The American Dream to Open in "Chapters" - Nickelodeon Universe to Open October 25th

© The American Dream

Finally - after waiting what seemed like a decade, we finally have an opening date for the Nickelodeon Universe theme park at the American Dream, located just across the river from Manhattan in New Jersey.  Oh, and the date is October 25th!

The project has announced that it will open in "chapters," with the first chapter being the opening of the 8.5 acre theme park, complete with 35 rides and attractions, and the ice rink.  That's just over a month from right now, which is exciting since we've been waiting for the new park to open for years now.

© Gerstlauer

Nickelodeon will open with five new roller coasters, many of which are quite thrilling for an indoor theme park.  The largest are TMNT Shellraiser, a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter that is a near clone of Takabisha, featuring both a beyond vertical drop and a launched section.  Intertwined with it is Shredder, a Gerstlauer spinning coaster that's quite large for its ride style.  There will also be a twisted Intamin creation named Sandy's Blasting Bronco, a speculated Intamin half-pipe ride, and the Nickelodeon Slime Streak, a family coaster from Chance Rides.

This video is from earlier in the Summer, but it shows off several of the rides operating and gives an idea of the feel of the park.

© Proslide

The property's second chapter opening will be November 27th when the largest indoor water park in America opens, the DreamWorks Waterpark.  The massive indoor waterpark will feature a ton of rides and slides from Proslide, including a huge water coaster that heads around the outside of the whole complex.  There will be record breaking water slides, play structures and a huge wave pool as well.

Chapter three will open on December 5th when Big SNOW, an indoor ski facility opens.  Finally, in March of 2020 the shopping and dining sections will open, along with more attractions such as a giant observation wheel, Legoland Discovery Center, Sea Life Aquarium, KidZania and more.

American Dream Releases New Names + Details of 4 Coasters Opening at Nickelodeon Universe

Yesterday was the American Coaster Enthusiasts' (ACE) annual Eastcoaster event, held at Hersheypark, where various parks give presentations on the latest news from their property.

Representatives from The American Dream, the large shopping and entertainment complex just outside Manhattan in New Jersey, gave some new information on the roller coasters opening at the park later this year.  We have seen ride manufacturers give some details on the rides in the past, but this is the first I've seen the park update the public.

ACE shared some of the information released on Twitter, so let's check out the coasters.

#TMNT Shellraiser at @americandream info/pics shared during ACE #EastCoaster 2019! #RideWithACE #TheACEadvantage pic.twitter.com/PvUTewqlIU

— ACEonline.org (@aceonlineorg) February 2, 2019

First up, TMNT Shellraiser is the name of the large Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter, a near clone of Takabisha but with one difference - the drop after the vertical lift hill is one degree steeper than the Japanese ride.  I believe that means it will be 122.5 degrees, making it the steepest in the world.

Shredder at @americandream info/pics shared during ACE #EastCoaster 2019! #RideWithACE #TheACEadvantage pic.twitter.com/zaR3YgKSya

— ACEonline.org (@aceonlineorg) February 2, 2019

There is another roller coaster, now known as The Shredder, that intertwines with TMNT Shellraiser at Nickelodeon Universe.  This is another Gerstlauer coaster, one of their spinning models, and features a totally unique layout.  The ride stands an impressive 85 feet tall, quite large for a spinning coaster.

Sandy's Blasting Bronco at @americandream info/pics shared during ACE #EastCoaster 2019! #RideWithACE #TheACEadvantage pic.twitter.com/SARNDWHKyr

— ACEonline.org (@aceonlineorg) February 2, 2019

We now know a bit more about one of the park's more mysterious coasters, a twisted and compact creation from Intamin to be called Sandy's Blasting Bronco (I'm assuming this is Sandy of SpongeBob fame).  The park shared a photo of the ride, which looks a lot like a big pretzel and will utilize LMS launches to get around the course.

Slime Streak at @americandream info shared during ACE #EastCoaster 2019! #RideWithACE #TheACEadvantage pic.twitter.com/5s1kbuYFcU

— ACEonline.org (@aceonlineorg) February 2, 2019

Last but not least, the park's family coaster, created by Chance Rides, will be named Slime Streak.  This ride got some press at last Fall's IAAPA expo, but this is the first time I've seen a layout for the coaster.  It appears as though it will travel over much of the layout of Nickelodeon Universe.

Roller Coaster Database is also reporting that the park will open a Surfrider from Intamin, a half-pipe shuttle coaster, but I didn't see any mention of that in this presentation.  The American Dream is supposed to open in phases, starting this spring.  Happily, the Nickelodeon Universe theme park is said to be a part of the first phase.

