Nickelodeon Universe Is Here!
/I love a lot about living in the Tri-State Area, but it’s pretty undeniable our weather sucks. So much of the year is gloomy and cold, and then much of the warm weather season is too humid to be comfortable. So when I say that American Dream is a game changer for this area, I mean that, it’s an entirely indoor play land of fun for all ages; and it’ll be fun whether it’s humid or frigid outside. It’s a game changer.
The first of many activities to open at American Dream is Nickelodeon Universe - an indoor theme park similar to the one that exists at the Mall of America.
Speaking of the Mall of America, American Dream seems poised to become an east coast version of that famous mall. Inside the mall, there is currently an indoor, real snow, ski and snow resort - the only one of its kind in North America - called Big Snow. A Dreamworks themed indoor water park is soon to open. And there will be tons more when the mall stores and restaurants open in March 2020 - a Sea Life Aquarium, a Lego Discovery Center, an Angry Birds themed mini golf and Kidzania, just to name a few. The children of the Tri-State Area will experience much less cabin fever this coming winter.
We will undoubtedly be back to check out all that soon to open stuff - American Dream has me hooked. But for now, I want to tell you a bit about our recent visit, with three of our older daughter’s best friends in celebration of her recent birthday, to Nickelodeon Universe.
At 8.5 acres, Nickelodeon Universe is the largest indoor theme park in North America. Focus on the word “indoor” there, because if you are expecting a sprawling Great Adventure or Disney World, this is not your spot. The park has roughly 22 rides in total that are split almost equally among “Thrill Rides,” “Family Friendly Rides” and “Just for Tots Rides.” Generalizing here, I’d say the tot rides are meant for kids ages 3-5, the family friendly rides for ages 5-9, and the thrill rides for ages 9+. A tiny baby is not going to have much to do at Nickelodeon Universe, just like a hardened 18 year old may get bored after visiting the scariest of the thrill rides a few times.
Nickelodeon Universe offers two different kinds of tickets - General Access (currently $44.99) which gets you on all but the thrill rides, and All Access (currently $59.99). There is no spectator ticket. On our visit, we purchased All Access for my older daughter and her three friends, but we didn’t ultimately need it - the “scariest” rides that any of them went on were still included in the General Access package. The thrill rides at Nickelodeon are true thrill rides meant for the bravest of patrons.
The park is adorably designed, with a bright palette of colors and Nickelodeon branded characters incorporated everywhere you look. At least for now, the park is extremely clean and everything feels current and fresh. It’s a manageable space to maneuver, with the attractions generally grouped by thrill level. There are no shows offered, but on our visit, we saw Spongebob, two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Blue from Blue’s Clues making character appearances.
For our group of girls, the braver eight year olds loved Spongebob’s Jellyfish Jam, a fairly thrilling swing ride, and Bikini Bottom Crosstown Express, a bus that spins and reels “through the streets of Bikini Bottom.” Both rides were on the thrilling side of the family friendly offerings. My husband took those same brave girls on the Nickelodeon Slime Streak coast (the sole coaster in the family friendly offerings), but I think it was too much for them.
The less brave kids stuck with the tot rides. Shimmer and Shine Jumping Genies and Fairly Odd Airways were two crowd pleasers for that group. Note, there are several true “kiddie rides” with no thrill to them at all for the youngest guests, and there is also a Paw Patrol themed toddler play area, perfect for ages 5 and under (and in our case, some toddler like 8 year olds).
None of us hit the thrill rides but we had a great time witnessing others do them. A few look pretty awesome - including the Shellraiser coaster, which boasts the steepest drop in the world, and the Shredder, the world’s tallest and longest free-spinning coaster. All thrill rides have a height minimum of 48” and up.
A few rides were closed for maintenance on our visit, which could be a bummer if those were the rides your kid was most excited for. And for now, there are NO restaurants or counter services spots in the theme park or in American Dream. We ate pre-packaged sandwiches and salads from a kiosk in the theme park. We were told, eventually, there will be a sprawling food court in Nickelodeon Universe, and there will most definitely be many food offerings within American Dream. Parking was free on our visit, and I got the sense it won’t be free once the mall is more fully open. Similarly, the entrance price at Nickelodeon could go up once it’s fully operational.
When we arrived at the park for opening at 10am on a Saturday, it was empty, and it never got too crowded to become unbearable. The ability to go from ride to ride and back again on a ride you loved over and over is a huge perk of a “pay one price” amusement park - every parent hates counting ride tickets at a local carnival.
We had a pretty great first visit to Nickelodeon Universe and American Dream. Anything that could make the brutal and long winter ahead more bearable for our family is wonderful in my book. The theme park was perfectly sized for my girls’ ages and we are psyched to see what’s to come!
American Dream is located right next to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. Without any traffic early Saturday morning, it took us less than an hour from our house in Greenwich, CT.
