KIDS AT HEART Anyone…read morefrom 2 to 92 can have a blast at Mall of America's indoor theme park. Located in the center of the USA's largest mall is Nickelodeon Universe, a sprawling 7-acre amusement park covering 3 floors.  It's open year-round from 10am to 9pm with reduced hours on Sundays, and tickets can be bought online or in-person. I came here once in 1998 as a kid (back then it was called Knotts' Camp Snoopy) and in 2026 I returned with my wife and kids of my own.  Despite a colorful rebranding in 2008, this place seems frozen in time and looks virtually the same as when I visited 28 years ago.  Wow! We took advantage of specially priced "toddler Tuesdays", where kids admission is only $16.  A full day adult wristband is $52 but specially marked 'deal days' bring this down to $42.  Important note: if you have a kid under 48", you can go on rides with them as a designated chaperone and not have to pay!  This is HUGE and saved us $40 since my wife got to ride for free. There's enough attractions inside Nick Universe -- 26 in total -- to fill up an entire day.  I've delved into each of the major coasters plus the outstanding Log Chute (legitimately one of the best in the country) with separate reviews, but here's a brief summary. * Pepsi Orange Streak: a custom steel family coaster with a mesmerizingly long train, and one of the OG rides here * Fairly Odd Coaster: a chaotic spinning coaster with a decent amount of G-forces (beware the slow dispatch times) * Avatar Airbender: a brief U-shaped ride with a funky surfboard train and spinning seats * Spongebob Squarepants Rock Bottom Plunge: an intense roller coaster with 3 inversions that nearly scrapes the glass ceiling * El Circulo del Cielo: a large Ferris wheel delivers a relaxing ride and offers great views of the park * Shredder's Mutant Masher: an inverting 'Frisbee' ride with a Ninja Turtles theme, great for teens * Log Chute: a STELLAR log flume with a super long ride time and wonderful Paul Bunyan theme that doesn't soak you My 5yo son loved the Big Rigs, Crazy Cars, Diego's Rescue Rider, and Guppy Bubbler.  Our 2yo daughter enjoyed the Adventure Bay kids play area but kept her distance from most of the rides.  Swiper's Sweeper was a surprise hit, a 'whip' style ride where small cars on an oval track drift around tight curves. Staff were ~incredibly~ friendly and cut us plenty of slack when I brought my son with me on a couple rides that weren't part of the Toddler Tuesday discount wristband (oops!)  They waved us through and said, "don't worry about it, have fun!"  Big kudos to them for grace and understanding; this went a long way towards a 5* day. * TL;DR * It's always 72° and sunny inside Nickelodeon Universe, perfect conditions for fun. This amusement park is home to a plethora of rides including 5 roller coasters (1 kiddie, 3 moderate 'thrill' coasters, 1 'extreme' coaster), a Ferris wheel, bumper cars, a fantastic log flume, a drop tower, a swing ride, a dark ride shooter, and lots of smaller attractions. While I can't comment on the quality or cost of food within Nick Universe, I do feel that we got a great value for admission.  We felt safe and the ride operators we encountered were very kind.  The natural sunlight gives this park wonderful energy year-round. If you've got kids (or if you're an adult who really likes rides), I highly recommend spending a day at Nickelodeon Universe!

This was pretty cool! A theme park in the mall, what a…read moreconcept! It's Nickelodeon themed, so it definitely appealed to my inner child! They have plenty of rides for all ages. I didn't go on the roller coaster to kill some time. It was a blast! I could easily spend a whole day here!

I had so much fun at FlyOver America! From the moment the ride started, it really felt like I was…read moreactually on a real ride and flying through everything. The way your feet are dangling and you're lifted up in front of the big screen makes it feel so real. The visuals are beautiful and the effects make a huge difference you can feel the wind and even a little mist, which makes it even more immersive. At some points I honestly forgot I was inside the mall because it felt like I was really traveling. It's not too scary, but still exciting enough to enjoy every second of it. I was a little nervous at first, but once it started I just relaxed and had fun. The whole experience is very well done and something different from anything else in the mall. Overall, I would definitely recommend trying it. It's fun, unique, and totally worth it . I would do it again for sure!

