Tag Archives: Mall of America

Family Travel: A Quacking Good Time

Ernie from “Sesame Street” would be in heaven. If your kids are as enamored with rubber ducks as the lovable orange character from the award-winning children’s television show then head to Michigan next week. That’s where you will find of one the world’s largest Rubber Ducky festivals around. The village of Bellaire in Northern Michigan is holding its annual Rubber Ducky Festival from August 6-17 and is hoping to break a record by stuffing more than 5,000 yellow ducks in the Intermediate River for a quarter-mile race on August 16th. Spectators have a chance to get in on the action … Continue reading →

Family Travel: Dolls, LEGO and Blues

Could the Mall of America get any better? American Girl fans answered yes and mall officials listened. Come November (just in time for the holidays) American Girl will call the massive shopping center home. Which means your kids have one more location to blow their allowance money on the mega-popular dolls and their mountains of accessories. The new store is making headlines because, according to company execs, American Girl is very selective about where it sells its goods. Company reps say the American Girl store in the Mall of America will span 20,000-square feet, feature two stories and include a … Continue reading →

Super Summer Fun: Wet and Wild Waterparks

Today I’m wrapping up my series on wet and wild waterparks by spotlighting some of the most popular scream inducing soggy rides in California, Colorado and Minnesota. These parks prove how easy it is to get your family soaked this summer. If you are headed off on a summer road trip in the next few weeks and your car’s A/C bites the dust consider cooling off at one of the following waterparks: CALIFORNIA The hugely popular Raging Waters located in San Jose, California (about 50 miles from San Francisco) is home to more than 23 acres of wet and wild … Continue reading →

Welcome to SpongeBob SquarePants World

It’s not exactly as massive as Walt Disney’s theme parks, but parents of SpongeBob SquarePants fans are thrilled just the same. In just a few days SpongeBob wannabes will get the chance to chow down on Krabby Patties and chili kelp fries before taking a 60-foot plunge on the Splat-O-Sphere. It all happens this Saturday when Nickelodeon opens Nickelodeon Universe smack in the middle of Minnesota’s Mall of America. The standalone theme park is set on seven acres in the middle of the world famous shopping center and features nearly 30 rides, along with live performances, visits from costumed characters … Continue reading →

A Mall Worth Traveling To

Bloomington, Minnesota’s average annual temperature is about 45 degrees. But, it’s not the weather that draws millions to the area each year. Rather, visitors head to the Minneapolis suburb for another reason—the Mall of America. It was the biggest indoor mall in the country when it opened in 1992, but in the years since it has been eclipsed by shopping centers in Ohio and Pennsylvania respectively. Now it wants its top spot back. In previous blogs I’ve shared my budget-busting (yet thrilling) jaunts to the mall. I never tire of making the five hour drive from my home to hit … Continue reading →