lot and it goes up and slides/drops down twice. There are two ride attendants at the top of the drops to ensure everyone is sitting down and staying safe prior to the ride down. I don't know if it was the front seats or weight distribution, but after riding the Log Chute ride (in the front seat) twice, my son and I were soaked to the core.
Our son was so wet that it looked like he had jumped in a pool of water with all of his clothes on. While I took him to the bathrooms to try and "blow dry" and warm him up with the hand dryers, the others went on one more ride on the Brain Surge (for a total of three rides) leading to the men feeling quite woozy. They had the girls use their last bit of ride time in the Paw Patrol playground while they sat and recuperated. Meanwhile, the hand dryers didn't work to dry and warm up our son, so my sister ran to Old Navy to grab him some cheap replacement clothes in an attempt to warm him up. It worked, but we forgot that his shoes and socks were still soaked. We ended up carrying him to Rainforest Cafe after that, where we all enjoyed our meals for our 2pm reservation. By then, it was time to go home and take some naps!
Overall, I would definitely recommend Nickelodeon Universe on your next trip to Bloomington, Minnesota. We were there from about 10am to 1:30pm (3.5 hours). I would definitely say the unlimited wristbands are a better option for bigger kids and adults who like to get on the rides too. Our son and I used less than 45 tickets on all of his kiddie rides during this time. Take a look at the facts and pricing below for more details and to see if Nick Universe is something your family would enjoy as well!
FACTS & FIGURES
PARKING - OVERVIEW
There were several parking ramps and lots surrounding the Mall of America. The ramps are fancy -- by fancy, I mean that there are lights above each parking space that tell you if a space is occupied (red light) or open (green light). There are also digital signs that tell you the number of open parking spaces on each level of each parking ramp. This is a game changer when it gets busier, so that you know whether or not you should even try your luck parking on any given level. Upon parking/entering the mall, there are signs to encourage you to text a keyword to a number -- which will then help you find where you parked upon departure! There are elevators, stairs, and skyways to get from the parking ramps to the inside of the mall.
We arrived right when the mall and its stores were opening at 10am. We easily found parking and there were many open spaces. We walked across the skyway to the mall and headed down the escalators to the first floor. Once on the first floor, we moved towards the inner part of the mall, towards Nickelodeon Universe.
MALL OF AMERICA - OVERVIEW
The Mall of America is essentially a huge oval shape surrounding the theme park, with multiple levels filled with stores, kiosks, cafes, restaurants, events and more! There are digital signs and maps throughout, which help guide your way to your destination. Being that our destination was Nickelodeon Universe, we could park anywhere, and just walk to the center of the mall without utilizing the maps.
NICKELODEON UNIVERSE - OVERVIEW
When walking towards Nick Universe, you are immediately inundated by sunlight shining down from the glass ceilings. It was a glass dome of sorts, which allowed plenty of natural light. I would never have thought to pack sunglasses for our day trip to an indoor theme park, but we certainly could have used them! Along with it being naturally light and bright, the colors and designs were attention grabbing, bright, and bold. There were live plants being planted and tended to inside of this giant indoor space, which I thought was great! I'm a big fan of indoor plants bringing life, color, and fresh air to the space. The trees also made for great shaded areas to take breaks throughout the day. There were plenty of benches, rocks, and other places to sit for said breaks as well. Here's a map of the park!
Did you know that the Mall of America and Nickelodeon Universe are Certified Autism Centers (CAC)? This means that they've done their best to accommodate for those with special needs and sensory disorders to make the MOA and Nick Universe a fun and safe environment for all! Team members have received training in sensory awareness, motor skills, autism overview, program development, social skills, communication, environment and emotional awareness. Nick Universe also has an IBCCES Sensory Guide to help you determine which activities would be best for your family's needs.
Nick Universe has many rides, attractions, character appearances, events and more for the whole family to enjoy!
THE TICKETS
There are multiple ticketing options that you can opt for.
- Unlimited Ride Wristbands: $44.99 + tax | One day of unlimited rides at Nickelodeon Universe for one person. Valid for admission on any day the park is open.
- Deal Day Wristbands: $39.99 + tax (Deal Days are listed on their calendar) | One day of unlimited rides at Nickelodeon Universe for one person. Valid for admission on Deal Days only.
- Two Day Wristbands: $54.99+ tax | Two consecutive days of unlimited rides at Nickelodeon Universe for one person. Valid for admission on any day of the week.
- Point Passes $ See Below | Point Passes give you the flexibility to choose how many rides you want to go on. All rides are either 6 or 3 points each. These passes are great for families and friends who just want to go on a few rides. Point passes CAN be shared and NEVER expire (this means that if you don't use them all in one day, you can save the wristband for another day)!
- 3 Pts: $4.05 + tax
- 6 Pts: $8.10 + tax
- 18 Pts: $23.99 + tax
- 30 Pts: $32.99 + tax
- 54 Pts: $51.99 + tax
- 84 Pts: $ 76.99 + tax
THE RIDES & ATTRACTIONS
Be sure to check the maintenance schedule if you were planning on visiting a specific ride/attraction. Also check the non-peak ride schedule for operating hours.
FAMILY RIDES
Nickelodeon Universe, like many other theme parks, carnivals and fairs, has "kiddie" sections as well as "big kid" sections. The park officially categorizes them as Junior Rides, Family Rides, and Thrill Rides.
- Adventure Bay: 6 points
- Carousel: 3 points
- Crazy Cars: 6 points
- El Circulo Del Cielo: 6 points
- Ghost Blasters: 6 points
- Log Chute: 6 points
- Shredder's Mutant Masher: 6 points
JUNIOR RIDES
- Back at the Barnyard Hayride: 3 points
- Backyardigans Swing-Along: 3 points
- Big Rigs: 3 points
- Blue's Skidoo: 3 points
- Diego's Rescue Rider: 3 points
- Guppy Bubbler: 3 points
- La Aventura de Azul: 3 points
- Pineapple Poppers: 3 points
- Rugrats Reptarmobiles: 3 points
- Swiper's Sweeper: 3 points
- Wonder Pets' Flyboat: 3 points
THRILL RIDES
- Avatar Airbender: 6 points
- Brain Surge: 3 points
- Fairly Odd Coaster: 6 points
- Pepsi® Orange Streak: 6 points
- Splat-O-Sphere: 6 points
- SpongeBob Squarepants Rock Bottom Plunge: 6 points
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shell Shock: 6 points
ATTRACTIONS
In addition to the rides, there are also separate paid attractions to enjoy.
- Dutchman's Deck Adventure Course *temporarily closed*
- $4.99 - $19.99 + tax
- Ropes course, zip line and slides. Requires closed-toe/heel shoes -- alternatively you can wear (or purchase $1) socks with park provided Crocs. No skirts/dresses allowed. Shorts must have minimum 6" inseam. 48" height requirement.
- Moose Mountain Adventure Golf
- General Admission: $11.99 + tax
- Family Foursome: $38.99 + tax
- Children 5 and under: FREE with paid GA ticket
- 18 hole mini golf course for all ages and fully accessible.
- Rock of Ages Blacklight Mini Golf
- General Admission: $11.99 + tax
- Family Foursome: $38.99 + tax (Add $9.75 for each additional player)
- Moose Mountain & Rock of Ages Mini Golf Package: $19.99 + tax
- Children 5 and under: FREE with paid GA ticket
- 18 hole mini golf course for all ages. Music themes from 50s era to now.
THE FOOD
There are many food places and shops located in Nickelodeon Universe and around the mall. You can find a guide for that, here!
I was provided a complimentary four-pack of tickets for the purpose of this review. All opinions stated are my own.
