Amusement Parks and American Dream

Amusement parks:

The American Dream Mall

Amusement parks are a favorite American destination. This is because they offer an escape from the everyday and offer some fun and excitement at a reasonable price. Most of the biggest amusement parks are located outdoors, but there are a handful of indoor amusement parks. The American Dream Mall, located in New Jersey, is a large entertainment center that is located indoors and offers a multitude of attractions, including an amusement park and water park, amongst other things.

The American Dream Mall is a shopping and entertainment complex comprising a Nickelodeon-themed amusement park, DreamWorks Water Park, an indoor ski slope (Big Snow American Dream), an ice rink, and a concert venue, among other things. There are about 450 retail shops and 100 dining options. It is currently the second-largest mall in America, consisting of over 3 million square feet. The amusement park is indoors and has 22 rides and attractions in total and 6 roller coasters. It opened in October of 2019 as the most expensive mall built in the U.S, costing around $6 billion. It is located in the Meadowlands Sport Complex in East Rutherford, NJ, overlooking NYC from the Hudson River. It is approximately 30 minutes from Mountain Lakes. 

The Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park consists of 5 roller coasters: TMNT Shellraiser, The Shredder, Sandy’s Blasting Bronco, Timmy’s Half-Pipe Havoc, and Nickelodeon Slime Streak. The headlining attraction is the TMNT Shellraiser, which is a Gerstauler Euro-Fighter and is the world’s steepest roller coaster. It has the same features as the Takabisha Roller Coaster in Japan. Riders are initially dropped several feet before twisting slowly into a Jojo roll (a 360° inversion). Then, they are launched 62 mph into three successive inversions before being brought to a vertical lift hill. Riders experience the sensation of plunging backward. At the top of the lift hill, riders are suspended for 14 seconds behind a glass window and experience a breathtaking view of NYC in the distance, before plummeting 138 feet into three more inversions. One could describe the Shellraiser as a shell-raising, hair-raising ride. The Shellraiser is my favorite ride because of its complexity; it incorporates inversions, launches, a steep drop, topped off by an amazing view of NYC at the apex of the ride. The Shredder is a coaster manufactured by Gerstlauer, where riders spin freely. It has a height of 85 feet and a speed of 36 mph. MLHS student Jessica Lee remarked, “I love American Dream and my favorite ride by far is The Shredder because it is thrilling but not as terrifying as some of the other thrill rides”. Sandy’s Blasting Bronco is an Intamin launch coaster where riders are launched out of the station, and navigate through several inversions. When riders return to the station, the track detaches and flips 180° around, facing riders in the opposite direction. They are subsequently launched, facing backward this time, and traverse the course once again. However, this ride has been closed every time I have been to American Dream. Timmy’s Half-Pipe Havoc is a Half Pipe roller coaster manufactured by Intamin, where riders are placed in a train resembling a skateboard and spin freely during the ride. They are launched back and forth several times between about 200 feet of track, each side having a spike about 100 feet tall with a vertical drop. When I rode this, I feared that the train would derail; the train appeared to come precariously close to the edge of the track. Nickelodeon Slime Streak is a roller coaster manufactured by Chance Rides and reaches a top speed of 37 mph. It reaches a height of 70 feet and features a twisted drop with several hills and turns. It navigates the circumference of Jimmy Neutron’s Atomic Smasher and then passes over Timmy’s Half-Pipe Havoc. This ride is more of a family coaster and is targeted at the younger age demographic. Along with multiple roller coasters, there are several other thrilling attractions or flat rides at the park. Kraang Prime Pandemonium is a pendulum ride where riders are swung side to side in multiple 360° loops. Riders experience complete weightlessness as well as hangtime; the ride hangs you upside down for several seconds. Aang’s Air Gliders is an attraction where riders loop around the center of the ride while being continuously spun in 360° loops sideways. The park also features a 125-foot drop tower named Skyline Scream, where riders are slowly rotated at the top and experience an impressive panoramic view of the NYC skyline through clear glass panels. 

The DreamWorks Water Park is the largest waterpark in North America with 20 attractions and slides. It is home to several record-breaking attractions such as the largest indoor wave pool, the largest indoor tipping bucket, the tallest indoor speedslide (Surfari Slider), a 14-story high body slide (Thrillgascar and Jungle Jammer), and the longest hydromagnetic water coaster (Toothless’ Trickling Torpedo). The waterpark also includes many other thrilling slides such as Shrek’s Sinkhole Slammer, a raft ride incorporating a huge funnel, Speeding Frenzy, an enclosed tube water slide, as well as a 40-foot wave simulator, among other things. American Dream Meadowlands also includes Big Snow American Dream, an indoor skiing/snowboarding park 4 acres large covered with 5500 tons of snow. It features 4 lifts, two of them being magic carpet lifts (A conveyor belt style lift hill).

The American Dream Mall has faced financial difficulties dating back to its inception around 15 years ago. It was just beginning to gain popularity after being opened for only a few months, when it was forced to shut down in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It reopened in October 2020, but was hindered by construction delays as well as public reluctance to patronize indoor establishments. Despite its troubles, I believe that American Dream has a bright future as it is an ideal place for a staycation, with diverse offerings and something for everyone. It already has so much to offer and continues to grow. For example, The New Jersey Hall of Fame, a 10,000 square foot entertainment and learning center, is slated to open this fall. The American Dream truly is one of a kind and helps make New Jersey a “New Jersey Dream” destination.