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jamesinclair

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  1. Visited the mall for the first time in 2 years last Saturday MALL Surprisingly crowded. Like mid 90s heyday crowded. The line at Primark looked like black friday. But oddly, retail is still like 50% vacant so lots of dead areas even though there are plenty of customers. A lot of mall mainstay stores are still missing. They could also use a Barnes and Noble. The luxury area is sad. Like 15% occupied. The first floor has seating, but very hard to find a bench on floors 2 and 3. Bathrooms good. Theres an Hmart, which is nice. Picked up some stuff on the way out. FOOD I thought there were supposed to be like 4 food courts, but I only saw one that looked full (both crowds and store fronts). There was also a "food hall" area that was confusing and badly designed. A Hasbro Arcade that was supposed to open last year is there but not open yet. Says Spring 2023. The 3rd floor has the sit down places. We ate at Yardhouse and there was a 20 minute wait. Aside from that, theres an Italian Place, Peruvian, and Mr Beast. There are coming soon signs for 5 or 6 other restaurants. Once they open it will be a good selection. Some random snack places (cinnabon, dunkin) are located in random places Missing a Cheesecake Factory because IMO every large mall is supposed to have one. ENTERTAINMENT Theres no movie theater or arcade (yet). I recently went to a Round1 Bowling and Entertainment in Texas and was amazed. The mall could use that. The Legoland and Aquarium looked popular, but theres no way to see in to have an idea about the size or how crowded they are. The two minigolfs look really sad. Theres an escape room, and I looked at their website. You can see what slots are available and based on that, they were doing good business. Skating Rink was a lot emptier than what I anticipated. I didnt check the pricing. THEME PARK. Last time I went, you couldnt get in without paying, so I didnt. This time, you can walk right in, which is fantastic. No security or anything which is great. Was able to take photos without being harassed, which people on here reported was an issue previously. We enjoyed walking around. Everything is close together so the walkways in some sections were crowded. The rides are well laid out, except for one that is in the walkway (you can tell by the floor pattern). That being said, many of the rides appeared to have no line. Most of the customers appear to be small kids going to the kiddy rides and/or families just taking pictures with the character statues. Even though the park was pretty full (comfortably, not suffocating) they dont appear to be doing brisk business. I didnt look for it, but there was no obvious ticket sales mechanism or pricing. Im surprised they dont have more boardwalk/carnival games to make money. I didnt ride anything due to time. WATER PARK. They still make it hard to look in, with the large glass windows having stickers that block the views. Thats a stupid design decision, dont you want to entice people? The pool looked crowded, but not terrible. Much better than Six Flags water park. But if I go I rather go on a weekday. They have a "season" pass on the website thats a good deal, but it mentions blackout dates, and yet I couldnt find those listed anywhere. I wonder how pricing/demand will change with the Atlantic City one that just opened. SKI HILL Looked....pretty empty. I thought it would be packed due to the weather as a way to beat the heat. I want to go. Ill probably take a day off work in August and try it. The Yardhouse has windows looking into it, although lots of condensation. Theres a hallway and coffee shop with good views. When I came two years ago, it was impossible to look inside. Overall....mixed bag. If you ask the average NJ person about American Dream they probably think it's a ghost town. Thats not the case at all. Things are simultaneously more crowded than what I expected and also emptier. Part of it is due to bad design of the mall. Many of the amusement areas and larger stores are really big so they can swallow large crowds easily making them seem empty, but the main hallways are narrow which makes sections feel overcrowded in a bad way. The high retail vacancy is still a bit of a bummer. I feel like they should pivot to make floor 2 outlets lol.
  2. Does the pay per ride system mean you can now walk through the park to take a look without riding anything? When I went a year or two ago, they basically had the theme park hidden behind temporary walls and you couldnt even get close, which is a super idiotic way to generate interest
  3. Th challenge is building it in a way no one can see it because thats their current business strategy.
  4. I laughed when I saw this post and then the one about them having $800 left in the bank The fact that most of the promised restaurants havent opened is the biggest red flag IMO. Also they still dont have an online map, as theyre still trying to hide all the empty areas
  5. Great. I see they have a store parking lot with its own entrance. Plan would be for no more than an hour. At least, thats what the google satellite shows. Anyone know if the construction changed that?
  6. It looks like the weekend of July 24th, we're going to be driving past the park. Unfortunately, wont have time to actually enter the park, but was wondering about the logistics of just visiting the Hersehy store and the free ride inside the store. I see on the website you need to reserve a time and all that, but Im wondering more about the getting in and out aspect. Is there a way to just park for the store without paying for the day or getting stuck in any lines of cars of people going to the general park? This would be a quick pit-stop on a much longer drive, so cant afford to waste too much time. Would probably be around 11am.
  7. The ride doesn't support squishy dummies? Chris Christie will be upset! I'll be in the Showcase theater at 5 and 7pm folks.
  8. Great video. Did they get new leadership? Im glad to see they changed their landscape strategy from from "lets theme everything as a hot concrete wasteland" to "shade is good"
  9. Pissing people off in an attempt to make $2 a pop while half your mall is empty doesnt seem smart to me
  10. I havent been in 8+ years, and am considering going this summer with a friend... The catch is, my friend is large. 350lbs large. Is there a point in attempting this? Will there be enough rides they will be allowed on to?
  11. I was just looking at the mall directory map and was shocked by how few stores there are. Theyve resorted to listing both (3?) floors of shopping on a single image to make it seem more full than it is...
  12. Wow thats incredibly disappointing. For reference, the 5th Ave one is 27k and the Santa Monica one is 45k. I was hoping thered be a massive one here so I could visit the mall. Havent bought clothes in over a year at this point. Obviously Id swing by the theme park LOL
  13. Havent been to this park, but arent water parks traditionally staffed by 16 year olds?
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