When the American Dream Mall first opened in 2020, there was nothing that I wanted to experience more than Nickelodeon Universe. As an avid roller coaster and theme park enthusiast, as well as a fan of hit Nickelodeon shows such as SpongeBob and Fairly Odd Parents, I could not wait to visit the first local theme park. Recently, I went with my brother-in-law Baruch to the local theme park where we conquered all of the major attractions, multiple times.
There are many ways to go about your experience at Nickelodeon Universe. You can opt for the winter season pass, allowing unlimited visits through February 29, 2024. Alternatively, there’s the all access pass, providing entry for an entire day, or a discounted twilight admission pass for the last two hours of each day. Additionally, there’s the points pass, where you pay for each ride individually. If you prefer not to go on any rides, it’s entirely free to walk around the park. Each option has its perks and all are great options.
Personally, my first few visits to the park were just walking around with my wife, Ahuva, without trying any rides. Especially at night, the park is beautiful to look at with all of the rides lit up in different colors and the night sky viewable through the see-through roof.
The first time I rode an attraction was last summer when I visited the American Dream Mall with some friends. I purchased enough points from the points pass to experience the park’s most intense coaster, TMNT Shellraiser, which reminded me of Fahrenheit at Hersheypark. The coaster is entirely green, matching the color palette of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (“TMNT” for short), hence its name.
The ride begins with a quick launch from a standstill to over 62mph in just two seconds, followed by numerous corkscrews, loops and an airtime hill. It then ascends a steep chain lift, reaching a height of 141 feet. Once at the top, the ride performs a fakeout dive for a split second before stopping completely. For the next 20 seconds, the ride stands still at the top, offering breathtaking views of the New York skyline through see-through windows near the ceiling. Finally, the cart plummets at a staggering 121.5°, the world record for the steepest drop of any coaster, and then twists, flips, and drops at a roaring speed. It was absolutely incredible and ranks among the best roller coasters I have ever ridden. For any roller coaster enthusiast visiting the mall when TMNT is open, you need to buy the points pass to try it as soon as possible. The thrilling ride is nearly three minutes long and is well worth the price.
Flash forward to a few Sundays ago; this time when I was with Baruch and we used the all-access pass to try everything the park has to offer. To enter the park, an escalator takes you down so it feels like you’re “leaving” the mall and entering a new universe. While on the escalator, we got breathtaking views of the whole park and saw numerous giant roller coasters, spinning rides, arcades and the iconic orange Nickelodeon blimp dangling from the ceiling. The temperature in the park was perfect, feeling a little breezy but still comfortable for walking around in short sleeves.
Pro tip: while getting our all-access wristbands, one of the employees told us that if we purchase a Nickelodeon pin that costs around $10 and spot an employee with a special SpongeBob pin, we could trade our regular pin for that SpongeBob one. Once you get this SpongeBob pin you can trade that in for an all-access band to use anytime. So be on the lookout for that SpongeBob pin on employees’ sashes!
I had told Baruch all about the epic TMNT coaster, but it was unfortunately closed on the day of our visit so we did not get to ride it. Additionally, Sandy’s Blasting Bronco, a blue steel coaster that several employees said was their favorite ride in the park, was closed. However, everything else was open. Before we did a ride though, on the center stage where shows often take place sporadically throughout the day, we saw the legendary SpongeBob Squarepants himself (well in a costume but still) posing for pictures with guests. Baruch and I rushed in line to meet him and soon after got a couple of cute photos with him.
Our first ride together, The Shredder, ended up being my favorite of the day. The Shredder is a purple coaster that is also the world’s tallest and longest free-spinning roller coaster. Basically, the entire ride consisted of a ton of drops and turns, like a mouse trap, while spinning the entire time. However, while it sounds dizzying, it was one of the smoothest coasters I have ever ridden, and like TMNT, it was a very long coaster with nearly 3-minutes of track length. The Shredder is a villain from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle series and they had a large Shredder statue at the front of the ride for intimate guests.
