This guest post was written by Dr. Jessie Voigts. Jessie is the Publisher of Wandering Educators, a travel library for people curious about the world. She also founded the Family Travel Bloggers Association, and the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program. She’s published two books: Bringing the World Home: A Resource Guide to Raising Intercultural Kids
If your kids have heard of it, they are asking to go. And, how can you resist? If you’re headed to Minnesota, make time to visit the Mall of America. Known to locals as “the sprawl,” it IS a sprawl! The Mall of America is the nation’s largest retail and entertainment complex, at 4.2 million square feet. The mall has over 520 shops, movie theaters, a LEGO section, Sea Life Minnesota Aquarium, and (wait for it) Nickelodeon Universe. And THIS is why your kids want to go!
Nick Universe is an amusement park located smack dab in the center of the Mall of America, and is spread over 7 acres. There are: ropes course, roller coasters, kiddie rides, a beautiful carousel, a ferris wheel, and plenty of fun. There are character meet and greets and plenty of shops. But the most fun comes from exploring, and playing. Everyone – from toddlers to active grandparents – will find plenty of fun things to do in this indoor amusement park.
Our family loved the Fairy Oddparents roller coaster (they could NOT stop laughing), the Avatar ride, and the Pepsi Orange Streak roller coaster. When I say our family, I must admit it was my husband and daughter. I was shopping.
DID YOU KNOW?
~ 258 Statues of Liberty could lie inside the Mall
~ If Mount Rushmore was divided into individual monuments, a president could reside in each of the Mall’s four courts
~ Mall of America is big enough to hold 32 Boeing 747s
~ Seven Yankee Stadiums can fit inside Mall of America
~ If a shopper spent 10 minutes browsing at every store, it would take them more than 86 hours to complete their visit to Mall of America
~ There is no sales tax on clothing in Minnesota
For more information, please see:
Mall of America is located in Bloomington, Minnesota – just minutes from MSP Airport. Many airlines do one day flights (early morning – late evening) to MSP just to take people to the Mall of America. Check in at the information desk at the Mall – there is a valuable book of coupons available, and wheelchair and stroller rental.
All photos courtesy and copyright of Dr. Jessie Voigts.
This attraction appears in my e-book, How to Visit All 50 States in 12 Trips.