New Photos Show Two Coasters Rising at the American Dream's Nickelodeon Universe

© Martin & Vleminckx

Ride instillation experts Martin & Vleminckx recently shared some new photos of the construction of two large new roller coasters at Nickelodeon Universe.  The theme park will be completely indoors and located at the American Dream, a mega-mall and entertainment complex located just outside Manhattan in New Jersey.

The photos, seen here, show the expert skill needed to construct two intertwined roller coasters at the same time.

© Martin & Vleminckx

Both of the new roller coasters have been designed by Gerstlauer Amusement Rides.  The larger of the two has the green track in these photos, and is expected to be a near clone of Takabisha at Japan's Fuji-Q Highland.  The ride's many inversions can be seen growing inside the structure in these photos - the ride will also feature both a vertical lift hill with well-beyond vertical first drop and a launch to more than 60 miles per hour.  When completed it will be one of the largest Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter coasters in North America.

© Martin & Vleminckx

The second ride that can be seen in these photos with the pink/purple track will be a custom designed spinning coaster from Gerstlauer.  The ride stands around 85 feet tall and features more than 2,200 feet of track - a considerable size for a spinning coaster.  The track weaves its way through the other coaster's track and supports, offering riders traditional wild-mouse like elements along with swooping turns and drops.

The new Nickelodeon Universe theme park at the American Dream is stated to open sometime later in 2019.

New Gerstlauer Coaster Going Vertical at Nickelodeon Universe at the American Dream

© Earthcam

The American Dream mega-mall and entertainment complex, located just outside Manhattan in New Jersey, is making significant progress on the new Nickelodeon Universe theme park.  For those who want to stay up to date with the action, Earthcam has a live view of the building progress that you can watch all day if you like.

Above is a shot from the camera, which includes a large panoramic view but also allows you to focus in on the theme park area.  The massive structure being created to house the indoor theme park is going up, and due to the size of the park's largest roller coaster that means it is also being built.  Can you spot it on the image above?

© Earthcam

If not, here is a zoomed in view.  The park's near-clone of Takabisha, a 141 foot tall Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter coaster is standing tall.  The ride is taller than the main roof of the park, so it needs to go up before the roof can be totally finished.  The lighting in this photo isn't that great - it's a gloomy day in the area - but you can see the main lift and drop support with track running up the vertical lift and over the crest of the hill.  Very hard to see, but the supports for the start of the drop, before it curves down to a 121.5 degree drop, are installed.  Just this afternoon the crews also installed green track at the base of the lift hill, which is easier to see here.

The ride will feature both the way-beyond vertical drop as well as a launched section mid-ride.  There will be many inversions during the ride, and this will be one of the largest Euro-Fighters around.  Another coaster, a large custom Gerstlauer spinning coaster, will weave its way through the Euro-Fighter as well.  I can't see any progress on that ride at this time.

The American Dream project has a long history and there have been many doubts that it would ever open - so actually seeing a coaster going up is some really great news!

New Look at Coasters, Rides and Slides Headed to The America Dream Theme + Water Park

© Precision Structural Engineering

A new batch of photos have been posted by Precision Structural Engineering, a company that is currently working on The America Dream, which reveal much of what is coming to the mega-mall's theme and water parks.  The project has been under development for years now, with many stops and starts, but appears to be on the right track toward completion.

The water area can be seen above, with slides centered around a large wave pool.  The water park will be themed to the characters of the DreamWorks movies, with the themes extending to each of the slide towers and other attractions.

© Precision Structural Engineering

The attractions, which all appear to be manufactured by Proslide, include a long water roller coaster that surrounds the border of nearly the entire park, with plenty of traditional roller coaster ups and downs.  There is a giant slide tower that has multiple levels of slides coming off it, including what look like some trap-door free fall slides, both body and tube slides, a long with a big mat-racing course.

Another slide complex in the back appears to feature some big "wow" slides, such as a Tornado, Tantrum and other hybrid slides.  There is also a children's area with mini-slides along with a water funhouse play area.

© Precision Structural Engineering

Even more interesting is this look at the amusement park, to be called Nickelodeon Universe.  This is our first real look at the park's layout and attraction lineup, assuming this holds to be true.

The main roller coasters at the park are a massive clone of Takabisha in Japan, which is a Gerstlauer EuroFighter that has both a vertical lift and launch.  Intertwined with that coaster is another Gerstlauer ride, a spinning roller coaster that will be the tallest and longest free spinning coaster when it opens.  The two rides will have a combined 14 vehicles that will be running around the tracks.

