Mall of America

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Address: 60 East Broadway, Bloomington, MN, 55425
Upcoming Events: Jump to Mall of America Events

Mall of America is Minnesota’s national claim to fame. As the number one tourist attraction in the state, it gets nearly 5 times more visitors the second most popular destination. While we locals are proud of our acclaimed arts community, our award-winning park systems and a host of cultural opportunities, anyone outside our metro area will point to Mall of America. After all, it is the nation’s largest retail and entertainment complex and regularly hosts celebrities, performances, charity events as well as product launches, book signings and movie premieres.

Family fun Twin Cities' Guide to the Mall of America - floor by floor - Title backdrop Pineapple Poppers ride at Nickelodeon Universe in the Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota
Family fun Twin Cities’ Guide to the Mall of America

Nickelodeon Universe at Mall of America

Nickelodeon Universe is the 7-acre indoor amusement park located at the Mall of America. It features all-ages fun from a Blues Clues toddler play area to thrill rides for older kids, teens and adults.

When your kid comes home from school and says: “Why don’t we ever get to go to the Mall of America” and you think: “We were just there a few months ago,” what they actually mean by “Mall of America” is Nickelodeon Universe. To kids, the Mall of America and Nickelodeon Universe are synonymous.

rollercoasters, east entrance
Image courtesy Nickelodeon Universe

Family-friendly entertainment

The indoor theme park hosts entertainment and character meets through the year, sometimes in conjunction with the greater Mall of America. Nickelodeon often hosts FREE TODDLER TUESDAY EVENTS where kids can meet characters from their favorite shows. During Toddler Tuesday, little kids get a cheaper unlimited ride pass that covers all the tot rides and parents can ride free as a chaperone.

The park also has holiday-related entertainment. Particularly look for Halloween activities in October and kid-friendly New Years Eve activities.

Nickelodeon Universe tickets & discount

There is no admission fee to visit the park, but individual rides are priced on a point basis, with the cheaper rides costing around $4 and the more expensive rides just over $8. These prices are subject to change due to traffic patterns, so use this list as a guide, but check the website prior to visiting. Because this is a tourist attraction, rides can be a bit spendy, but there are ways to get tickets for less.

  • Start with their special offers page.
  • Packages can often be purchased that include other MOA attractions like Flyover America or Sea Life.
  • Military IDs get $10 off for up to 4 wristbands
  • Visit after 5pm and buy Nickelodeon Universe discount wristbands for only $29.99
  • Toddler Tuesdays offer a special toddler wristband for discounted junior rides
  • Check with your employer, they may offer corporate discounts as one of your perks. If they do, you just need to enter your corporate code when ordering tickets.
  • Whip out your AAA card
  • Costco offers discounts. I was not able to verify this online, but it’s definitely worth checking out if you have a membership.
  • Check Subway restaurants I see discounted coupons there often.
  • Groupon has been known to offer half-price Nickelodeon Universe One-Month Passes
  • If you are 16+, go to work for the park. Employees get free tickets.
Unlimited ride wristbands work like an all-access ticket and are available and priced according to peak and non-peak days.

  • Any Day Unlimited Wristband $44.99
  • Non-Peak Unlimited Wristband $39.99

Nickelodeon Universe attractions

Rides range from 3pt rides to 6pt rides, with the smaller point rides usually being most appealing to the smaller kids. Find all the current rides here. Since we are not tourists and can visit more often, another budget option is to limit the kids to one ride per visit.

While there are plenty of roller coaster thrill rides for big kids and adults, these rides will appeal to the younger kids. In my experience, as an adult chaperone, I have been allowed to ride with my little ones for free on some of these kiddie rides. I don’t know if this is an official policy or a judgment call by the ride operators. I would recommend taking little kids on less busy days:

  • Back at the Barnyard Hayride
  • Backyardigans Swing-Along
  • Big Rigs – Car ride for kids 3-feet and up.
  • Blue’s Skidoo – Ride a giant Blue or Magenta from Blue’s Clues
  • Carousel Merry Go Round
  • Crazy Cars Bumper Cars
  • Diego’s Rescue Rider
  • El Circulo Del Cielo – A Dora The Explorer themed Ferris Wheel
  • Ghost Blasters – haunted house/shooting gallery
  • Guppy Bubbler
  • La Aventura De Azul
  • Log Chute
  • Paw Patrol Adventure Bay – Toddler Playground
  • Rugrats Reptarmobiles
  • SpongeBob SquarePants Pineapple Poppers
  • Swiper’s Sweeper
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles themed – Shredder’s Mutant Masher
  • Wonder Pet’s Flyboat

If smaller kids require a chaperone (usually because of height) chaperone rides free.

Birthday parties at Nickelodeon Universe

Birthday party packages for the park include a free wristband for the birthday child. You choose between 3-hour wristbands and 5-hour wristbands. You must purchase at least seven wristbands.

East Entrance of Nickelodeon Universe
Image courtesy Nickelodeon Universe

Nickelodeon Universe can be a fun family splurge outing any time of the year. With rides and entertainment for all ages and plenty of restaurants in the mall, you can keep busy without ever leaving the Mall of America.

Upcoming Family-Friendly Events


Fun Past Events We Hope to See Again


Please Note: FamilyFunTwinCities.com is an independent website run by Twin Cities families for Twin Cities families. We attempt to include the information we find most essential as parents. We make every effort to keep up with changes. However, we are not employed by or connected to this venue, and information sometimes changes without our knowledge. We recommend calling or checking the venue’s website for up-to-date information.

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