Mall of America

[kasar]

I'd like to check it out but is it worth it's own trip (flights, hotel, the works)? Maybe for a couple of days or is that too long? What else is there to do in the area in April?

Thanks!

 

[floridaminnie]

ARe you really into shopping?

 

[kasar]

Not really! My mom wants to do something with us (2 DDs and me) for April vacation. We're looking into all kinds of places and thought it would be fun to check out while DH wasn't with us (LOL- we love him but he'll never go there with us!).

Basically, we're looking for something fun, not too expensive and even a little "different". Thought this would be interesting.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

I like the MOA, but I like shopping. There is also an aquarium in the mall. We have been, but it looks really cool. There should be lots of stuff to do in the area. There are lots of Diser's from the area and I'm sure they can give you some tips.

April weather in Minnesota is probably like Wisconsin, could be really warm or really cold!

I think it is something to see at least once. If you do go try to go during the week. The weekends can be nuts!

 

[zen1]

Hi kasar,

I live about 30 minutes a way from the Mall of America. It is a very popular mall with all the tourists and locals. I know some of the hotels that are close by the Mall of America, will load people up on a shuttle bus and take them over to the mall. So there are a lot of tourists going in and out of the Mall of America everyday.

There is a lot and I mean a lot of different shops that you can go into, so you really have to be in a shopping mod when you go there. This is the kind of Mall that you "can shop until you drop"! If you like rides there is Camp Snoopy, where you can ride all different kinds of rides and best of all it's all inside! They also have games that you can play and win prizes. There is also a really cool under water place that you can go into and see all kinds of fish, sharks, sting rays and more. And when you are walking in there, the fish, sharks, etc. are all swimming all around you and they are even swimming above your head! I am not sure on the price, but I think it is about $20.00 to $25.00. You get a arm band to put on and you can stay in there as long as you want( and come back through out the day- the same day as you bought your ticket).

I think it is worth a trip to come here and maybe only due like two or three days of the Mall America. But if it is going to cost you alot of money to come here than I would say no. I know there are lot of DISers here in MN, so if you do come here we could mabye set up a meet out at the Mall of America! That would be alot of fun.

If you want, I could pick up some info. and maps of the Mall of America for you and mail them to you. Just pm me and let me know or you can pm me too if you have any more questions.

 

[KarenC]

My DD goes to school in Minneapolis. Every time we visit her, we take a trip to the Mall. It is big! And Minnesota doesn't have sales tax on clothing, so you can save some dollars if you have clothes shopping to do(8.75% for me).

I've started doing my DS's Back to School shopping up there--they have an Abercrombie and an Abercrombie outlet and 2 American Eagle stores!

On the flip side, other than a whole Department 56 store (I have Snow Village), there aren't any stores I love that we don't have here in Chicago.

I would think that the Twin Cities in April would still be cold. If I was going to come all the way from Boston, I'd go in summer and try to enjoy some of those thousands of lakes they have up there.

 

[Disfan1]

I visited there a couple of years ago. There is also a nearby amusement park called Valleyfair that was really nice. I think the website is www.valleyfair.com if you want to check it out. If you love shopping, MOA is the place to go!

 

[WDWLVR]

We like Mall of America for long weekends.

There is plenty of shopping to be sure.

There is also Camp Snoopy which is an amusement park right in the middle of the mall.

Underwater World in the basement of the mall is also a nice diversion.

They also have a Silicon Motor Speedway if anyone is into Nascar, a game zone that has bowling and lots of other games, a movie theatre with I think at least 12 screens and lots of different dining.

There is a zoo not too far from the mall which I hear is pretty good (we've never been).

Lots and lots of hotels all around - many within walking distance.

 

[Pop Daddy]

I would rather have needles in my eye then to travel to go to a mall

 

[Serena]

No needles for me, but I'm not that into shopping. It was nice to visit once to see what everyone talked about, but that was it.

 

[ByTheSea]

April weather is a gamble. I have golfed in April - rare but it has it 80 degrees in April. I have shoveled snow in April as well.

End if April is a better weather risk, but no given. 13 out of the past 15 years we have golfed on May 1st, but the other two we were snowed out.

