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Nickelodeon Universe (MOA) Discussion Thread


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They aren't seeing the Paw Patrol in real life. They're seeing a playscape with some Paw Patrol theming, if what's suggested here is correct.

That's true, but consider that (at least this was true when I was a kid) small children like to role play / play pretend. A group of children will get a kick out playing the roles of their favorite Paw Patrol characters in a setting that supports their playtime. Apparently there have also been instances of mascot characters making appearances at certain events and shopping malls around the world, this area allows for the opportunity for a "permanent" meet and greet with the characters as well. If Paw Patrol weren't such a popular children's franchise I would totally agree with the disappointment.

 

I'm not saying that we SHOULDN'T get a ride to replace the Atomic Collider, but they could have done a lot worse with that particular space.

Yeah, they could've.

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  • 6 months later...

It looks like the waterpark at MOA is a step closer to being built. It is supposed to be the largest indoor water park in North America, and will hopefully open by 2021.

 

http://www.startribune.com/bloomington-details-plans-for-massive-indoor-water-park-by-mall-of-america/499090931/

 

ows_154094948483258.thumb.jpg.cc6c63d59069bae0362b0c7e96289fa3.jpg

An updated rendering of a 250,000 square foot indoor water park proposed in front of the Mall of America in Bloomington.

The city of Bloomington thinks it can build what could be the continent’s largest indoor water park next to the Mall of America, while protecting local taxpayers if it’s a financial flop. The city and Triple Five, the mall’s ownership group, have decided that a nonprofit should own the water park and borrow the money for its construction.

 

Documents released by the city this week offer more details about the water park, a 250,000-square-foot indoor facility that was first announced in March. It would be open to the public and cost up to $250 million, more than the $200 million proposed back then.

 

The city’s Port Authority will give an update to the City Council on Thursday.

 

“We wouldn’t be bringing this to the council and Port Authority if we thought it wasn’t going to be a success,” Port Authority Administrator Schane Rudlang said Tuesday. The city plans to choose the nonprofit within six months, Rudlang said. Construction could start in late 2019 and the water park could open by fall of 2021, according to the project update.

 

The water park would be built on the parking lot directly north of the Mall of America and east of the Ikea store. A new parking structure next to the water park would replace the lost surface lot. The land, which is owned by Triple Five, would be leased by the city and subleased to the nonprofit. The nonprofit would take on tax-exempt debt, at lower interest rates than what’s available to a for-profit company, and contract with an operator for the water park for 30 years. The city would own the water park once the debt is paid off after those three decades, and could hire a new management company.

 

Ticket sales would pay for the operation costs and the project’s debt. If sales are low, the city could impose new sales taxes on Mall of America customers to cover the shortfall. The city’s update says that “the biggest risk is probably the water park not meeting revenue expectations.” Rudlang said there was a “low risk” of that happening. He said the city would not raise property taxes to pay for the project.

 

The city could collect about $1 million annually in admission taxes at the water park, in addition to up to $400,000 a year in lodging taxes from visitors staying at surrounding hotels, the Port Authority estimated.

 

Many factors could keep the project from moving forward, including the costs of construction materials such as steel, labor and rising interest rates, Rudlang said.

 

A ‘tropical paradise’

 

The water park will create over 1,000 construction, design and engineering jobs, said Dan Jasper, the vice president of communications for the Mall of America, in a statement. Once open, it would employ up to 700 people and offer a “tropical paradise throughout the year.” The majority of the park consists of a 215,000 square-foot space for the main pool.

 

A new rendering by DLR Group shows the park with a transparent roof and connecting to the JW Marriott hotel at the north end of the mall.

 

Council Member Patrick Martin, who represents the district that includes the Mall of America, called nonprofit ownership a “clever structuring model.” Martin said he’s pleased “that it’s been a priority to make sure the Bloomington taxpayers aren’t on the hook for a project pretty much to benefit Mall of America and the surrounding community.” Martin said it’s important that the mall consider expanding into entertainment ventures as online shopping continues to grow. He still wants to know if entry into the water park would be offered to locals at a discounted rate.

 

Bloomington Mayor Gene Winstead said the city has talked about building a water park for more than a decade, and has now identified a model. “It looks like we found a viable solution,” Winstead said.

Edited by jedimaster1227
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  • 2 months later...

I heard a rumor that Pepsi Orange Streak might be closing for good sometime in 2019. Sounds like the ride might be nearing the end of its service life, which makes sense since the ride has been running year-round since 1992. This is all hearsay though so don’t quote me on that. Would be a bit sad if it closed, it’s not an intense coaster at all but it provides some nice views of the park.

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I heard that too but probably from the same source. I'm not really understanding why though. If they can keep woodies going for centuries, why can't they keep a steel coaster, which is located inside and out of the elements, going for longer then 27 years? Even running year around. Corkscrew at VF is over 30 years and no plans to remove it. Maybe just get new trains for it! Or maybe they are going to "end" the current version of it. Do a complete refurb. on it, re-theme it and re-open it with a different name. If they do remove it, I hope they replace it with a similar layout but more thrilling!

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I’ve ridden Pepsi’s sister coaster, Autosled at Galaxyland, and it would suck to lose what is essentially a park monorail in the form of a cred. But I do hope that whatever goes in its spot will be good (A Chance family coaster like Slime Streak going to Nickelodeon Universe N.J. would be a well-fitting replacement and update, or maybe the station to a multilaunch coaster that winds around Nickelodeon Universe? Let’s hope it’s not another playground...).

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There's also nothing stopping them from calling up Zierer and asking them to do a complete reconstruction of the coaster a la Incredible Hulk.

Exactly.

 

I have two words for you - Parc Asterix.

