Nickelodeon Universe / American Dream Discussion Thread

[A.J.]

I'm surprised that this coaster doesn't have a triple launch, and I completely agree that single launches are way more fun. From a practical standpoint, though, if I'm not mistaken triple launches require significantly less power than normal launches, which is why they're becoming so common. It takes a lot to move a coaster train, and launches aren't free for the parks.

Plus it's a bit of a gimmick. Saying that a coaster has a triple launch sounds a lot more impressive than just a launch.

In addition, a multi-pass launch allows for a train to reach a higher top speed in a smaller space, like on Gale Force and the Sky Rocket coasters. For coasters that want to run more than one train, a multi-pass launch with a switch track can also naturally extend a ride's duration, reducing the time that riders end up waiting on the final block section, since most launched coasters are pretty short.

[Canobie Coaster]

I was in the area, so I decided to stop into Nickelodeon Universe. It's a nice-looking park (no trees like the Minnesota one, but it's bright and vibrant) and the ride lineup should be great once everything is up-and-running.

 

I got there at opening at the place was dead. I made a lap hitting every attraction in less than 1-1.5 hours. I strongly recommended this approach since their operations are quite slow as of now. When I left midday and returned around 4 and the place was packed with families. Shellraiser was still a walk-on, but rides like Slime Streak, the swings, and the monorail had full queues.

 

I knew Sandy's hasn't opened yet (saw it test though) and that the flipping bumper cars have been down, but I was surprised Shredder and Skyline Scream were closed all day. Half-Pipe and Atom Smasher have had a lot of issues all-day, but I did get on them.

 

Last but not least, I felt very awkward there as a single adult. This is coming from someone who is fine going to Story Land or Sesame Place alone. I was asked by security multiple times why I was there alone and asked to show my ID. This happened if I took photos of any rides or they saw me alone on the midway. I know they're doing their job, but I definitely am feeling paranoid after it happened for the third time (they came up to me again while I was sitting on a park bench writing this).

[SharkTums]

^Time to rent a kid!

[Canobie Coaster]

 

I'll just drag Emily there next time once all the stores open. Bringing her to one of the country's biggest malls should be an easy sell.

[PKI Jizzman]

 

Last but not least, I felt very awkward there as a single adult. This is coming from someone who is fine going to Story Land or Sesame Place alone. I was asked by security multiple times why I was there alone and asked to show my ID. This happened if I took photos of any rides or they saw me alone on the midway. I know they're doing their job, but I definitely am feeling paranoid after it happened for the third time (they came up to me again while I was sitting on a park bench writing this).

 

That is crazy

[Canobie Coaster]

My friend from NJ said it's common this time of year for the area's malls to have guards with K9 units and bulletproof vests patrolling. So maybe that also had something to do with it.

 

I'm used to the Paul Blarts of the world back home.

[Canobie Coaster]

Water dummies typically come with a ride purchase, so I don’t buy that.

 

One thing to note though they were using S&S Sansei dummies on halfpipe when it was testing, dont know much about this, does intamin not make their own dummies or something?

 

I can confirm Sandy's was using dummies that said S&S Sansei.

[Canobie Coaster]

I threw together a compilation of off-ride footage that includes Sandy's testing as well as the three operational coasters.

 

[bert425]

nice footage.

 

the spotlights are super distracting. . kinda sensory overload when taken with all the lighting within the rides.

[Canobie Coaster]

I agree it's a very busy place with all the lights. The spotlights look better in person.

[jamesinclair]

I was asked by security multiple times why I was there alone and asked to show my ID. This happened if I took photos of any rides or they saw me alone on the midway. I know they're doing their job, but I definitely am feeling paranoid after it happened for the third time (they came up to me again while I was sitting on a park bench writing this).

 

I would ask to speak with management about this. Completely unacceptable. Its not their job to harass paying customers.

[Canobie Coaster]

^ I agree it was annoying, but from the perspective of security I understand. I'm hoping it was more due to the mall's newness and Christmas.

[AmyUD06]

Man, you were in north Jersey. You should be happy you walked out of the encounter with all of your teeth LOL.

 

In all seriousness, it has everything to do with the fact that they were scrambling for employees and hired whoever applied.

