Opinions on Mall of America trip?

[Wampy2]

Hi,

We were thinking of taking a short trip (3 or 4 days) to the mall of america in MN. We have 2 DD's 2 & 4 and thought this might be a good place to visit with them. We saw a special on the travel channel and it looks very cool with an indoor amusement park and aquarium among other things. It's just under 3 hr plane ride which is good for their ages. Anyone have any experiences to share?

Thanks!

 

[jkovick]

I have been there. It is ok. The little aquarium and amusement park are nice. The mall is very large but many of the stores are repeats -- I think there were like 3 or 4 Claire's, etc. There were some specialty shops. Honestly though, the aquarium takes maybe an hour to see. The amusement park-- maybe a couple of hours-- at most. It is something to see-- but I don't know how much your little ones would enjoy the rest of it-- unless they are very good shoppers. It was a nice trip, but I have no desire to go back-- and I am a shopper.

 

[niks81]

Well I live here and I can tell you that you will enjoy yourself. If you have any specific questions shoot them my way

I always recommend trying Bubba Gump's and Cold Stone Creamery for dessert

 

[Jenn Lynn]

When are you thinking of going?

We like to go to the MOA for a weekend. We have not visited the aquarium yet. Plan on doing that this winter. If you like to shop that is the place to go!

We live 1 1/2 hrs. away in WI and are going to the Como Park Zoo this weekend. It looks really nice from the website. Here is a link to the thread I started yesterday: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=590199

There are lots of people from Minnesota on the boards. I'm sure they can give you a lot more details!

 

[Jodi3530]

I have heard that the children's museum is really neat I have never been there but would love to go this winter with my kids 5 and 3. Here is there web site and maybe some else could give you more details!!!
http://www.hhmi.org/coolscience/minn.html
We just took our kids to the mall of America a few weekends ago and they thought it was neat but not neat enough to spend days in it. The underwater adventures they liked but we were not sure it was worth the money.
I will second Como zoo!!!!! We enjoy our trips there!

 

[disykat]

We went and spent almost a full day there. I really can't imagine spending more time there.

 

[CindyKansas]

We went a few years ago when DD was 10, She absolutely loved Camp Snoopy. It was hard to get her to go shopping. We spent 2 nights at the Doubletree across from the Mall, so technically we had plenty of time for the mall. Ate at Planet Hollywood, which was our first experience with the restaurant. We enjoyed it.

 

[WDWLVR]

We've been to the Mall of America about 5 times and unfortunately I can say the last time we went I was very dissapointed. In the past we would find many, many unique stores. The last time we went, last August I belive, it seemed that it had turned into just another teen mall. The stores all the same ones we had near home.

Camp Snoopy is great, Underwater World is wonderful, and the choice of places to eat is fantastic. Just really disappointed that the shopping offerings have lost some of their fun.

 

[KimRaye]

Originally posted by niks81
I always recommend trying Bubba Gump's and Cold Stone Creamery for dessert

We're going for a couple nights in late July, and both these places are on our list! Other than that, I haven't been before. I'm sure my DD will enjoy Camp Snoopy and the Lego Imagination Center tho.

When were you thinking of going?

 

[KarenC]

They have a cereal exhibit too that might be fun for your girls.

 

[zen1]

Originally posted by KarenC
They have a cereal exhibit too that might be fun for your girls.

I think they took that out now.

Mall of America is a fun place to go to and I think your kids will have fun in Camp Snoopy. Another fun place to eat at is the Rain Forest Cafe, it's kind of like being at Disney in away. And don't forget to stop at the Disney Store too!

 

[HauntedMansionGeek]

Originally posted by Jodi3530
I have heard that the children's museum is really neat I have never been there but would love to go this winter with my kids 5 and 3. Here is there web site and maybe some else could give you more details!!!
http://www.hhmi.org/coolscience/minn.html
We just took our kids to the mall of America a few weekends ago and they thought it was neat but not neat enough to spend days in it. The underwater adventures they liked but we were not sure it was worth the money.
I will second Como zoo!!!!! We enjoy our trips there!

