Having lived in Minnesota for about 2 years, I
naturally made the trip(3 times) to the Mall of
America. Being from New York originally, I’m used
to architecture on a’grand scale’ but somehow,
I wasn’t prepared for this!
Yes, it’s a mall. Yes, it’s a tourist attraction
and Yes, it’s a tourist trap but it has to be seen
to be believed.
The mall itself is located in Bloomington, MN and
built around an amusement park(Camp Snoopy) that
features about 25 rides, including a roller coaster.
The amusement park itself takes up 7 acres!
If the amusement park is too wild for you, how
about a round of miniature golf on Golf Mountain?
The mall also features Underwater Adventures, a
full fledged aquarium where you can actually touch
a shark. Not into fish? Try the Lego Imagination
Center. Sit and build your dream project among
hundreds of thousands of Lego blocks or just
stare in wonder at the Lego blimp. Built out of
close to 140, 000 lego pieces!
There are approximately 450 stores and shops, 14
movie theaters countless restaurants and food
kiosks. They claim to have 22 sitdown restaurants,
27 fast food chains, 34 specialty food stores and
8 nightclubs. I say they’claim’ these numbers,
simply because I’ve never counted them.
Shopping among some of the better known stores
Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s. Sear’s, Nordstrom’s etc) is
always fun, but walking the mall and’discovering’
new and different shops is more to my liking. I can
go to Macy’s etc. anywhere.
People from all over the world can be seen strolling
the mall. If you have youngsters, you can rent a
stroller for the day($3.00 fee+$1.00 deposit).
Can’t get around too well? You can get a Wheel
Chair. It’s free(but you’ll need a$5.00 refundable
deposit).
Parking is available and free. They have accomodations
for approximately 13, 000 cars within the mall. Overflow
parking is also available.
Yes, it’s still a mall and only a mall but it covers
4.2 million square feet of space. People watching is
fun and almost anyone can find something to interest
them. I highly recommend at least 1 visit for the
whole family.
My tips for visiting this particular mall are:
1- Have enough time to stroll and see as much
as possible
2- Bring lots and lots of money
3- Wear comfortable shoes
Hope you enjoy your shopping experience at the
Mall of America.