Next, we did another roller coaster which ended up being Baruch’s favorite ride of the day, Timmy’s Half-Pipe Havoc. This ride was themed around Timmy, Cosmo and Wanda from Fairly Odd Parents. This coaster looked like a giant “U,” similar to Possessed at Dorney Park, and the cart was on top of a giant surfboard. The surfboard was half green and half pink, representing Cosmo and Wanda’s signature colors, and had two spinning circles with six seats on each side. The ride was a half-pipe coaster which means the coaster accelerates back and forth up each side of the “U.” This was my favorite half-pipe ride because the rotating seats added some thrills and each time it reached the top of the half-pipe, it felt like we were about to run through the ceiling, which was exciting. I appreciated the well-designed theming of the ride with little tidbits from the show, like a copy of Da Rules book from the show by the entrance.
We then did the last coaster open, Slime Streak. Much to Baruch’s and my dismay, there was no actual slime on this ride; instead it was a pretty standard kid-friendly coaster. The track was orange, like the Nickelodeon logo’s color, and the opening takeoff and drop were faster than we expected. It felt similar to the start of Nitro at Six Flags, albeit much smaller and shorter. Still, we enjoyed it and would recommend it for kids because it’s on the more moderate side.
With the roller coasters conquered, we then rode many of the other standard attractions. First, we rode SpongeBob’s Jellyfish Jam, a swing ride featuring a giant jellyfish with swings as its tentacles. Next, we did the most nausea-inducing ride of the day, Krang Prime Pandemonium. Krang is another villain from TMNT and the ride was a pendulum swinging ride that went back-and-forth going higher each time until it flips upside down multiple times. Oh, and it spins around the entire time. I found it very intense, but Baruch loved it and insisted we do it again later. Then we did Aang’s Air Gliders, which was identical to Atlantic Aviator at Coney Island, but it was themed around Aang from Avatar, the Last Airbender. Each cart looked like a hang glider from the show and the ride spun around in a circle like a merry-go-round while continuously going upside down. The seat’s bars were a bit painful and Baruch and I agreed it was our least favorite ride of the day.
The last new attraction we did was Skyline Scream. This ride is the world’s tallest indoor drop tower. It traveled up 125 feet and once at the top, stopped for around 40 seconds to give spectacular views of the New York skyline. Unfortunately, it was cloudy when we went so we couldn’t see too far out, but still, it was very nice. Then, the ride free falls at breakneck speeds, giving a lurching sensation in my stomach, which I enjoy. Because Baruch and I had so much fun on this ride and there was a very short line, the ride attendant let us stay on and ride it again.
After around three hours in the park, we rode some of our favorite rides a second time, including The Shredder two more times over the next two hours.
Towards the end of the day, there was a parade and dance party featuring several of our favorite Nickelodeon characters like Patrick, SpongeBob, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
We then explored Paw Patrol Adventure Bay, an excellent playground designed for younger children. Baruch, a father of two toddlers, was impressed by how exciting it looked and told me he wanted to return with his family, intending to purchase the points pass (6 points—$12 per person) to grant his kids hours of fun for an affordable price. Adults don’t have to pay to supervise, making it an enjoyable and cost-effective family activity for parents with small children.
Overall, I highly recommend checking out Nickelodeon Universe, even if you don’t enjoy thrilling rides. There are more than 30 attractions to do and there is something for everyone. Since it is free to just walk around, it makes a great date spot to walk and talk.
As Baruch and I did the major attractions in just a few hours, the Twilight Pass could be an awesome move to do the best rides at a cheaper price (just note that your time is shorter, so you will need to hurry!). The theme was very well done, giving the feeling of being in a real-life Nickelodeon set. Situated as it is inside a mall, the park does a great job at utilizing all of its limited spacing to make it feel quite large and full of rides. I certainly intend to return, especially once Sandy’s Blasting Bronco reopens in the next few months. In the words of SpongeBob, ‘I’m ready!’ for another adventure in the Nickelodeon Universe.
Zachary Greenberg is a consultant at Semler Brossy and the TABC track coach. Recently, Zack went to see the Vitamin String Quartet perform at BergenPac. He also recently watched the film “Stand By Me” (1986). If you have any recommendations of fun places for him to cover, email [email protected].