[Garet]

This isn't the only park that does it, I've heard Adventure Island in Southend UK have/used to approach adults by themselves and asked them to explain why they are by themselves taking pictures and then told them they can't take pictures because the pictures had to obly be of your own friends/families.

[Canobie Coaster]

^ I was expecting that to be a kids park, but I was surprised to see some bigger rides there.

 

Man, you were in north Jersey. You should be happy you walked out of the encounter with all of your teeth LOL.

 

In all seriousness, it has everything to do with the fact that they were scrambling for employees and hired whoever applied.

 

The security staff I interacted with were friendly. I didn't feel unsafe or anything.

[jamesinclair]

Back on page 44, we discussed the water park and what kind of pricing it would have.

 

It still hasn't opened, and no date has been given, but buried in the website I found the following:

 

Tickets:

 

$44.10 General

$35.10 Under 48"

$35.10 Seniors Discount

$26.10 Seniors Under 48" Discount

$22.50 Beach Pass

 

 

Thats....reasonable! I assume the beach pass is just for parents to lounge by the wave pool. Thats a cool policy, most places charge full admission for that.

 

For reference, Hurricane Harbor charges:

General Admission $48.99

Children Under 48" $38.99

 

And the indoor resorts in the Poconos charge $80+

 

This is all subject to change of course. At these prices, I hope to visit in late January when the kids are in school and I can go on like a Wednesday and have the place to myself.

[Canobie Coaster]

^ I'm really excited for the water park. The body slides look humongous, water coasters are usually my favorite type of water slide, and this will have heated water.

 

Here are some photos from this past weekend.

[djcoastermark]

^^ The pricing seems fair, however, are there a lot of vertically challenged seniors in the area ? I ask , because I see there is a "seniors under 48 inches" rate.

[Canobie Coaster]

^^ The pricing seems fair, however, are there a lot of vertically challenged seniors in the area ? I ask , because I see there is a "seniors under 48 inches" rate.

 

[coreyb]

I'd think the seniors under 48" is for grandparents to ride the kiddie rides with grandkids, but not any of the big rides on their own. (Sort of like how Little Amerricka has the different colored wristbands.)

[BoulderDash]

Checked out the mall last night, very impressed with this place. Arrived a little later than we hoped, but still managed to do everything in the last two hours. Everything was a walk on and didn't have to wait for anything. Shellraiser was awesome, back row is definitly better, but the wind in the front row is great. I thought the first half was ok in the front, but the potholes show a bit on the second half especially at the bottom of the drop. The vertical lift and the hold at the top is a lot of fun. Managed to get 5 rides.

 

Slimestreak was fun, trains are very small though. Restraints are not very good either. Two adults will have to squeeze in to one row. The layout is great and it was very smooth. The half-pipe was fun as well and had some good hangtime. The restraints were really good. The ride did not spin at all though, I think it would be way more fun if it did. Maybe it will in the future?

 

The flat collection here is awesome as well. Krang was easily my favorite, tons of fun and you get insanely close to the ceiling. Super fun. Atom Smasher was a surprise too, really fun ride. Air Gliders was ok, its fun but didn't seem to like it as much as the one at Luna Park. The ropes course is a highlight as well. We went straight to the top and worked our way down. Spent close to 40 minutes here, seems like an issue since the lockers are only for an hour. Could have spent even longer on it. Just this alone is worth most of the admission cost in my opionion. The views were awesome and it was cool watching Sandy test the entire time.

 

Will definilty be back in a few months when everything is open and running consistantly. The drop tower was having a netting system installed around it, lots of welders were hard at work. I'm guessing it will open once that is finished. Sandy was testing the whole time and looked pretty much ready to go. Shredder did not test at all though so not sure what is wrong with that, I am looking forward to giving that a try eventually. Overall the mall was very impressive, it is a must visit place. The water park looks insane as well, very impressive to look at. I would recommend going on a weekday and doing the twilight admission, you can easily get everything done, and the park looks insanely cool at night.

[Canobie Coaster]

^ Skyline Scream already had some netting on Saturday. I noticed in a video from yesterday that Skyline Scream was parked atop the tower. On Saturday, the vehicle was at the bottom. I know the vehicle is supposed to rotate at the top, but it the rotation wasn't working when it opened. Maybe they're trying to fix that?

 

For Shredder, I've seen a few trip reports mention the ride struggles to engage the chain which causes it to "valley". I didn't see it testing last weekend either.