 

pacoasters.JPG.0fd017c14d760db5f03f7922bb026695.JPG

 

From 2015 to 2017, both of their Zierer coasters were completely re-tracked. Nickelodeon Universe could undoubtedly do that to Pepsi without any hassle of removing it. I mean, because it went all around the park, it's not like it took up any huge plots of land to replace with another coaster.

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I heard that too but probably from the same source. I'm not really understanding why though. If they can keep woodies going for centuries, why can't they keep a steel coaster, which is located inside and out of the elements, going for longer then 27 years? Even running year around. Corkscrew at VF is over 30 years and no plans to remove it. Maybe just get new trains for it! Or maybe they are going to "end" the current version of it. Do a complete refurb. on it, re-theme it and re-open it with a different name. If they do remove it, I hope they replace it with a similar layout but more thrilling!

 

I could be wrong here, and there are much older steel coasters still around and in fine shape, but I imagine metal fatigue may have something to do with it. Wooden coasters can last forever in part because it's comparatively very easy to replace individual pieces of wood on them; most older wooden coasters have had wood replaced all over many times. Look at something like Phoenix, and how they're replacing sections of it every off-season.

 

That's much harder to do with a steel coaster; you can't just nail or bolt a new piece of steel in to replace one that's wearing out.

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  • 2 months later...

Officials have voted in favor of the construction of the $250 million indoor water park project attached to the Mall of America!

 

363671188_1555544909_100947423bloomwater042819.jpg.203505aa5c3c7bd68d016348226d4cc6.jpg

A rendering of a proposed water park adjoining the Mall of America.

http://www.startribune.com/bloomington-presses-forward-with-moa-water-park/508730342/

 

Bloomington leaders voted Wednesday night to commit $7.5 million to push ahead with a controversial — and complex — financial plan to build one of the country’s largest water parks beside the Mall of America.

 

The proposed $250 million facility would be built on a surface parking lot north of the mall. Renderings show people sunbathing beneath a glass roof, alongside wading ponds, slides, a lazy river and a waterfall.

 

The mall proposed the water park, but its owners say the facility would not generate enough money to cover private interest rates. As a result, the city developed an alternative plan with little precedent in the state — in hopes of lowering borrowing costs while shielding the city’s credit rating.

 

Representatives for Triple Five, which owns the mall, told the City Council and Bloomington Port Authority Wednesday night that the water park would help the Mall of America remain successful amid retail closures sweeping the country.

 

“The risk of not proceeding is what’s unknown. Where do you see mall sales going, mall revenues going if we don’t transform the Mall of America?” asked Kurt Hagen, senior vice president of development for Triple Five.

 

City leaders voted unanimously to partner with the mall on a development contract to fully design the facility, which would precede final decisions about the proposal. Bloomington will pay 75% of that $10 million cost using liquor and hotel sales taxes generated in the city, which would be repaid if the water park is ultimately built. Triple Five is to pay the remainder.

 

Tax dollars could pay another $50 million in the future for a parking ramp and a skyway, as well as up to $8 million to help prepare the site, according to city estimates. And the plan hinges on raising sales taxes at the Mall of America if the park fails to generate enough money — an option authorized by the Legislature in 2008.

 

“There really haven’t been any red lights that have popped up as this thing has been looked at and studied,” said Bloomington Mayor Gene Winstead.

 

Authorities in public financing say the plan stretches the intended purpose of tax-exempt bonds, and reflects their growing use for developments closely associated with for-profit companies.

 

Under the arrangement, the city would draft a nonprofit organization whose charitable mission is “lessening the burdens of government” to borrow money for the project — possibly from an out-of-state issuer of tax-exempt bonds — and then own the water park.

 

“We haven’t seen it in Minnesota, but it is something that … has been used in a number of places,” said Port Authority President Bob Erickson.

 

The water park would be built on land owned by the Mall of America, which would then be owed market-rate rent paid by water park revenue. The city says this is necessary because of rules restricting private involvement in projects financed by this type of bond.

 

Three rating agencies reviewed how the plan might affect the city’s AAA credit rating. Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s said it would not affect the rating. Fitch Ratings said the city’s rating would be reduced slightly because its commitment of sales taxes ties the debt closely to the city’s finances.

 

Several city leaders noted that the $7.5 million comes from a fund that must be used for South Loop development projects.

 

“It is a calculated risk,” said City Council Member Tim Busse. “But it’s a wise investment of the funds that are there for that very reason.”

 

Correction: Previous versions of this article misstated the area that pays the city's hotel and liquor tax.

1017332530_1555544909_100947424bloomwater041819.jpg.6835623e66c2bea1ada2c7b6829eaef4.jpg

COURTESY OF CITY OF BLOOMINGTON, STAR TRIBUNE

An updated rendering of a 250,000 square foot indoor water park proposed in front of the Mall of America in Bloomington.

Edited by jedimaster1227
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^ I can agree with that. And now VF's approved water park expansion project will be totally blown out of the water (pardon the pun) by this behemoth before it is even built (that is IF Valleyfair builds it). If MOA/NU threw up a B&M hyper or an RMC in the parking lot next to this new water park would anyone even go to VF anymore?

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Minneapolis makes it so easy to get in and out of MoA with public transportation I'll absolutely take a quick flight up there for the weekend to escape the colder weather for some coasters, flumes, and slides. Thank you, Minneapolis!

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Hahaha, ok. Yeah, a mall twice as far from me. Good rec there.

 

I love Minnesota for the natural beauty, the friendly people, the cool summer weather that is a welcome relief from muggy Southern heat.

 

I also love New Jersey, but more in the sense that I can't look away from the train wreck happening all around me. It's an amusing and fascinating place, and I can't believe it actually exists.

 

Yeah, I'd go back to New Jersey

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