HALFPIPE HEAD-SCRATCHER…read more This 'U'-shaped ride inside the Mall of America is technically a roller coaster, albeit a lame one. I was intrigued by Avatar Airbender, as I'd never ridden an Intamin 'Surfrider' coaster before.  The layout is nothing more than a large halfpipe, with the main car (styled to look like a giant surfboard) making repeated passes back and forth. This ride is built into an ugly concrete pit at the center of Nickelodeon Universe, and the signage doesn't stand out much to indicate where the entry is.  The train seats 2 pods of 6 riders; these circular pods experience controlled spinning throughout the ride, which is fun. Because of the geometry of the surfboard train, the entire floor has to drop away to allow enough clearance between the car and the track.  There's also large gates on either side of the station that open/close, which further adds to the dispatch times.  The unloading process can be slow. At any rate, the surfboard-styled car makes roughly a dozen passes over linear synchronous motors (LSMs).  These propel riders up two identical 98ft spikes that nearly touch the glass ceiling above Nickelodeon Universe, hitting a top speed of 44mph.  The sensation is fun but fleeting--the entire ride lasts less than a minute. *TL;DR * Yes, it rolls, and yes, it coasts, but no, I still don't think this deserves to be considered a true roller coaster. For comparison, Vertical Velocity @ SFGAm in northern Illinois also looks like a 'U'-shaped halfpipe, but it launches up to 70mph and lasts a solid 90 seconds.  This ride is under power nearly the entire time and does the bare minimum of coasting. Avatar Airbender has a boring theme, short ride duration, and an unexciting layout.  I only rode this to get "credit" so I could add to my official roller coaster tally.  Though if I had my way, I wouldn't even classify this goofy thing as a bonafide coaster.  Hell, I coast more on my drive to work in the morning. If I found myself back at MoA and only had time for 3 rides, I'd skip this without question.

AXE MASTER The ride…read moreformerly known as Paul Bunyan's Log Chute is charming, unique and LONG! Nickelodeon Universe might have 4 major roller coasters, but I think the overall best ride at Mall of America's indoor park is the simply named Log Chute. This is a log flume made by Hopkins and remains one of the mall's original rides from 1992 that has retained its title (and appearance) despite the rest of the world changing around it.  Even though his name is no longer attached to the ride, you can still find a huge Paul Bunyan statue inside the ride's beautiful mountain façade. Speaking of which, Log Chute has some terrific indoor sections rivaling those of Timber Mountain Log Ride @ Knotts Berry Farm and Splash Mountain(s) @ various Disneyland(s).  Here, the water level is set and carefully monitored to ensure no one gets drenched, because ultimately this ride is still in the center of a shopping mall. Fun fact: this is the longest duration ride in the entire park at a whopping 5-1/2 minutes!  Most of that time is a mixture of thrills and sightseeing, the latter giving you excellent views of Nickelodeon Universe and the surrounding foodcourt.  There's two conveyor belt lifts and two drops, the second of which is 40ft; both are fun. Fiberglass logs seat up to 4 riders in-line and most notably do not have seatbelts or a lap bar.....so hang on and don't stand up.  The final lift has a colorful lightshow and it brings you eye-level with people walking around the mall.  It's awesome to see the reaction of shoppers who don't realize there's a log flume, like, right there. Remember to wave! Keep an eye peeled for a red stadium seat halfway thru the ride; this is in honor of Harmon Killebrew - former Minnesota Twin - who hit a 520ft home run at the old Metropolitan Stadium which used to occupy the land Mall of America now sits on. There's a matching plaque for home plate over by SpongeBob Rock Bottom Plunge, so it makes more sense in context. Log Chute undergoes several seasonal makeovers throughout the year, including Halloween (the "Fog Chute"), Valentine's Day (the "Love Chute"), Christmas (the "Yule Log Chute") and even April Fool's Day (the "Kenny Loggins Chute"). All A+ puns, dad approved. Even the 20ft Paul Bunyan figure gets outfit changes: for Halloween he's been a pirate, Jim Hopper from Stranger Things, Hulk Hogan, and during the holidays, you can find him sporting a Santa hat and singing lumberjack Christmas carols. Festive, ya sure! * TL;DR * Not only is the classic Log Chute the best ride inside Nickelodeon Universe, it's one of the most distinctive water rides in the entire country. Of all the attractions inside MoA, their venerable log flume was without a doubt my favorite.  Not even the forced Nickelodeon rebranding could touch ol' Paul Bunyan - a beloved figure around these parts - and his loggin' chute. He held his (big) axe and stood his ground! Log Chute gives a ton of bang for your buck with detailed dark ride sections, a not-so-hidden easter egg, a great winding layout, a wonderful sense of humor and decent thrills, all done under a giant glass dome.  It's absolutely one of a kind!