It was great! My brother and I loved it! We're both seniors, so it's definitely a FUN experience…read morefor ALL AGES!

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.

I looooooooveeeee the roller coasters, BUT the monster ride or whatever was absolutely shit. I…read morewaiting in line for AN HOUR, just to be on the ride for 20 seconds. Never going on the shit ride ever again. Also, the coaster restaurant overfilled my shake and it was spilling everywhere, rides are good, everything else is ass.

Thanks for such an amazing time valleyfair!! We loved these memories as a family, it was the first…read moretime bringing our kiddos (6 & 8 years) and they loved it so much!! Plenty of rides in the kids area that kept them busy for hours. Loved that this day the lines were very minimal so we did not have to wait long to get on the rides. Rides were age appropriate but as an adult I don't remember them being so scary! I liked the option of being able to go on some of the kid rides with them. The big thrill rides had much longer lines so we were not able to ride a ton of those but we did get to take our 8 year old on some and she loved it. The picnic area was great, the food was filling and we loved the drink options! Very clean and plenty of seating. The newly remodeled waterpark was amazing. So many new things available for all ages. Lots of seating but a lot of people had their stuff on the seats even though they weren't sitting there so that was a bit frustrating. Lockers are very expensive! Season pass is definitely worth it if you plan on coming a few times, for me the waterpark would be worth it since I can't do a lot of rides anymore.

Wild Thing lives up to it's name. I almost quoted the Troggs to start this review but I couldn't…read morelive with myself so I went back and took it out. (It still applies though.) Running parallel to Highway 101, Wild Thing clearly announces itself as the headliner of Valleyfair. It was the first Morgan coaster, to my knowledge, that I've ridden, and I was a bit leery, thinking it might be annoying rough like old school Arrow coasters can be. While not buttery smooth like some more modern coasters are, Wild Thing passed my test in the turbulence department with flying colors. It has just enough shakiness to keep things interesting. Even the back row was completely enjoyable. The first hill, 207 feet, is a doozy, but the airtime off the second hill was the highlight for me. There was more airtime riding at the front, too, which I found interesting. It was a brisk day when we went to Valley fair with a light rain, and this green monster almost lost my gray winter skullie cap to a mighty updraft. On one of our 4 rides the rain picked up a bit and stung as it hit my face while we barreled through the course. That was actually enjoyable, in a strange masochistic way. The bunny hills after the mid course brake run (more like a 3/4ths course brake run) are a blast and the multi-hill tunnel at the end sets you up perfectly for mugging for the on-ride camera. Even if you don't shell out for key chains and whatnot don't miss stopping at the photography booth on your way out. I've never seen funnier on-ride photos. After just one ride, you can see where that flash in the dark is and do some crazy poses yourself. Wild Thing was never much more than a station wait. (Our first time riding the queue stretched just a little beyond the station.) One of the ride ops was a bit of a hard ass. He tried to walk of shame some kid off the train even after the guy with the measuring stick said she passed. Looking like a sheepish shoplifter, she passed again, barely, and the whole station erupted in cheers and applause. That same hard ass said I couldn't reride if there was anybody waiting at all, even if there was empty rows, after another employee had given moving to an empty row her blessing. Booo! He also made me take my hat off and, okay, he was probably right about that. Wild Thing is nearly flawless. My sole critique is that the transitions between the elements in the middle might be a little too long. That massive turn around looks really cool, and there's some nice hand chopper moments in the ensuing straight away but it's a little long between hills. Wild Thing puts this place on the map. We rode it 4 times, but I could have easily went for a dozen.

The ride was awesome it was flying going really fast and the drop is AMAZING I would deff recommendread more

Not to be confused with the Ditchman's Dick (which is legendary. He works construction and is very…read morewell endowed). The Mall of America is absolutely full from top to bottom of spectacular kids adventures but they're extremely expensive and tickets will set you back a lot. For this reason I'm not a big fan of these things... but if I was five years old it would be paradise and I wouldn't really care how much my parents had to pay for it. So if you're rich or your parents are rich and you're a little kid then come on down and knock yourself out and spend all your money. According to my BFF's little one this ride which I bought for him was one of the better ones out of the several that he went on, on the day that we were in the Mall of America.

