American Dream (NJ)

[Viator]

So...uh...how about that American Dream, huh?

__

For those under Patrick's rock, American Dream is doing phased openings for the NJ location, beginning on October 25th with Nickelodeon Universe, as pricing has just gone up.

The Dream Begins | American Dream

 

[Tobias]

So, let's talk about this pricing for the "Special Preview"...

All Access (Essentially 48"+) - $49.99
General Access (Under 48" and/or those who don't wanna' do the thrill rides) - $39.99

First off, aren't preview/soft open prices usually a little cheaper than after official opening prices? Since this feels like a full price, which is a "yeesh" in itself. An if this IS the cheaper price..."YEESH".

But the real kicker is this, they're doing "timed ticketing" for this preview. So you have to pick a timeslot for when you're in the park.

For Monday-Thursday, the timeslots are

10am-3pm
4pm-9pm

Essentially 5 hours.

While Friday-Sundays timeslots are

10am-2pm
3pm-7pm
8pm-12am

4 hours.

Here's the ultimate and nasty kicker of them all, reading the fine print at the bottom of the page reveals this. "Tickets are valid for the specified date and time period of purchase only." So if you show up late at the park and/or the ops are slow...you're boned. This is a fine example on how NOT to operate any kind of park.

 

[Saxon Thaler]

The park is finally open! A Periscope livestream from Patrick Kling (Art Director for Nickelodeon Theme Park Design) gives us a great look at (most) of the rides:

Patrick Kling: "Welcome to Nickelodeon Universe at American Dream!!!!"

 

[Saxon Thaler]

Also, here's a full list I created of every ride at the park (I tried organizing from most-to-least thrilling)

 

[GadgetGuru]

Also, here's a full list I created of every ride at the park! (I tried organizing from most-to-least thrilling)

Legends of the Hidden Temple, Avatar, Invader Zim, Ren + Stimpy are all currently off the air. Weird that they get amusement park rides.

 

[Viator]

Legends of the Hidden Temple, Avatar, Invader Zim, Ren + Stimpy are all currently off the air. Weird that they get amusement park rides.

Netflix and Nickelodeon have been doing things together, like releasing certain Nick film's based on Rockos and Zim. Additionally, Avatar is getting an adaptation on Netflix with the creators involved.

As far as lineups go..it's certainly unique.

 

[Evan]

Many rides not open for opening day also. Not all rides have received go ahead for operation.

 

[Magic-Man]

This park could be great..... if it actually opened with all the rides and didn't have super limited hours, ridiculous pricing, and traffic problems.

 

[quinnmac000]

The theming is awful....it also looks like the waterpark has more theming than the theme park

 

[GadgetGuru]

The theming is awful....it also looks like the waterpark has more theming than the theme park

The other Nickelodeon Universe at Mall of America is the exact same

 

[Tobias]

The other Nickelodeon Universe at Mall of America is the exact same

Pretty much, N.U. is not something to get hung up on the theming. It's not trying to be elaborate with theming, it's straight-up a indoor park with some fun rides and coasters. Which ain't a bad thing since the N.U. at MoA is a lot of fun.

Now as for this one, it's got a nice mix of coasters and unique flats. An I do appreciate the nods to a wide range of shows be it current or former. Heck, on one of the murals there's Krumm from AAAHH!!! Real Monsters, even though there's no attraction for that show!

As for everything else, well as to be expected not everything is open in the park. There's supposed to be 35 attractions, yet from all the vids/info we've seen...I've yet to see even 30. Admittedly it's hard to figure out considering the lack of info from the park/site itself. Though it's still better than the mall itself as right now the only things open are N.U. and the ice rink. The Dreamworks waterpark won't open til next month, as well as a candy store. As for the 350 shops/restaurants? Those won't open til SPRING 2020.

Nothings simple for this project, is it?

 

[TheDecemberists]

Haven’t logged in here in over a year I think, but I needed somewhere to complain about how ugly and barren this park looks. At least the Nickelodeon Universe in Mall of America has a little bit of theming due to the log flume area having already existed before it became Nickelodeon Universe. The copy/paste Eurofighter coaster from Japan especially upsets me due to that first small portion not being enclosed. It would have been awesome to theme the launch tunnel to a sewer system since it’s themed to TMNT.

The idea of indoor theme parks has always fascinated me, so I’m upset that this is what we got.

 

[Magic-Man]

Haven’t logged in here in over a year I think, but I needed somewhere to complain about how ugly and barren this park looks. At least the Nickelodeon Universe in Mall of America has a little bit of theming due to the log flume area having already existed before it became Nickelodeon Universe. The copy/paste Eurofighter coaster from Japan especially upsets me due to that first small portion not being enclosed. It would have been awesome to theme the launch tunnel to a sewer system since it’s themed to TMNT.

The idea of indoor theme parks has always fascinated me, so I’m upset that this is what we got.

I'm not even mad about the inline twist on Shellraiser not getting enclosed, I'm mad about the fact that none of the rides have an actual station building. Like, what?

 

[bob albert]

I'm not even mad about the inline twist on Shellraiser not getting enclosed, I'm mad about the fact that none of the rides have an actual station building. Like, what?

The whole park is inside.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Haven’t logged in here in over a year I think, but I needed somewhere to complain about how ugly and barren this park looks.

Welcome back! We miss you!

 

[Magic-Man]

The whole park is inside.

Still. Bare stations look ugly.

 

[Magic-Man]

After some video review (haven't been there myself yet, hopefully going next year), this entire mall looks to be fantastic when it's done. My only issues are the pricing and the lack of theming in the amusement park.

 

[Tobias]

So about the prices, thankfully the website has been updated so it's a little more clear on the prices/attractions.
As it turns out, the prices for the sneak preview are discounted compared to the full price. The full prices start on Nov. 15th, and they are...

All Access Ticket (Full Day) - $79.99
General Access Ticket (Full Day) - $59.99

I'm usually down for a nice indoor park, but $80 is downright steep. I know ATM it's one of the only things drawing people to the husk of the mall, but I seriously hope prices drop once everything opens next spring since that's not a feasible price to survive in the long run. In comparison at the N.U. at MoA, a one day wristband is $37.99, while a two day wristband is $49.99.

 

[bob albert]

The prices are definitely due to the amount of people in the market for this. Mall of america is a way smaller market and older. Also is everything even going to be open before Nov 15th? I imagine there will be deals but maybe not in the first year.

 

[Magic-Man]

Apparently the park raised prices recently, and is not letting anyone in who bought tickets before the prices went up. You have to pay the current price. You cannot get refunds, either. Wtf?