It's a lot drop ride. It's similar to RipSaw Falls being a…read morewater based log drop. It was pretty fun! The drop didn't seem too intense and there wasn't an overwhelming splash back on my trip. It's a water ride, but I didn't come off of it completely soaked, which was nice.

The initial drop on this coaster is insane! This ride is…read morepretty intense for something that's in a mall! I grew up with the episode that this roller coaster is based on . Where SpongeBob and Patrick go to rock-bottom because they took the wrong bus and it plum it down a steep hill. That's definitely the feel they were going for here and they nailed it! This is a pretty good adrenaline pumping ride !

FORTY FATHOMS DEEP…read more This SpongeBob themed ride is undoubtedly the most thrilling roller coaster inside Nickelodeon Universe. I had to sneak away from the family to snag this important coaster credit (don't worry, my wife begrudgingly OK'd it and thankfully the wait was short).  The queue doesn't move fast--trains only seat 8 at a time, and with only a single car on the track most days, the line can stagnate. The coaster itself is bright teal track and a tidy 1,371ft in length - shorter than the neighboring Pepsi Orange Streak (2,680ft).  The ride lasts 2 minutes although nearly half of that is time spent on the 75ft vertical lift hill. Speaking of which, a vertical lift is unsettling if you've never experienced one before.  It's different from an elevator lift, which has you facing forward at all times; a vertical lift has you facing UP, as in the sky, or in this case, glass roof. After a brief stall at the crest of the lift hill (which comes incredibly close to the ceiling), there's a beyond vertical drop taken at 97° which gets the flame-decaled car up to 44mph.  As the car "bottoms out" at the base of the drop, true to the ride's namesake, you hit 4.5G's.  You feel it, too! This is followed by a vertical loop, a small bunny hill that delivers a brief pop of airtime, a cutback/overbanked turn (technically an inversion), and a heartline roll.  From there, it's a block brake section and a few low to the ground turns that ends with a 360° helix. The highly 3D signage is awesome too.  The coaster's based off of the Season 1, Episode 17 segment where our titular character and Patrick get stranded in the abyssopelagic zone (yes, I had to look that up).  The in-your-face sign and overall ride experience aligns perfectly with the theme of the episode.  Well done! * TL;DR * The mere fact that a roller coaster this intense exists inside The Mall of America is pretty remarkable. While it's shorter than I'd like (it could really use another ground-hugging heartline roll) and more toned down compared to some other Gerstlauer coasters out there - like Monster @ Adventureland in Iowa - I've still gotta give it 5*. All in all, it's a great addition to Nick Universe and the sensation of nearly touching the top of the large atrium as you come over the top is a really unique feeling.  I definitely recommend grabbing a few laps on this one.

This handsome old woodie (I feel dirty having typed that) is Valleyfair's only original roller…read morecoaster. It gives a rickety ride that I would still class as fun, though not loads and loads of it. No big thrills, but that butterflies in your stomach on several of the drops. It might be better in the front or back. This was the only coaster at VF we said "the hell with it" and just rode in the middle. (We tried Wild Thing from the middle, too, though we also gave it a whirl from the front and back cars.) Hiiiiigh roller (that's how the ride ops say it) is far from the best here, but it's better than the non-reaction the MC in the station got from a returning train. "Welcome back, riders! How was your ride on Hiiigh Roller?" Dead silence! Show some life, folks! High Roller is easy to spot, but hard to locate a queue for, as Cedar Fair, in their infinite wisdom, has it buried in Planet Snoopy. It took us a while to make our way onto it for that reason. HR could also use a new coat of paint as the one it has now is cracked and peeling for most of the ride's length. (One section must have been retracked as one area had blindingly new looking paint.) This coaster is a cool piece of history and I wouldn't have minded going Hiiiigh Rolling again, but it's no Renegade.

A roller coaster at Valleyfair…read more I noticed this year they changed the ride. The ride goes forward & backwards 2 times each. The last time it goes backwards it stops for a moment of suspense. When we rode it it did not have that moment. Makes the ride a lot less thrilling.