This was a fun course, but it's ability to please me was immediately overruled by the lack of…read moreefficiency, rudeness, and carelessness of the staff and their system. The wait was excruciatingly long, the harness was painful, and several of the workers had an authority complex. Would not recommend if you're looking for a light, fun activity.

Great clean beach, great clean park, only 2 downsides was the lake was filled with debris (grass…read moreclippings, etc) coming off from the boats and making their way to the shore. Had piles of debris in my swim suit afterwards - yuck. Sandy bottom was good. Other downside was it was $6 parking. Cops were ticketing, as well (saw an unfortunate soul receive one as we pulled in), so it's definitely patrolled and enforced. There are other places to enter the beach that Apple Maps takes you to as an entrance, however there are no parking zones everywhere around those (just a sidewalk) and unless you want to walk for miles to get there, you'll have to be prepared to pay (if there are any spaces left). I suppose this is what is keeping the beach from being overcrowded.

I really like this lake super fun. Clean lake park to take your kids to. Go sunbathing!!…read more genuinely, it was one of the best lakes I have been too. Cannot wait to go again.

If dogs could ride this, it'd be the Muttant Ninja Tuttle Ride. If cats could ride it, it'd be the…read moreNinja Tortie Ride. And if big African animals could ride, it'd be the Ninja Turtle Rhino. Sadly it's none of those things. At the Mall of America they are basically willing to rip off every cartoon and kids thing imaginable to make a ride out of it to try and get more people to fork out the money for their kids. It's pretty expensive. Some of the rides are pretty cool but they don't really have that much in common with the characters that they represent. It's more like just a gimmick-type thing. This one's a little bit out-of-date too but I guess the turtles sometimes come and go and they are pretty adorable so who doesn't love the turtles in general. Her kids definitely did, but I think they liked the Spongebob one better. Just watch out for the holy admission prices Batman.

FIRST! WAHOO! Dear…read moreSoccer Blast, First, I'm mad at you. Where the F were you in the mid 80's when I was hauling my ass to the NSC in Blaine for ODP practice every freaking weekend? You are literally situated less than a mile from my childhood home, which makes this like some cruel joke. That said, you're the best indoor soccer facility in the Twin Cities (and I've played at them all). You give folks the opportunity to play indoor or outdoor, single sex or co-ed and on various levels from beginner to competitive. Your refs (especially Forrester and TJ) are the kind of caliber you don't typically get in rec leagues, which is as valuable as the convenient location and above-average facility, in my opinion. If you like old-school boards, they've got 2 of those. Gone is the Astroturf of yesterday. You can even play in your regular cleats on this pitch. Same goes for the indoor/outdoor field (domed from October-May). You'll never play on regular grass again. As loyal Burnsville-ite (Burnsvillian?) you give people a reason besides Buck Hill to come south of the river. Go Beaver Fever! Love, Holly

Anything that gives people an outlet to stay active in the deep cold winter in Minnesota deserves…read morefive stars in my book. I have been to Soccer Blast more times than I can count as my daughter has played soccer in Minnesota from the time she was six years old--she is 23 and still plays...so I have spent many an hour on the bleachers at Soccer Blast during the winter on Saturdays and Sundays...I am thankful that places like this exist and indoor soccer is a whole different game than full field outdoor but it really gives kids a chance to work on foot skills and passing..

If you've got time to kill with kids and you use a Groupon or coupon this can be fun. I will say…read morethough it's not worth the full price. The fireworks light display area needs new lights and unless you keep going back and forth, which we did, it's very short lived. Definitely fun to do it at least once with kids though.

My kids are obsessed with mirror mazes, and I really thought we'd make it out of MOA without…read morestopping but nope, I was wrong . We grabbed a Groupon so the price wasn't bad, and they had an absolute blast! You can go through as many times as you want during your session, which made it totally worth it. Super fun if your kids are into that kind of thing!