originally posted on 11/25/2019
Photo: Matthew Kaiser. View full-sized image.
It’s a great day when an entirely new amusement park makes its debut. When it’s part of an entertainment complex that has spent 17 years in starts, stalls, ownership changes and reimaginations, it may have seemed that great day might never arrive, but it did: Friday, October 25, 2019. The public was at last welcome on that day to experience Nickelodeon Universe, a spectacular indoor theme park located at the not-quite-complete American Dream Meadowlands shopping and entertainment complex.
The expansive edifice stands at the edge of New Jersey’s Meadowlands sports complex. It’s in the town of East Rutherford, at a major highway confluence and just six miles west of midtown Manhattan. From the outside, its many shapes, surfaces and protrusions suggest the variety of attractions contained. On the inside, all anyone has seen so far are multiple levels of walkways lined with blank walls, along corridors connecting open courts. By spring, these walls will give way to an endless array of 350 shops and 100 eateries. Eventually a larger court appears, with a full-size ice rink under an atrium. Just beyond is a wall of glass, through which the breathtaking DreamWorks Waterpark was in preparation for a later opening. Signage pointing to “Big SNOW” indicates the way to an incredible indoor real-snow ski and snowboard park, to be the biggest on the continent when it opens in December. Further ahead, past the admissions center, the first colorful flashes of Nickelodeon Universe pop into frame.
The sights and sounds of this well-known universe sweep across the visual span: the giant orange Nickelodeon blimp dripping with green slime, with every color and mechanical shape whirling, trailing, flying all about. The dominant element of the scene, however, stands at the background, and it’s a magnificent tangle of roller coaster track: giant loops and swirls in purple and green, an overhead circuit of rippled steel in orange and still another massive knot of vertical curves in blue stand against a wall of windows. It’s as if the designers wanted everyone to notice these first. Yes, perhaps they finally did build one just for ACE.
Photo: Matthew Kaiser. View full-sized image.
No reason to work up to it: here’s all about the coasters.
The top thrill is to be had on TNMT Shellraiser. The initials indicate, of course, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; the ride sure-as-shell delivers. A Gerstlauer Infinity coaster, Shellraiser is an epic experience of over three minutes. It connects a zero-to-62 launch in two seconds, a 141-foot-tall vertical lift, seven outrageous inversions and the world’s steepest roller coaster drop at 121.5 degrees. The lowest inversion is the first, a prelift rollover; the highest inversions are accommodated into the building by ceiling bumpouts. The biggest of these structural extensions covers the top of the lift, halfway through the ride, which leads into a diagonal-down teasing brake slide. While inching toward the edge, riders glare through the glass toward the towering skyline of Jersey City and that of another large city behind it. When the car is finally released, the greatest visual trick of all is revealed, but no more spoilers here. Amazingly, this perfect fit of a coaster is a near copy of an eight-year-old Gerstlauer design, Takabisha at Fuji-Q Highland in Japan. The most notable tweak to Shellraiser is an additional half-degree of cutback to ensure it the world steepness record on its own. The cars (six of them) are two rows of four seats across with overhead harnesses, not terribly uncomfortable. Smoothness prevails, although the launch is quite sudden and strong. Mind the noggin.
Photo: Matthew Kaiser. View full-sized image.
Photo: Matthew Kaiser. View full-sized image.
Photo: Matthew Kaiser. View full-sized image.
Chasing the Turtles across the full expanse of its trackage is the Shredder, the longest spinning coaster Gerstlauer has built to date. (This record isn’t some dubious bit longer than the next; at 2,247 feet, it bests the next-longest spinner by 745 feet.) The Shredder is, of course, the Turtles’ archenemy, and it gives a menacing presence to the Shellraiser experience. Not only is the twisted green steel knotted all about the purple rails, but the Shredder also runs multiple cars around the circuit at once, through infinite crosses and serial near-collision points. See, this is what can be achieved when one design house furnishes two very different coasters at once: it’s a near-perfect harmonization yielding a pumped-up thrill level for riders on both coasters, not to mention spectators. It could be the greatest multiple-coaster overlay anywhere; at least it’s a shoo-in among the indoor variety.
Photo: Matthew Kaiser. View full-sized image.
Deeper into the morass of thrill machinery stands Sandy’s Blasting Bronco, a launched coaster centered on SpongeBob’s aeronautically inclined squirrel chum. The Bronco is a launched looper from Intamin, which sends the rocket-shaped train of three cars through a vertical figure eight made of a pair of Immelmanns, then a streak of two inline rolls before landing on a turntable and repeating the course facing backward. Its profile is spread across a rounded wall of windows, exposing the big blue loops to passing traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike just a swamp-hop away. Unfortunately, Sandy’s Blasting Bronco wasn’t ready for the park’s opening and still hasn’t been certified to run at the time of this writing. Neither has Timmy’s Half Pipe Havoc, an Intamin halfpipe that some readers will indeed consider a coaster, which is their enthusiasts’ prerogative. Both rides are expected to be running before the end of the year.
Photo: Matthew Kaiser. View full-sized image.
Photo: Matthew Kaiser. View full-sized image.
The last of the group is perhaps the most eye-catching on its own: the Nickelodeon Slime Streak, which towers above the midsection of the park. While the “floor” of the park is one story below the bottom mall level, the station of Slime Streak starts at a level higher, so its 70-foot lift actually draws the green slime-covered train to 120 feet overhead. The rather sharp initial drop says this isn’t your average family coaster, though, and the tightly gyrating hills and close encounters with other rides give beginner riders a good sampling of extreme.
Photo: Matthew Kaiser. View full-sized image.
