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Nickelodeon Universe / American Dream Discussion Thread


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I'd go more if they had a season pass since it's an ideal pit stop on the way down to Great Adventure or Hershey.  In my most recent visit, all of the coasters were operational and I don't think they had any downtime.  My visit inside Nickelodeon Universe went smoothly.  And security never bothered me at all for being there at the park alone.

Security did come up to me in my car and question why I was eating my meal from the food court there though (lack of seating in a busy food court wasn't an appealing place for me to eat), but that's an entirely different issue.

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1 hour ago, jamesinclair said:

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...

 

 

It's so eerie, I went president's weekend pre-covid to Nick Uni. (Only time I could go) and walking through the whole "Mall" and not seeing a single person was so weird. It didn't get busy till 1-2, I talked to other people and they were also disappointed about the whole place. (Selling cold food) I was all for this place to open and it flopped so hard. Was thinking on going again for Sandy but it's probably not worth it. I love to support places but American Dream is a no go. I would rather support a place like Casino Pier and Morey's

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People will throw the words 'casualty of corona,' if this places ends up closing down but I think stubbornness is a major factor here. When you see even Six Flags adapting to the pandemic and finding new ways to bring in money there is no reason for this park to experiment and trial new things.

It just seems with the shops, ski-slope and water park they could really try and entice people to come in and drop some money on individual rides but they've stubbornly stuck to their pricing the whole time even when it doesn't seem to work.

For example, a new park in Korea that is also struggling, Shinhwa World, completely reinvented it's pricing. We drove past a new credit on the Korean island of Jeju because we couldn't justify the cost of a full day ticket around ($35-40) for a couple of rides and potentially using up a whole day to justify the cost. Especially because the island is filled to the brim with cheap drop in tourist sites that only take an hour or two. The park realized this and now you can purchase individual tickets for just $4 a ride. An all-day ticket has now been cut to $20 to try and entice the domestic tourists who are now showing up to the island to pop in rather than drive by because of the price.

Just feels like this park could do well to entice people to 'drop-in' from all the other attractions or shops rather than trying to force people to give up their time at the other places. $75 dollars per person for half a day is just ridiculous.

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It's not going to close.

First of all, it's going to print money once people start traveling to NY again. Second of all, if I'm wrong and it loses a ton of money the taxpayers will just dump buckets of money into it perpetually forever like they've been doing for two decades now...

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9 hours ago, JJLehto said:

....Why would security bother you for being there alone? Is this another issue that's existed? 

 

 

This was a problem before the pandemic for myself and others.  I was asked for my ID a few times by security guards for being at Nickelodeon Universe alone.  This has not been an issue inside the park since it reopened from the covid shutdown.

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Did you guys read the article? Their biggest problem isn’t the entertainment - it’s the retail. 
I also think the current state of the pandemic would have people a little more hesitant going to indoor amusement parks and especially indoor water parks. A recent photo I saw of the wave pool on a weekend looked like a great way to catch COVID. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Agree that's steep....But Kalahari in the Poconos is also $129.99 for a day pass on the weekend.  It seems that's the going rate for an indoor water park in these parts - and judging by photos I've seen recently, despite the pandemic, this place seems to be drawing folks in.

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lol I mean there's really no way to justify/defend the prices. Its a simple matter of if you wanna go, just gotta accept it. 
That said I'm getting the itch bad now that I have finally finished school and have just hit freedom mode. SFNE isnt open. SFGAdv is only weekends which I am not doing, kinda thinking its time to bite the bullet and go here. Is there any hope al rides will be open/is there an up to date place to check? Like I recall the website being very non faith inspiring...if they say a ride is open, is it actually?

..........or should I just go the hour farther and brave aweekend for Great Adventure? XD  
But for real, to make up for 2020 and the fact it is there and open, I feel should go at least once. If its a let down, would not be the first time I felt cost did not justify the experience but online other times its happened.....at least time I'd be expecting it! 

EDIT: Non peak days of course (which I assume means weekdays) I aint paying the peak day price XD

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In other news, two more attractions at American Dream to miss their targeted opening dates:  Sea Life Aquarium and Legoland Discovery Center.  Originally slated for May 4th, both "won’t be able to hit that target date." says Merlin.