Valleyfair - the amusement park, will not be open yet in April, opens sometime in mid-late May.

I go to the Mall fairly frequently, whenever we have visitors, in the winter for something to do... etc. Our son loves it, loves Camp Snoopy, but personally, I wouldn't fly here just to go to the Mall. JMHO of course.

I highly recommend MN in the summertime, you can visit the Mall and lot's of outdoor activities. We do have over 14,000 Lakes don't ya know

The MN Zoo is nice, not all that far from the Mall.

 

[Kimberle]

Love it! It's a lot of fun!

There's lots of stuff to do besides shopping.

 

[Michelemouse]

Just an FYI as we were also thinking of doing this...The flights are very expensive. We couldn't find anything for less than $250 RT. To me that seemed like too much, just to go shopping for a few days but it might be worth it to you. We figured the trip would cost us at least $1000 per mother/daughter (DD and I were planning to go with a friend and her DD) and didn't think a trip of just a few days would be worth it. Again, just my opinion, it might be worth it to you.

 

[kilee]

I would do it if it weren't so far. I am addicted to shopping (I have to shop at least 3-4 times a week to be happy). It's just we have a lot of great malls and outlets within a 2 hour span that I've never really considered going 1/2 way across the country to shop. I do enjoy shopping NYC-- but that's an expierence unto itself and for me it's only a 45 minute plane ride. Usually only $40.00 each way too.

 

[bananiem]

Originally posted by Pop Daddy
I would rather have needles in my eye then to travel to go to a mall

I'm right there with you, Pop Daddy!!

Seriously, though... If you like to shop I'm sure it's great. When it first opened I was dissappointed by the lack of specialty stores. It seemed like it had the same clothing stores you could find in other malls, just they were all under one roof instead of driving across town to the "other" malls. The kids like Camp Snoopy and the Nascar thing looks like fun, if you like that kind of ride. I'd like to see the aquarium, but I'd have to actually go IN MOA and I try to avoid that! LOL!!
Do a google search for Twin Cities or Minneapolis/St.Paul. I'm sure they have a ton of stuff listed to do there. The MOA isn't that far from the downtown area. There's always somebody in concert at Mystic Lake casino or there's a bunch of theaters too.

 

[Traveliz]

I have been a couple of times - most recently last summer -- and actually it was a "bribe" or a "ok this is what we will do as a treat" after my daughter literally had NEEDLES in her eye (she had a corneal transplant.)

Anyway she is a teen and we went along with her boyfriend. Due to the bf we stayed in a suite at Residence Inn (could see the mall from there but not walk to it). There was shuttle service but we used the car (to load it up with packages.)

In addition to the shopping, there is also entertainment there (the aquarium and Camp Snoopy. There is also a large movie theatre (we broke up one day by going to see Pirates of the Caribbean after lunch).

There are also alot of themed eateries (we did Rainforest and Planet Hollywood)

The shopping was just ok (I am a huge shopper). We went to the mall the night we got there and the whole next day. The second full day we went to the mall to finish somethings we wanted but then drove to another mall.

Liz

 

[kasar]

Great responses. It seems to be the consensus that, while it's something to see, maybe it's not worth it's own trip. That's what I figured but thought I'd check with you all. I think that we'll wait until summer and possibly combine it with something else (we'll find a nice bench for DH).

The funny thing is, we probably have most of the stores around here and I hate going in them. I think I'd be disappointed to spend all that money to get there and then have to push through the same racks at American Eagle or Abercrombie that they have here! We have plenty of aquariums and zoos around here, too.

As an aside, we still don't know where to go. Any suggestions? Have you ever just walked into a travel agent without any place in mind, just to see what deals they were having?

 

[bananiem]

Well, if you'd like to do a relaxing vacation I'd go to Gulf Shores, Alabama. Rent a beach house and sit on the beach reading magazines and do some reminiscing. Just have girl time. There's also a decent outlet mall in Foley, I believe. That's just up the road. There was another charming little town but the name escapes me right now!
How old are your girls?
Oh, and I just saw San Antonio mentioned on another post. I've always wanted to go there...Alamo, Riverwalk, Sea World...