Nickelodeon Universe is the indoor theme park in the middle of Minnesota’s Mall of America.
This park originally opened as Camp Snoopy, but it was rethemed to the famous Nicktoons.
This park has one of the best atmospheres of any indoor park because of the greenery,
abundance of light, and energy from both the mall and rides cycling overhead. While this
park doesn’t have a prolific coaster lineup, they do have a well-rounded ride lineup with
plenty for all tastes. So in this video, I will rank the park’s top 15 rides and attractions.
15) Anchor Drop- This 6 story tall slide is surprisingly one of the park’s tallest
attractions. You get a great aerial view of the park from the top followed by a spiraling descent.
You do glide smoothly thanks to the mats, but the constant turns prevent you from building up
as much speed as you may expect. 14) Backyardigans Swing-Along-
This Zierer wave swinger isn’t operated the fastest, but it has a unique feature
to distinguish itself from the other versions out there- backwards seats. It’s not super thrilling,
but it is a different sensation experiencing a ride as familiar as this in reverse. And along
with that wave action, you get some fun views of the Fairly Odd Coaster circling around you.
13) Guppy Bubbler- This balloon tower is targeted more for kids,
but it’s the park’s best spinning ride.
The balloons are super easy to spin, so this can become one of the more dizzying rides out there.
12) Splat-O-Sphere- This Moser drop tower stands just 6 stories tall, but that’s enough height to
offer nice views of the entire park and mall. This one runs a cycle comparable to junior drop towers,
as you have multiple ascents and descents. It also has the force of a junior Moser tower.
You won’t get airtime, but you do get this tingly freefall sensation every time you drop.
And you’re held at the top for a while before the final plunge to build suspense.
11) Shredder’s Mutant Masher- This Chance frisbee has nice power.
You get good lifter airtime on the max swings and little pops on the smaller swings.
Then you also get some force on the downswings. I just wish the cycle was longer. You get 4 max
swings total and this one doesn’t have as many swings as others building up to that point.
10) Dutchman’s Deck Adventure Course- This high ropes course offers a tantalizing mix of physical
obstacles and views. The upper ones will make the legs of most guests quake between their height
above the ground and their difficulty due to their instability. This is an upcharge, but it’s worth
trying if you like physical attractions. 9) Ghost Blasters- This Sally dark ride
looks pretty small off-ride, but it’s a decently long shooter. The 2D haunted
aesthetic is similar to the Boo Blasters attractions at the Cedar Fair parks,
but all of the targets work and many respond in some capacity when shot. I wish this one had
laser sights so you could get visual feedback with each shot, but there is at least audio feedback.
8) Brain Surge- This Chance Unicoaster can be as tame or intense as you like. The toggle on each
car allows riders to control how much they flip. It’s fun alternating between rapid front-flips,
disorienting back-flips, and upside-down stalls until all the blood rushes to your head.
Brain Surge also offers a good cycle, so there’s plenty of time to invert.
7) Fly Over America- This flying theater technically isn’t part of Nickelodeon Universe,
but the entrance is inside the park’s boundaries so I’m including it on this list.
The main experience gives a long journey past some famous US landmarks and cities. These scenes are
exciting. There are some duller shots mixed in…and if you wear glasses, watch out . This ride has a
gratuitous amount of sprayers and misters aimed at your face throughout the attraction.
I prefer Soarin’, but this is a cool experience if you’ve never been on a flying theater.
6) Avatar Airbender- This Intamin half pipe offers great visuals as you shoot towards the ceiling.
And those full ascents also offer some nice floater airtime. While this one doesn’t
have much force in the valleys, the spinning does add some laterals every time you launch
through the station. While this experience feels more like a frisbee than a coaster,
it’s arguably the park’s most thrilling attraction and well worth experiencing.
5) Fairly Odd Coaster- This is the original layout that was cloned for the Pandemonium coasters at
the Six Flags parks. It’s neat seeing why the helixes and drops were placed where they were
as you spiral around supports, pathways, and attractions.
This one seems to run faster than the clones too. You get wilder spinning, particularly in the
second half, even if you have a balanced car. And the finale has a little more airtime than usual on
the mid-course drop and bunny hill. This one had a shimmy to it back in 2020 as I noted in my review,
but it was running very smoothly in 2022. 4) SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge-
The signature thrill coaster at Nickelodeon Universe. This Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter has
the usual beyond vertical drop and as expected, it delivers a nice burst of ejector airtime.
You also get launched out of your seat on a speed hill later in the ride as well.
Then the ride features three inversions. The vertical loop has decent force into it
and the barrel roll delivers amazing hangtime. However, the cutback is jerky, as are some of the
ride’s valleys and transitions, but headbanging thankfully wasn’t too bad, especially if you
lean forwards to mitigate it. I have an entire review on this coaster if you want to hear more.
3) Pepsi Orange Streak- This Zierer tivoli coaster feels more like a high speed monorail
than a traditional coaster and that’s fine. This ride has some amazing visuals as you cruise over
rides and pathways. And at one point you even go through a cave with the Log Chute. The forces are
minimal- just some light laterals and a faint pop of airtime- but those sights carry the
experience. This is actually my favorite coaster in the park, which I note in a separate review
2) TMNT Shell Shock- Gerstlauer sky rollers are one of my favorite flat rides in the world.
These are rare to come across in North America. To get the fullest out of these rides,
you need proper technique. Especially on this one since it’s harder between the paddle
friction and lack of wind. You must patiently and rhythmically rock your weight side-to-side,
but once you get that first flip, the rest of the ride is chaotic.
If you hold your fins, you can rapidly rotate for the remainder of the ride.
Some of the newer ones invert faster, as I found myself needing to throw my weight into every few
flips to keep rotating, but I was still able to consistently get 20-30 flips and come off dizzy.
1) Log Chute- This is my second favorite log flume in the world after Splash Mountain.
This Hopkins creation is a marvel. You pass through these atmospheric caves with
nice music and physical sets, which include gigantic Paul Bunyan and Babe animatronics.
Then you’re reminded that you’re in a mall as you pass the upper levels including the food court.
Normally this break in immersion would be a deal breaker for me,
but it works in this case since it’s truly surreal this attraction exists in a mall no less. And
along with those great sights, you also have two solid drops with faint spots of airtime.
This ride is the full package. As mentioned in my review, this is not
only the best ride at Nickelodeon Universe, but it’s the best ride in all of Minnesota.
So those are the top 15 rides and attractions at Mall of America’s Nickelodeon Universe. I have a
whole review covering the park in detail, but what are your favorite rides at this indoor theme park?
Let me know which ride is your favorite down below. If you enjoyed this countdown, I’d
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!