tomdar2

I have heard two rumors. One was a new compact coaster or new restaurants since they just took out two of the old ones. The latter sounds more reasonable considering that they just added two coasters and don't have a need for another one already. Although a Intamin Zac-Spin could fit in well in that spot. I was told by a ride operator that the whole thing is an American Girl store & restaurant. Two stories & 2/3 as wide as Sponge Bob. If that's true it should be out in the mall instead of in the park.

I found out from a ride operator what's going in where I thought a dark ride might be in the former location of the Stampede Steakhouse - a two story American Girl store and restaurant. Two stories & about 2/3 the width of the Sponge Bob Eurofighter. Ugh. I'm sorry, but I think that's a huge waste of space. American Girl should be out in the mall, not in the park.

It looks like there's some construction going on in the former Stampede Steakhouse, and there's a banner over the Log Chute ride that says "Future Home of Back to the Barnyard Party Animals." Anyone have any inside info?

So does anyone have any dirt on phase II? Is the Log Chute being removed? If not, why does a big banner say "Future Home of Back At The Barnyard Party Animals" above it? And what's going on in the former Stampede Steakhouse? And why does the Spongebob Square Pants Rock Bottom Plunge make disturbing squealing noises on ascent? Do all Eurofighters do this?

Anybody have any idea what this is all about?

I don't want to drag this annual pass price discussion out because the sys admins are not happy with it, but please read my post at the top of page 118 if you haven't already. You're right, it is open 364 days. That's why I compared it to the non-seasonal Disney parks instead of a seasonal park like Valleyfair, King's Island, or most Six Flags parks.

Thanks, Looty. The main PR guy called me last Thursday, and it sounds like they are at least going to re-think the annual pass pricing. Having spoken to him a couple times, and some of the folks in the park office, it sounds like they have received a lot of complaints based on the 3/12 newspaper article. Me personally, as I told the Mall folks, the pass is what brings me to the Mall. We go because my 7 year old daughter likes to ride & we come out with bags of stuff from the stores. That's a side benefit for the Mall they might be forgetting. We skipped having the pass one year because she lost interest and we just didn't go there to shop. It's the other side of the Twin Cities for us with lots of closer shopping.

When is the next phase of retheming supposed to start? Is the carousel included?

Excuse me? I was apologizing to everyone and explaining my position. How is that "beating a dead horse"? Again, I am very sorry if I annoyed anyone. Let's talk about the park and not me.

I've been on Ghost Blasters once. It was originally Mrs. Knott's Restaurant. Pretty good food. Unfortunately it was replaced by this pretty lame ride. With all the improvements I can't see them keeping Ghost Blasters. Some here have the inside scoop on these things, and I'm sure they have the answer to that.

I'm very sorry if my post has bothered anyone. It was brought to my attention by one of the other site admins that she believes that I registered simply to make this complaint. I did register today to make that post, but I have been browsing these forums for quite some time for both the Nick change and Disneyland, as well as some Six Flags/Chicago stuff last year. In hind sight I would have said things differently, here as well as the locked thread, and I certainly see how that conclusion was made. I am a bit more of a browser than a poster. My intent was not to complain. I've already done that with Mall management. The Mall PR director is a great guy. This was front page news in the local paper, and I've run into quite a few annual pass holders who were simply unaware that the price of the annual pass was going to more than double. My intent with this post was to inform people how they could let the appropriate people know they are unhappy, both at Nickelodeon and the Mall. Harassment is wrong. No one should do that, and it would probably have the opposite effect. Letting a company know you are unhappy with a big price increase is something anyone should feel able to do, and the Mall of America has always been very keen on guest satisfaction. The Mall has a very strict escort policy. Parents can't just dump their kids off, they have to be with them. Unescorted kids are rounded up by Mall security, so the price increase isn't a babysitting deterrent. Most of the ticket prices went up about 25%. With all the wonderful improvements that is perfectly justified. The annual pass went up from $110 to $250, an increase of 127%. That $250 price tag is similar to what a Florida resident is charged for an annual pass to all of Disney World (with a few blackout dates) and a southern California resident is charged for Disneyland & DCA (again with some blackout dates). Some of the Disney annual passes are as low as $140 with more blackout dates. Nickelodeon Universe is a 7 acre park. Disneyland & Disney's California Adventure together are well over 100 acres and have a lot more rides & other attractions. The math doesn't add up that the annual pass prices would be similar. The all day wristband at Nickelodeon Universe is $30 compared to $91 for one day at both Disneyland & DCA or $66 for Disneyland or DCA. There are a lot of parents here in Minnesota that are very unhappy about this price increase. Again, I'm sorry for my original post. No one is perfect, and I definitely made my intent easy to misinterpret.

If anyone wants to express an opinion on the huge annual pass price increase (more than doubled to $250, similar to much larger Disney parks) for Nickelodeon Universe, here's how: Nickelodeon Universe: 952-883-8555 Mall of America: 952-883-8800 Howard Smith, Senior Vice President, Nickelodeon Recreation: howard.smith@nick.com or 212-846-4826 Joanna Roses, Nickelodeon Public Relations: joanna.roses@nick.com or 212-846-7326 Please let them know that you would find a similar 25% increase for the annual pass, to $135, reasonable but that going to $250 like the much larger Disney parks is outrageous.

If anyone wants to express an opinion on the huge annual pass price increase (more than doubled to $250, similar to much larger Disney parks) for Nickelodeon Universe, here's how: Nickelodeon Universe: 952-883-8555 Mall of America: 952-883-8800 Howard Smith, Senior Vice President, Nickelodeon Recreation: howard.smith@nick.com or 212-846-4826 Joanna Roses, Nickelodeon Public Relations: joanna.roses@nick.com or 212-846-7326 Please let them know that you would find a similar 25% increase for the annual pass, to $135, reasonable but that going to $250 like the much larger Disney parks is outrageous.