[rachelmadcow]

Both times I’ve been here and ridden shredder I’ve gotten stuck at the bottom of the lift at least once. Weird since Shellraiser’s lift is like a marvel of engineering.

[Canobie Coaster]

It says Shredder is open again on the website. I just find it odd they'd have a problem engaging the lift since Gerstlauer has built plenty of spinners.

[Canobie Coaster]

Nickelodeon Universe (NJ)

 

This is a report I never thought I’d write.

 

I bet coasterbill thinks the same thing with most reports. (sorry that was too easy, but we are waiting for that next installment…)

 

Except this is because I never thought the American Dream mall would ever open. It was the joke of all my friends from New Jersey. After two decades of delays and multiple companies, it finally opened.

 

I'd like to thank all the locals who donated their tax dollars over the years to make this happen.

Good thing they opened just in time for the Christmas season...with 0 stores.

 

Granted the mall opened with absolutely no stores (a comedy in itself), but it did have a full-fledged amusement park in Nickelodeon Universe. I knew the park didn’t have everything open yet, but I found myself just 15 minutes away.

 

The mall itself felt very upscale. The design was ornate and it’s clear the focal point of this mall will be the entertainment. I can only imagine how electric this place will feel once they have everything open. As of my visit, only Nickelodeon Universe, Big Snow, the ice skating rink, and a candy store were open.

 

The mall looks very upscale with its modern design.

I was skeptical how popular an indoor ski slope would be in NY, but it seemed to be a hit! It's definitely aimed for beginners.

Say hello to the only open store.

What's another few weeks of delays after 2 decades worth of delays for the mall?

I'm really excited for this park. Heated water!

 

My first impression of the park is that it doesn’t look quite as nice as the Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America. Whereas the one in Minnesota doesn’t feel like an indoor park, this one feels like an indoor park. It’s sort of dark and has a warehouse feel to it.

 

I also find it a bit odd this park doesn’t offer a pay-per-ride option. Maybe that’s something they’ll offer once the entire mall opens, but I feel like there’ll be a lot of people who don’t want to spend a full day here.

 

This park takes security very seriously. More on that later.

It feels like a warehouse. But it's a nice warehouse.

 

In terms of rides, I missed out on several of them. I knew Sandy’s wasn’t open yet, but the park had five rides closed. That included Shredder, the drop tower, the flipping bumper cars, the wave swinger, and the unicoaster. I was disappointed, but the park was transparent at the ticket booth so I wasn’t mad.

 

Bummer to see so many rides closed, but the park was open about it.

This one stung the most.

The ride may have been closed, but at least it had this nice photo op.

It seems like the Invader Zim flipping bumper cars have been closed for months with no activity. Did anyone actually ride this?

I think SpongeBob is going to need a bigger net (and a mechanic).

 

I visited on a Saturday and the park was an absolute ghost town for the first hour. In just a half hour, I already had ridden the three operating coasters multiple times.

 

This was clutch since the park was flooded with families by mid-afternoon and the operations at this park are pitiful. Beyond the multitude of closed rides, the dispatches were glacial and the policies were inconsistent.

 

For example, on my first ride on Shellraiser, I was told I could wear my glasses since I had a strap and keep all items in a zippered pocket. Later in the day, I was told glasses weren’t allowed under any circumstances and you couldn’t have anything in your pockets. I’d love to see consistency going forward.

 

But for whatever reason, Shellraiser never had a queue. Maybe it's the multi-train operation, maybe it's the location in the back corner, or maybe it was too intense for the kids.

 

Having ridden Takabisha, I was interested how Shellraiser would compare. In general, I preferred Shellraiser. While Shellraiser’s pre-launch sequence is out in the open unlike Takabisha, the windowless walls and roof around Shellraiser made the inversions extremely disorienting.

 

After a barrel roll that might as well be a jojo roll, Shellraiser hits riders with a surprisingly powerful launch. That’s followed by my favorite inversion on the ride- a supersized corkscrew. It feels like you’re going to rollback and you get some nice hangtime. That’s followed by a funky banana roll and a fast corkscrew.

 

You then hit the brakes before climbing the vertical lift. And this is my biggest criticism- the pacing. I wish the first and second halves of Shellraiser were flipped so there’s no chance to catch your breath.

