Midgetman82 Posted May 4, 2012 Posted May 4, 2012 (edited) I'm a few weeks late on posting this here, but I guess better late than never, right? I sure hope so. Anyways, Spring Break was around the corner and this Kentucky teenager didn't make any plans with his family on what to do. When the question on what should we (as in my dad and I) should do popped up, I 'suggested' Mall of America as a choice. My dad then booked round-trip for us to fly to Minnesota and back within the same day. As crazy as the idea sounded, it couldn't have worked out more perfectly! April 5, 2012 5:00am we woke up and caught our flights. Soon we landed and had a Taco Bell breakfast. At 10:00am, we boarded the shuttle train that lead straight out of the airport and into the mall. You see those red poles in front of both trains? You see the red pole that almost got ran over by the train? We were on that train. The entrance wasn't as grandiose as I had imagined, but that was probably because we came in through the bac- err, I mean the super-secret V.I.P. entrance All of the rides opened at 10:30am, and it was about 10:15 at the time My dad backed out on riding the rides, and got me the wristband Obligatory self-portrait Fairly Odd Coaster. First ride I rode, and my first Gerstlauer spinner. Would have been better if I was not riding with two random kids sitting opposite of me. I would have marathoned it all day if they installed on-board speakers and played "My Shiny Teeth and Me!" Then, I rode what has to be the best compact steel coaster I've ever been on. Totally insane, and I LOVED it! Next up was the record holder for the longest coaster train in America (Well, it ties with Jaguar at KBF) TMNT Shell Shock was closed during my visit. I guess I'll have to come back some day to ride it. Oh Well. More photos of this ride later. Next ride, fire benders versus air benders in this Intamin Half-Pipe coaster. First time on one of these too, and it absolutely rocked! So much hang-time! Next, I saw something even more disappointing than Shell Shock's closure. The carriages to Brain Surge were completely removed. I was really looking forward to trying this thing. This gave some good butterflies on each drop Within the queue for Splat-o-Sphere I then checked in with my dad, switched to my normal lens, and walked back to Shell Shock. It would take a few words of encouragement to get me on this thing... Instead, I opted for Rock Bottom Plunge for the second time! *ahem*... nerd shot. I'll attempt to spare you the plethora of RBP photos. I've never really been to a place that would be enjoyable for, literally, ALL ages. Perfect temperature, plus amazing rides, plus not having to leave to get good food, plus... well, many things I can't think of right now. In short, I just can't stress how amazing I thought this park was! Second time riding this. Got more spin from this ride, which made it a heck of a lot better. Soon, my dad (red short, orange backpack) and I did a lap around the mall. The shopping was interesting to say the least. It was nothing special to me though since it's just a big mall. This pizza was disgusting. Too much bread, and it was a little cold. It was hard to finish it. The only stores we stopped into was a gift shop and a Best Buy. My dad refused to believe that these giant things were made out of Lego Bricks! Is he a fool? By now, I knew my way around the mall. Does this count as a credit...? After our mini adventure circling the mall, I got the chance to hit a few more rides. This time, I rode RBP twice! It was virtually empty before I toured the mall, but then the lines got longer. Still, the waits weren't bad afterwards. 2 trains in one shot: Check! Soon, the time for us to go back home came close. So, I got a photo in front of my favorite indoor roller coaster before we started heading out. Note: I didn't wear the jacket the entire time since it was nearly 80 degrees (Fahrenheit) inside. All in all, it was a great experience that I would be have again! Thanks for reading through this trip report. If you'd like, I have a few more videos you could view on YouTube: *Shell Shock (Closed) Shark Costume Scare! Coaster count: Fairly Odd Coaster: 1 Spongebob's Rock Bottom Plunge: 4 Pepsi Orange Streak: 1 Avatar Airbender: 2 Edited May 5, 2012 by Midgetman82
simon8899 Posted May 4, 2012 Posted May 4, 2012 More malls should add some nice rides.... Great TR! Gerstelauer puts alot into their Eurofighters - but still have to get onto one with their new lapbar-only restraints....
Midgetman82 Posted May 4, 2012 Author Posted May 4, 2012 I can agree. The ride is actually kinda rough in the front seats, but rough in an enjoyable way... If that makes any sense!
Werner Posted May 4, 2012 Posted May 4, 2012 Looks like a great family-fun park. One day i will visit this park May i ask what kind of lens is on your camera, the pictures are curved. I'm not a big fan of this wide-angle lenses myself.
Midgetman82 Posted May 4, 2012 Author Posted May 4, 2012 It's a Rokinon 8mm Fish-Eye lens. I felt like trying something different for a change, and I really liked how it turned out. But that's just my opinion!
Coaster Curt Posted May 4, 2012 Posted May 4, 2012 This is one of my local parks, Valley Fair being the other. It is nice to go in the winter and still get that coaster fix when needed.
805Andrew Posted May 5, 2012 Posted May 5, 2012 Nice TR! One of my friends was just at the Mall of America yesterday and he did all the rides there too.
XYZ Posted May 5, 2012 Posted May 5, 2012 Really good trip report! I now want to fly from CA to MN to go here. The closest things Californians have to this is the Adventuredome but that's far from how good Nickelodeon Universe is.
palmerleeberry Posted May 5, 2012 Posted May 5, 2012 I enjoyed your Mall-O-'Merica photo trip. I was there in 2009 during my mid-America road trip in which I also visited Valleyfair that was nearby. I also played on their minature golf course and picked up a pita colada drink from Orange Julius before heading back to the motel. At least you and I had something in common with Shellshock and Brain Surge - I didn't ride them either because they weren't at the park during my visit. Great photos of the coasters, but I didn't see one photo of the Log flume, which I thought was a great ride. I f I ever go back, I'll try to visit a few more stores. One more thing: sorry to hear that you had a bad lunch, so next time eat out at Ruby Tuesdays (that's what I did before I began riding those rides). Then after all that riding and feeling thirsty, get a pita colada from Orange Julius before going. You can thank me later! "And don't forget to visit your pillow every now and then. You can thank me later on that!"
Midgetman82 Posted May 5, 2012 Author Posted May 5, 2012 ^Thanks for the advice! I'll be sure to use them on my next visit whenever that may be! And I visit my pillow plenty of times! Oh, and I do have this photo of the log flume. The turn before the big drop. I should have ridden this thing now that I think about it.
cckoman Posted May 6, 2012 Posted May 6, 2012 Rock Bottom Plunge is such a suprise the first time you ride. It is a really cool roller coaster considering it is inside a mall. Great photos!
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