Photo: Matthew Kaiser. View full-sized image.
The offering of the biggest thrill rides also includes the Skyline Scream, a turning drop tower with the tallest roof bumpout of all, surrounded by windows at the top; Kraang Prime Pandemonium, a turning pendulum ride with a full 360-degree swing; Aang’s Air Gliders, a Zamperla Air Race ride; and Jimmy Neutron’s Aton Smasher, a children’s bumper car ride. More intermediate rides, children’s rides and a couple of scenics bring the total to 21, including Legends of the Hidden Temple Challenge, a record-breaking vertical ropes course, and a play area for younger kids called Paw Patrol Adventure Bay. The creative team sought an even balance of thrill rides, kids’ rides and “everybody” rides, and that’s about what they got. Countless Nickelodeon characters appear among the attractions, both thematically and in person, from the currently popular to 90s classics. This was a brilliant move: today’s kids will connect with Paw Patrol and Dora, while Fairly OddParents, Rugrats, Blue’s Clues and, of course, the Turtles will tug at their young parents’ sentiments (and wallets).
Like it or not, the tendency to compare Nickelodeon Universe with the other two notable North American parks in a mall is irresistible. Triple Five Group, the owners of American Dream who salvaged the project from dormancy almost a decade ago, also own and operate the Mall of America in Minnesota, and its own Nickelodeon Universe, and the West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, home to Galaxyland. The latter remains the continent’s largest indoor amusement park, and the former counts the greatest number of active attractions in an indoor park — 28, compared with 25 at Galaxyland and 21 at the New Jersey Nick. Yet somehow this new American Dream endeavor seems the most packed with action and excitement.
Another point of comparison takes us to Nickelodeon Universe’s admission plans. Unlike the other two Triple Five properties, the New Jersey park is gated. Located as it is toward the end of the massive facility, rather than at the center or near-center surrounded by a shopping mall, there’s no need, or option, to walk through it. In other words, one might cynically observe, they gated it because they could. Popular response will dictate how plans and prices will have to adjust; they’ve been tweaked since opening day already. At this writing, the two-tier admission is $59.99 for a full-day general ticket that covers most rides, and a $79.99 all-access full-day ticket that adds the eight thrill rides (including three coasters). Individual ride tickets aren’t available.
Photo: Matthew Kaiser. View full-sized image.
Although the atmosphere and design integration may be perceived as superior to the two older parks, there are a very few nitpicks.
As dynamic as the overall sights of the park might be, there are some wide, flat sections of interior wall that could use dressing up in graphics, color, lighting tricks or all of those. The broadest stretch of blank is the backdrop of the Shellraiser-Shredder combo, and the stupendous light show within and along the coaster trackage should demand it stay blank. But when daylight pours into the windows, it washes out into a gray panorama of industrial metal.
Again, the ride package here is a solid variety and is magnificently integrated. Still, Nick Universe at Mall of America stands out for two of its original 1992 rides. The Pepsi Orange Streak (previously Ripsaw), the overhead Zierer Tivoli coaster, is much longer and more sprawling than Slime Streak in New Jersey; and the Log Chute has no American Dream counterpart in the form of any water ride at all. On the bright side, both Galaxyland and Mall of America have been expanded since their beginnings, so more great things could happen at American Dream in the future.
American Dream’s expanse will also welcome the Sea Life Aquarium and Legoland Discovery Center, both operated by Merlin Entertainments; the KidZania indoor family entertainment center; dine-in cinema; bowling alley; and a 300-foot observation wheel. At least one attached hotel is proposed. Timeline for completion of those facilities isn’t clear, although it should be noted that the staggered introduction of the biggest components of the project will help gradually introduce added traffic to the already-dense transportation network. A single grand opening attracting thousands or more at once could be disastrous.
Still, many impressions would lead one to think Nickelodeon Universe, and overall American Dream, has had a rough start. Beyond several rides not being ready opening day (and some up and down since), cynicism about this project has persisted among the local population since its first proposal in the 1990s, and false starts and misconceptions haven’t helped. Regional media have been brutal and blunt in pointing out the biggest of missteps. Perhaps the greatest detriment to positive public reception is the word “mall” itself; it’s tough to point out how unfairly minimalist it is to dismiss American Dream as a mere mall without sounding like an ambitious marketing rep. Or, to illustrate usage in two commonly heard sentences, “I thought malls were dying,” and “I’m not paying to park at a mall.” For now, at least, the ill-received and misreported parking charges have been suspended, although anyone with sense would note the proximity to a National Football League stadium and adjacent transit into New York City dictate that parking can’t be given away.
It should be considered, though, that the totally awesome amusement place that’s just opened wouldn’t be what it is had the project been completed as first proposed, however many years ago. It took that extra time to evolve to what was finally brought into being.
ACE members from everywhere have been following the development of Nickelodeon Universe at American Dream, and it’s a safe bet they won’t be disappointed. Some may wish to wait until the entire slate of entertainments and consumptions is open; as it is now, food and beverage offerings are limited to carts and various pop-ups along the walkways. One could imagine, after completion, spending a long vacation weekend without ever leaving the building. It sounds especially appealing in winter, but it won’t all be ready for this one. For others who know what they’re seeking, why wait? Once the last of the coasters and thrill rides is running, go for it.
More good news, ACE has already friended up with Nickelodeon Universe at American Dream. Their reps appeared at ACE Eastern Pennsylvania’s Eastcoaster event in 2019, and the New Jersey region is at work coordinating an event at the park during the coming winter.
— Mark Davidson
ACE New Jersey Assistant Regional Representative
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