"I was surprised by how bad ass this was" -Ely Me, too. I…read morehad only ridden Cedar Point's similar but larger and with two twisty ends Wicked Twister once and didn't remember it having such a kick to it. Probably since I rode in the middle of the train as it was getting late in the day and I still wanted to ride the then new Valravn. Well, let me tell you riding in the front car makes a big difference on these impulse coasters. Seeing everything, reaching the maximum height on at least one end of the short course, it wasn't enough to put Steel Venom into 5 star range, but I wouldn't have minded riding a second or third time. The back might be extra fun, too. When the holding brake gets applied on the back arm of the course near the end of the ride it's a jarring, exciting sensation and it seems it would have maximum effect there. We sat watching SV while waiting for Delirious and the structure visibly sways when the train passes after the holding brake gets released! It took us awhile to ride Steel Venom as it was shut down for clean up after somebody blew chunks on it, and that in itself is an indication this is an intense ride. Too short, but fun. Steel Venom isn't top tier like Wild Thing or Renegade, but I'd rate it as the third best coaster at Valleyfair.

Double decker carousel inside Maplewood Mall in White Bear Lake. We decided to ride on the top…read morefloor which I think will give a grander experience. They had your usual horses and also had 2-4 people swings depending on how big everyone is on sharing the swing. I will confess I did get kinda dizzy being up there. Not sure if it's cuz I'm older or what but it was also at a typical speed as well. Children 2 and older need a ticket. All adults need a ticket as well. I think it was $3 each.

Saw a Facebook ad on this place and thought it would be cool to try out…read more You have to choice to play 1-4 rides. One ride was 6.99. Two rides was 11.98. Three rides was 17.99. Four rides was 20.99. The average ride is around 4-5mins. A friend and I tried the 2 rides combo. We Went with the Carnival ride and Pirates ride. Before going into the ride room, you are given brief instructions on what to do and grab a 3-D glass to put on to view the rides. The room we went into had 2 rows and about 6-8 seats per row if I can recall. We then strap ourselves into a motion seat equipped with a laser blaster to fender enemy attack in the ride/game. It lets you compete against others in the same room and ranks 1st to last place in terms of game scores and shows in screen. It was a fun experience and is for all ages. Would like to come back and try other rides.

The streak is broken…read more After 48 years of living in the upper Midwest, I finally went snow tubing for the first time ever this winter at Green Acres. True to the song, Green Acres is the place to be. I don't have anything to compare it to, but I had a blast! (Provisionally, I'm giving it 4 stars, in case there is a 5-star tubing place out there.) It's a bit of a free-for-all: grab your own tube (of various sizes), grab the rope (wear gloves!), let go, find a clear spot (no lanes!) and fly down the hill and look back up to avoid other tubers as you head back to the tow rope. Not quite a free-for all: they separate single riders and chained riders, for safety. I appreciate this. Also, you'll need to pick a predetermined two-hour block of time before you go. Two hours of tubing was more than enough, by the way, even with a warming break and a bathroom break, you'll go up and down the hill many times and be wet and tired by the time you're done. "Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside!" Well played, Oliver Wendell Douglas!

If you're looking to go snow tubing please DO NOT go to Green Acres in lake Elmo. My family had fun…read morebut I had to force myself to have fun so I don't ruin everyone else's mood. We initially reserved for 20 people, 12 ended up showing up because of other circumstances. I inquired to only pay for 12 but they said we have to pay for all 20 because that was their policy. I inquired if they can just resell the 8 tickets because it's going to waste. They even called me at 11:08am saying that if I don't confirm their text then they're going to resell ALL our tickets...why couldn't they resell those 8? The manager says it's in the policy. I could not find the policy anywhere and asked if they could show me and I'll close my mouth and walk away. They had a waiver which says nothing about it. I again inquired as to where I can find the policy that says I have to pay the remainder. The supervisor responded with " the policy is the text I sent you and I'm not going to argue with you about this, you can either leave or go out there and have fun." Supervisor couldn't even confirm to me that it was an actual policy and got defensive when I kept inquiring about it. I simply crumpled a piece of paper and walked away. What was supposed to be only $80 for me my wife and two kids stacked up to $240. Not professional and left very bad first impressions that they only care about your money. Clerks were younger and good sports. Not wasting another cent on Green Acres. First and last time.