Nickelodeon Universe Mall of America Trip Report

All set? All clear! 👌🏼 Aaron here bringing you the first ever trip report and park review for Coasters & Coffee. Today I am going to talk to you about my time at Nickelodeon Universe in the Mall of America.

Located in Bloomington, Minnesota, this Nickelodeon Universe is America’s largest indoor amusement park. The park is located in the middle of the mall, which if you’re anything like me is a great thing because I get lost in just about any mall I visit. The park features 31 attractions, this includes 5 roller coasters and several unique flat rides. Without further ado let’s take a plunge into 4 of the 5 coasters at Nickelodeon Universe in the Mall of America.

The view of Nickelodeon Universe from the third floor food court

SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge (Park rating #1, overall #22):

Rock Bottom Plunge is the main attraction at Nickelodeon Universe. It features, in my opinion, the coolest sign for any roller coaster I’ve seen (pictured above). The layout of the ride makes great use of the limited space available and the pacing for the ride is great. When I arrived at the park I made sure this was the first ride I rode. I was able to ride it in the front row and back row with no wait. After my first 2 rides I had the coaster significantly higher in my overall rankings. The ride offered great air time on the drop and a solid bit of ejector on the airtime bump after the loop. The heartline roll was well executed with great hang time. Initially it did not seem to suffer from the rattle many Euro-Fighters are known for. My plan was to experience the rest of the park and then lap this thing until I was ready to head out. Unfortunately, that plan was interrupted by my 3rd ride. After hitting everything I wanted to, I circled back to start my Rock Bottom Plunge marathon. From the start of the drop until the brake run before the station, this ride was the roughest experience I have had on any coaster. The ride was so rough I almost moved this out of my number 1 coaster spot for the park. I’ve never had a roller coaster give me a headache before, however Rock Bottom Plunge induced a brutal headache that ended my day at the park. I’m not sure what happened between my first 2 rides and my last, but it went from a joyful ride to a ride I may only ride once if I return to the park. It’s a shame, as the coaster has so much potential, but if it’s normal rides are even close to as rough as the final ride I experienced it’s a major flaw in what is supposed to be the parks marque attraction. Ultimately the lack of a better coaster kept Rock Bottom Plunge my number 1 in the park, but dropped it almost 10 spots overall in my ranking.

Rock Bottom Plunge's Entrance

Avatar Airbender (Park rank #2, overall #24):

Avatar Airbender is a standard Intamin Half Pipe, with the added charm of coming what feels like a few inches from the roof of the mall. The ride experience is enjoyable, as it is a smooth coaster and if you’re lucky enough to get spun to the top of the train when you hit the peak you’ll get some great floater airtime. The spinning ultimately detracted from the ride experience for me, as I am greedy and wanted all of that terrific air time for my self. The times I was facing outward I did not feel much airtime at all, for an airtime driven ride this is a huge detraction.

Pepsi Orange Streak (Park rank #3, overall #26):

This ride has been aptly described by many as a high speed monorail through the park. I could not agree more with that statement. It’s a great way to take in the beauty of the park (more on that later) but the ride experience is dull. The trains are uncomfortable as it’s just hard plastic seating and so you slide into the sides, or your riding partner on each turn. The highlight of the ride for me was the tunnel it shares with Log Shute, and Zierer wisely decided to have drive tires slowly move you through this section. This allows you to enjoy the outstanding theming of Log Shute, which I will discuss more later.

Avatar Airbender at the peak of the half pipe

Fairly Odd Coaster (Park rank #4, overall rank #31):

I wanted to like this coaster so badly, I really did. Unfortunately the rattle in this was as bad, if not worse, than Rock Bottom Plunge. This was the first Gerstlauer spinning coaster I have ridden and I had high hopes, especially after some surprisingly good air time on the first drop. Unfortunately that was about the only enjoyable part of this ride. The rest of the experience after the wild mouse portion was rough and diminished my desire to ride it again. The other experience I have had with compact spinning coasters have been manufactured by Maurer, which I find significantly smoother and more enjoyable.

The entrance to Fairly Odd Coaster

While this report may sound harsh so far, where Nickelodeon Universe really shines is the theming, foliage, and non-roller coasters. That last point should not come as a surprise given that it’s an indoor amusement park.

The theming in this park was exceptional. From the awesome sign for Rock Bottom Plunge to the Pizza Rama control booth on TMNT Shell Shock (pictured above), the attention to detail is phenomenal. The park has a ton of foliage, so much so that if you don’t look up for a few minutes you may forget you’re inside. It is a truly beautiful place to just walk around if you’re not into the rides. Nickelodeon Universe has a great lineup of non-roller coasters, for the sake of time I’ll only highlight a few.

The coolest control booth of all time

Log Chute (Park rank #1, overall rank #1):

Raise your hand if you thought a log flume would be the best ride in the park. Ok put it down liar. Log Chute not only was in my opinion the best ride in the park, it became my number 1 non-coaster in general. The ride is themed to a Paul Bunyan log mill and features absolutely stunning scenery. It features 2 drops, the 2nd of which is an awesome drop with a great splashdown. I had to get multiple rides on this one just to take in the theming. Log Chute is a gem and kudos to the park for maintaining it so well.

The Log Chute log mill

Brainsurge (Park rank #2, overall #9):

Brainsurge is a Chance Unicoaster of which only 8 exist. The experience is a ton of fun, as you control your rotation with a joystick. You can spin as much and as fast as you want, I had it spinning so fast I could hear people laughing as I went by. I would love to see these start to pop up at more parks.

BrainSurge, it is way more fun than it looks!

Shredder’s Mutant Masher (Park rank #3, overall rank #10):

If you’ve ridden a Chance Revolution before you’ll know what to expect. If not, the ride is a pendulum that swings while the seats spin. Despite being slightly smaller than Revolution 32s I’ve ridden, this actually felt more intense. It’s a fun ride with good airtime and great theming.

Mutant Masher reaching its peak

TMNT Shell Shock (Park rank #4, overall rank #11):

This was another ride I was looking forward to, as there are not many in the United States. I enjoyed this but was unable to get totally inverted on it which bummed me out. The ride completely lifts you out of your seat when the arm swings down which was very enjoyable.

Shell Shock's sweet entrance

Overall, I liked Nickelodeon Universe and would have loved it had my last ride on Rock Bottom Plunge not been so terribly rough. The park is aesthetically beautiful, clean and well kept. The theming is phenomenal, though I think it would behoove the park to add music at some of the rides. It was eerily quiet at some points. For a park targeting kids some upbeat or even Nickelodeon Themed music would be great. I mean who wouldn’t want the Krusty Krab Pizza song stuck in their head?

One trick I would recommend if you plan to attend the park is to sign up for the Mall of Americas insider program before you visit. It is $35 but you get a free ride unlimited ride wristband for Nickelodeon Universe, which normally cost $40 on deal days and $50 on regular days.

Nickelodeon Universe is a solid way to spend 4-5 hours on a week day as there is minimal waits for each ride. The park is charming and has some fun non-coasters, I would have been willing to call it great, but the marquee coaster lacking re-ride appeal reduces the quality of the park. Ultimately, if I was in the area again I would absolutely stop by, and hey maybe next time the coasters will change my mind!

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