Ditto on the Children's Museum. When our daughter was small we had season passes and spent lots of time there (it was located at Bandana Square but I think it's downtown St Paul now).

Now there you could spend quite a bit of time with the little ones!!

 

[kejoda]

If your around on the the 3rd Sunday of any month the Childrens Museum is free.

The cereal place is gone now. Can't even remember what they put there now.

The Mall is a lot of fun. Don't miss the peanuts perform.

 

[ByTheSea]

Honestly, I don't know if I would plan a trip that far just for the mall, but MN is a great place to visit. Spend a day or so at the Mall and explore the rest of the Twin Cities, or get out of town a bit. We have a couple of nice zoo's, some great museums, theatre downtown, and of course many lakes and river attractions. A riverboat ride? Explore the antique shops in Stillwater, go south to Redwing, or north to Duluth etc. etc.

A lot of out of down friends and coworkers go to the Mall, enjoy it, but find much more to like about the area than just the Mall, it's rarely the favorite thing they did.

Both the Cereal Adventure and Planet Hollywood are closed. Plenty of other good restaurants, including the original Rainforest Cafe.

they have curfew's so any "teen" anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult after 5 or 6pm and on weekends, just to keep the roving groups of teens out.

and it's always PACKED on Saturdays and Sundays, any other day is preferable.

here's a good website

http://www.exploreminnesota.com/

 

[WhitneyThePooh]

I went there last summer and I had a lot of fun! Of course I was 16 at the time so I enjoyed shopping. I think your kids would enjoy the Underwater adventure it was pretty neat I got to pet little sting rays and little sharks that was pretty neat. Im sure your family would have fun there. I'm not sure how many days would be good to spend there...i think i was there about 3 or 4.

 

[LittleMissMickey]

I live less than ten minutes away from the mall, so I think EVERYBODY should come visit!

Never done the aquarium, but the little ones might like it.

I LOVE The Children's Museum downtown!

Do Camp Snoopy! It's a great reward for good shoppers, I would always behave for an extra ride!

Bubba's and Cold Stone - ya can't beat 'em!

Maybe they would have fun going around the Lakes in Minneapolis? Right in Uptown they have Lake Harriet, Calhoun, Isles, and they are lots of fun! Nice paths to walk on, canoe rentals, great picnic areas. There is some neat shopping and restaurants right around there, too. Sebastian Joe's is a great ice cream place and there is a children's book store called "The Wild Rumpus" with lots of neat animals and stuff!

PM me if you have any questions. There is always a lot to see in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

Good luck with your planning!

Ashley

 

[outstandinfarmer]

GIANT WASTE OF TIME!! I thought when I went there that there would be a lot of unique shops but it was just clothing after clothing after clothing store. I really don't enjoy shopping for clothing so this wasn't a real fun trip for us. I'd much rather go to Wisconsin Dells or Chicago. There's SOOOO much more to do. If you plan on flying somewhere and spending that much money, I'd pick somewhere better.

 

[Wampy2]

Thanks to all for your replies! My DH booked our plane tickets for 7/8-12 (Fly in Thur, Fly back Mon) With our kids being so young, we won't be doing a marathon mall day but spread it out a bit. As far as the actual shopping, I don't know how much they let us do. I assume they must have double strollers for rent. I'm definately looking forward to some yummy food! We also plan to visit the MN Zoo and maybe the children's museum. Has anyone been to ValleyFair? Now I just have to find the right hotel, I was thinking about the Country Inn next to the Mall.

Thanks again!!

 

[ByTheSea]

Valleyfair is along the lines of a six-flags type amusement park. For little kids, there are a few areas that are nice, there are some very extreme "thrill rides" for older kids/adults.

A nice outdoor event. I would hit the Mall Friday, it will be busy but less so than on Sat/Sunday.

The Minnesota Zoo and Children's Museum are good choices! Hope you enjoy your visit!

 

[WDWLVR]

We've stayed at the Country Inn and Suites across from the mall. It is very easy to walk over and they also have a shuttle. The room was nice and clean. There is a TGI Fridays and an IHop connected to the hotel. There is also an indoor pool. Very nice.