Quote

“There are a few different minor aspects lending to the delay,” a spokesperson for Merlin said. “At this time we aren’t getting into specifics, however we are confident we will open early this summer.”

https://www.nj.com/news/2021/04/2-american-dream-attractions-delay-opening-date.html

May the comedy of errors ever continue!

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2 hours ago, JJLehto said:

lol I mean there's really no way to justify/defend the prices. Its a simple matter of if you wanna go, just gotta accept it. 
That said I'm getting the itch bad now that I have finally finished school and have just hit freedom mode. SFNE isnt open. SFGAdv is only weekends which I am not doing, kinda thinking its time to bite the bullet and go here. Is there any hope al rides will be open/is there an up to date place to check? Like I recall the website being very non faith inspiring...if they say a ride is open, is it actually?

..........or should I just go the hour farther and brave aweekend for Great Adventure? XD  
But for real, to make up for 2020 and the fact it is there and open, I feel should go at least once. If its a let down, would not be the first time I felt cost did not justify the experience but online other times its happened.....at least time I'd be expecting it! 

EDIT: Non peak days of course (which I assume means weekdays) I aint paying the peak day price XD

They are very transparent at the gate which rides are closed.  All of them were open in my last visit.

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$115 to visit the indoor waterpark?

the recently opened Kalahari in RoundRock Texas - billed as America's largest indoor waterpark wants THIS much:

image.png.d4ec9e1b218bd7d471fbd8e93b9d5a82.png

and $40 more if you want to include a stop at Tom Foolery's (their version of Dave & Busters, basically)

to which I say:

200.gif

 

 

oh, and remember, regardless of the freak Feb. Ice/snowpocalypse?  it's TEXAS. .and Schlitterbahn is less than an hour away, for *literally* 1/4th of the price:

image.png.1ea7664fb4432b3cee609d42cf55fca9.png

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^ It was expensive when I visited that Kalahari back in November, but it was less than half that.  I also visited on a weekday and the place had just opened, so I'm guessing not many people knew about it.

I can understand why a place like Kalahari jacks up the rates to keep crowds low for the hotel guests.  The DreamWorks Water Park is a bit of a different story since it's not attached to a hotel.  But if they can reach the crowd levels they want charging those prices, all power to them.  I only visited once.  I loved the park.  But I went on a weekday when I was one of like 50 people in the whole park, so it felt like I had the place to myself.

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^ I also suspect they are taking advantage of Schitterbahn not opening for season until May. .    so perhaps those prices will drop a bit once they have the head to head competition.
(as noted tho, right now, with taxes, Schlitterbahn on opening weekend is $42 for entry)

but $150 for a waterpark is insane.

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Yeah pricing for those Kalahari and Great Wolf Lodges etc aren't really a fair comparison. $150 a day is steep, but a room for $300 a night which includes 2 days of access for a family of 4 isn't to bad. That's the game they're in.  

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^ per the Mall's website, it's really only going to be $2 to park ($10 if you valet). 

*with of course the disclaimer that prices can change without notice.

https://www.americandream.com/parking

but really.. 1st 2 hours are free, and after that $2 ?  that's not bad at all, and can't imagine anyone would complain - which of course means some will.


Personally, I think the park is way overcharging for tickets (both for the amusement and waterpark sides).  but a $2 parking wouldn't scare me away if I were going to go.

image.png.470ffb3fba63fabd5a0f8d3c96175282.png

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  • 2 weeks later...
1 hour ago, jamesinclair said:

Pissing people off in an attempt to make $2 a pop while half your mall is empty doesnt seem smart to me

Welcome to American Dream NJ, where all logic goes straight out the window.

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1 hour ago, jamesinclair said:

Pissing people off in an attempt to make $2 a pop while half your mall is empty doesnt seem smart to me

Really? The first two hours are free. Surely $2 isn't pissing anyone in NJ off more than they usually are. Isn't a New York City $2 to a New Yorker like a quarter at the parking meter is for me in the Midwest? Sounds like an intelligent business decision to me.

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A $2 parking fee in the NYC metro area is very small, but the existence of a such fee at all is an extra psychological barrier I certainly wouldn't want at my mall struggling to find tenants.

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