The brand new entertainment supercomplex known as American Dream finally opened its doors on October 25th, 2019 after nearly two decades of construction. On opening day, the majority of the complex was still closed, with the only things open being the ice rink and of course the new Nickelodeon Universe indoor amusement park. Since then, the Big Snow skiing facility also opened. The Dreamworks waterpark is set to open within the next few months, and the rest of the mall, including all shops and restaurants, is scheduled to open by March of 2020. In December, I had the chance to visit the mall and experience the Nickelodeon Universe theme park. Here are some of the things I liked and didn’t like, and some additional tips for visiting American Dream.
Parking
Something to note about American Dream is that it is directly adjacent to MetLife Stadium, home of the New York Jets and other major stadium events. On the day of my visit, part of the parking route was redirected, so I had to drive even more towards the stadium. There is actually a major road that connects the two, but it wasn’t clear if regular mall traffic would have to travel on it, or if it was just a part of the detour. With construction continuing until March, I’m expecting there to be more significant detours all the way up until the opening. While it wasn’t too much of an inconvenience, the parking situation was still confusing, with not much clear signage. So if you do visit before March, just pay extra attention to the signage, and avoid going on a Jets game day if you can.
Ticketing
Nickelodeon Universe has a few different pricing tiers, the ticket you purchase is based on which rides you would like to experience. The All Access ticket ($59.99 at time of posting) grants you –you guessed it– full access to all of the rides and attractions at the park. The General Admission ticket ($44.99 at time of posting), per the Nickelodeon Universe website, “is recommended for individuals under 48” and those who choose not to ride our most thrilling rides.” Essentially, all of the thrilling rides are included on the All Access ticket, and the more family friendly attractions are included in the General Admission. There is also a third type of ticket, the Twilight All Access, which is only $34.99 (at time of posting), and that grants access to the park for two hours prior to park closing. If you’re a local or if you just want to pick up the coaster credits, this is a great deal because, from my experience, the park is nearly empty at night. The tickets at this park come in the form of wristbands. The wristbands are very intuitive, with a small metal strip embedded (most likely RFID) that the ride operators scan at each individual attraction. The process is quick and easy, and seeing this type of technology integrated in the new park offers an interesting glimpse into what could be the future of ticketing.
Navigating the Park
Nickelodeon Universe is actually a very simple park to navigate, although keep in mind that since it is an indoor park, there are a lot of rides placed compactly in a relatively small area. It’s actually pretty amazing that so many attractions were placed in the space that they had, and intertwining between all of the different tracks and structures while on the rides is a unique sensation that adds to the experience. Overall, there are a few areas of the park that may be difficult to find, for instance, TMNT Shellraiser’s entrance is in a far corner of the park located behind a set of lockers, so it might be a little confusing to find all of the attractions on your first lap of the park. There are plenty of restrooms located around the park, and there are a lot of places to sit down and take a break from the action as well. One aspect that was noticeably lacking when I visited was the dining and shopping within the park. There were clear areas where restaurants and shops will eventually go, but in the meantime there was only one or two smaller food stands and a pop-up gift shop at the exit of the park. I actually did not eat at the restaurant that was available, because the food options were noticeably pricey, even for an amusement park. I would recommend bringing your own food and storing it in the car (or in the lockers if allowed), or going to another restaurant in the mall once it’s open, and then re-entering the park after eating. The impromptu gift shop that was set up at the exit was also very lackluster, featuring no branded merchandise, aside from some apparel transplanted from the park’s sister location at the Mall of America. Other than that, there were some small plush toys, mugs and other trinkets featuring Nickelodeon characters, but nothing specific to the park itself, which was disappointing. However, once the mall is fully open, I am expecting the remaining restaurants and shops will be available, but the offerings in the meantime were minimal. It’s also worth noting that while the park can only be entered by ticket holders, there is a viewing balcony on the upper level at the park entrance where mall-goers can observe, and it’s a great spot for photos as well.
Rides and Attractions
Nickelodeon Universe is home to over 35 rides, five of which are roller coasters. There is actually a great variety of rides here despite the park being fairly small and contained. The five coasters are different enough from each other to keep from being repetitive, because there is only a small amount of ride types that can be placed indoors. For instance, if this were an outdoor park, I’d say a small Gravity Group woodie in the style of Wooden Warrior would fit in perfectly, but that’s not a possibility in this situation. So because of that, the park is limited to fairly compact steel coasters, but they really don’t feel compact, TMNT Shellraiser and The Shredder take up the most space, and even they only span one wall of the whole facility. I won’t go too in depth into the ride specifics in this article since this is primarily for planning purposes, but here’s what you can expect from the different rides.
Most Thrilling
The most intense rides would be TMNT Shellraiser and the soon-to-open Sandy’s Blasting Bronco. TMNT Shellraiser is just plain epic, it boasts the world’s steepest drop and has some huge inversions. That being said, the sensation of being held at the top of the drop may not be as scary for some because while the car is being held, riders can look out a huge window to see a gorgeous view of the New York City Skyline. Sandy’s Blasting Bronco may also be considered by some to be on the more intense side because it quickly accelerates to great speeds and is essentially nothing but inversions. Also don’t miss out of the Skyline Scream drop tower and Kraang Prime Pandemonium.
Less Thrilling
On the lower tier of thrills, there’s the very fun Shredder, the world’s tallest and longest spinning coaster, and Timmy’s Half Pipe Havoc, a surprisingly fun and intense half pipe coaster. Finally, the family coaster, Nickelodeon Slime Streak is a fairly tame coaster that the whole family can ride. Don’t skip this one just because it’s less intense, it’s still fun and gives a great view because it goes through every area of the park!
Also, don’t miss:
- Legends of the Hidden Temple Challenge. This is a fantastic ropes course that’s included in the price of admission. Even as an adrenaline junkie, my heart was racing as I ascended to the top levels of the world’s tallest indoor ropes course. Keep in mind that due to the nature of the attraction, only a certain number of guests can be on the structure at once. And even if you don’t want to go all the way to the top, there are some fun obstacles on the lower levels too!
- Jimmy Neutron’s Atom Smasher. This flat ride, called a unicoaster, is one of the most unique rides I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Riders board two guests each into individual pods connecting to a central ring, and when the ride starts up, the pods move around the central point in a circle. However, the pods can also tilt and flip upside down. The best part? You as the rider are completely in control. There is a joystick in between the two seats that, when pushed or pulled, will tilt the pod forwards or backwards making for a wacky experience that’s unique every time.
- Aang’s Air Gliders. An insanely fun Zamperla Air Race, guests will board a glider that spins in a circle and flips upside down to create a disorienting and bizarre sensation that isn’t for the weak stomached.
- Invader Zim’s Flip & Spin of Doom. Bumper cars that can flip upside down. Need I say more?
Overall, I really enjoyed my day at Nickelodeon Universe at the American Dream Mall. Hopefully I’ll be posting some more articles soon going in-depth on the rides and coasters found here. If you’ve been to Nickelodeon Universe, let us know in the comments what you thought and you found a “hidden gem” ride that you weren’t expecting.
Recent Discussion