 

Shellraiser’s second half starts with an incredible beyond vertical drop. The ejector airtime is both powerful and sustained. It’s one of the best drops out there. The remaining three inversions are floaty and blend together, which isn’t a bad thing if you like that type of inversion.

 

I also want to mention this ride had a shuffle to it. There’s no headbanging, but you may get a headache. But ultimately, Shellraiser is a great star attraction for this park that does a little of everything. 8 out of 10

 

What comes up...

Must come down. But not before a 30 second pause (no seriously, it's that long).

On Takabisha, this bit is enclosed in complete darkness.

So much track intertwined.

 

Nickelodeon Slime Streak is this park’s version of the Pepsi Orange Streak. Both are high-speed, aerial tours of their respective parks. However, there are a few differences.

 

Whereas Orange Streak is manufactured by Zierer, Slime Streak is manufactured by Chance. I think Slime Streak tracks a little smoother, but the restraints are atrocious. I only had 1-2 clicks of room and I’m 5’10, 160 pounds. I think I saw at least 1-2 adults get the dreaded walk of shame per cycle.

 

Slime Streak is also a far shorter ride. It’s half the length of Orange Streak. The main reason is because Slime Streak has only one lift.

 

However, Slime Streak does feel faster than Orange Streak. There isn’t any airtime or major G-forces, but that’s what I expected. This coaster is all about the visuals. 6 out of 10

 

Are you ready to have the slime of your life?

Slime Streak does a better job circling the park than the monorail (also pictured).

Before Slime Streak, the only streak locals were used to was a losing streak by the New York Jets.

 

The final operating coaster was Timmy’s Half-Pipe Havoc. This coaster behaved exactly as you’d expect from an Intamin. It was down a large chunk of the day, but I was able to ride it once.

 

If you’ve never been on one of these half pipes, they’re pleasant rides. The launches have a nice kick to them, especially with the spinning, and you get some nice floater air on the spikes. 7 out of 10

 

Are those spikes beyond vertical or is it just the perspective of this photo?

Lap bars only too!

 

Since most of the flat rides were closed, the only one I experienced was Kraang Prime Pandemonium. And I was absolutely blown away by this looping frisbee.

 

Something I didn’t realize until after my ride is that this one doesn’t have a set program. The operator manually controls the rocking and flipping with a toggle in the operator booth.

 

And because it had no line, the operator gave us a very long cycle. The swings had sustained floater airtime, the inversions had major hangtime, and every downswing pulled some serious Gs. I actually prefer this to Great Adventure’s Wonder Woman. 9 out of 10

 

This was the only flat I rode. And I'm glad I picked this one.

 

The sleeper hit from this park was the ropes course, the Legends of the Hidden Temple Challenge. Ropes courses are nothing new at this point, but this one was quite notable. It was massive.

 

I’d estimate this complex was at least 10 stories tall. The most shocking thing about it is the fact that it’s the third tallest structure in the park. You are actually looking down on Sandy’s Blasting Bronco. If your legs aren’t shaking as you navigate some of these obstacles, you’re lying.

 

Beyond the height, this one had some unique elements. My favorites were a series of swinging vines and a rotating log. I hadn’t seen either obstacle before.

 

And this was included with admission!

 

Sandy’s Blasting Bronco was having some work done on the structure in the morning (they appeared to be grinding), but it tested consistently by mid-afternoon. The acceleration is very impressive for such a small ride. I couldn’t take my eyes of it.

 

I spy some sparks.

Intamin track is super sexy.

I can't wait until this opens. The acceleration is really impressive.

 

And that leads me to my next point- this park’s security. I felt very awkward there as a single adult. And this is coming from someone who has no qualms going to Sesame Place or Story Land by themselves. Anytime I took a picture of a ride, security interrogated me. Anytime I was alone on the midway, security asked me why I was there. Heck, I was sitting on a bench at one point and a guard asked to see my ID.

 

I know of at least one other enthusiast (also alone) who has had a similar issue here. It made me feel like a criminal. If the park takes security this seriously, I sort of wish they add a bag check as you enter the park rather than having guards in bullet proof vests and K9 units interrogating guests. And this could easily be done since it’s at the corner of the mall and only has one entrance.

 

Nickelodeon Universe is still a work in progress. But once everything is open, few indoor parks will be able to match what this park will offer.