The park's map also mentions a family suspended coaster, along with a "short loop coaster," whatever that may be.  Flat rides include a "spinning drop tower," Unicoaster, Sky Fly, Surf Rider, Air Race and Freestyle.  There are a large amount of family and kids rides as well, along with a dark ride and more.

I'm more excited than ever before for these parks to open, now that we've had a preview of what is in store!

Additional Entertainment Options Announced for American Dream

© The American Dream

The American Dream, located just outside Manhattan in New Jersey, will not only be a giant shopping facility when it opens, but also an entertainment destination.  We have already heard of the developer's plans for a Nickelodeon themed indoor amusement park, as well as a DreamWorks themed indoor water park, observation wheel and an indoor ski slope, but now even more options are being revealed.

Blooloop has published an interesting interview with developer Triple Five's President about their ambitious plans for The American Dream, including more on entertainment options.  These include:

• A large performing arts center and theater, with developers partnering with Cirque Du Soleil on a show.

• Merlin Entertains will open both a LEGO Discovery Center and a Sea Life Aquarium inside the facility.

• The first instillation in the U.S. of KidZania, a popular international brand where kids can train and work in well known businesses set inside a themed mini-park, learning as they go.

• SMAAASH, a "gaming and entertainment center that connects sports, virtual reality and dining into a highly interactive and innovative social experience."

• Other sports activities such a climbing walls, trampoline parks, mini-golf, ropes courses and ice skating.

© American Dream

Triple Five hopes to have the American Dream open by the end of 2018.  Park fans, myself included, are still anxious to hear more about just what will be added to the theme park.  Hopefully more will be released as the grand opening approaches.

New Renderings + An Opening for American Dream Before 2019?

© American Dream

A story we've been following for years now is the development of the American Dream mega-mall and entertainment complex in the Meadowlands, in New Jersey.  The project has lived and died several times, but developers are saying the project is headed for a late 2018 opening... honestly sooner than I would have thought.

The project is of interest because it will include a giant indoor amusement park, and a water park too.  The amusement park was announced to carry a Nickelodeon theme a couple months ago and the water park will be themed to DreamWorks characters.

Earlier this month new renderings of the development were released - seen above - along with a flyover of the area as well.

© American Dream

This is the part of the American Dream that we will be most interested in, the theme and water parks.  The Nickelodeon Universal park will be over on the left, still with a tall tower section that once contained a free-fall... however I believe that was removed at some point in the development.  The water park can be seen in the middle right, with large glass hangar-style ceilings.

© American Dream

Speaking of the water park, the project's website now has this rendering on it as well, the first I've seen of it with any detail.  Aside from the entrance to the park it shows a pretty neat looking slide tower in the background with what I would guess is Madagascar style theming.  With other properties like Shrek and Kung Fu Panda, there are some really interesting themes available to see spring up at the park.

Developers also say that nearly 75% of the mall is now leased, which should help get the final pieces of financing in place - the issue that has held up the mall for years now.

Nickelodeon Theme Announced for American Dream's Indoor Amusement Park

© American Dream

The indoor amusement park at the upcoming American Dream mega-mall in North New Jersey, just outside Manhattan, will be named Nickelodeon Universe, it has been announced.  Much like the theme of the indoor park at the Mall of America, Nickelodeon Universe will be home to popular characters such as "SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and new hits like Blaze and the Monster Machines."

Located on 8.5 acres in a climate controlled enclosure, the park will feature a variety of rides and attractions.  Its size will make it the largest indoor theme park in the Western hemisphere.

New concept art for the park, seen up top, was released but appears to be very general in nature and contain several different types of roller coasters.  The park states that it "will break numerous World Records with state-of-the-art rides as well as live shows, retail, games, entertainment, food establishments and themed party rooms" when it opens.

American Dream, after many years of delays, is now said to be opening in the second half of 2018.  It will also include a DreamWorks themed water park, a Lego Discovery Center and aquarium, 4-D attraction theater and plenty more.

New American Dream Details Emerge as Developers Show Off Property

Occasionally writing about the American Dream Meadowlands feels like covering Knoebels' Flying Turns project once again, though maybe I'm just being a tad dramatic.  Still, it has been so very many years since the failed mega-mall in North Jersey started work, stopped, started.... etc that there are similarities, at least.

The good news is that the project really is moving forward now, and that means workers are on site and heavy construction work is going on, and that includes creating the foundations for the 300,000 square foot indoor amusement park and 225,000 indoor water park out of a boggy area of land.  This has included drilling 5,000 piles anywhere from 60 to 80 feet into the ground to support the parks.

A look at the American Dream's amusement park from a couple years ago.

Triple Five, the developers behind the American Dream project, also run the Mall of America, so they "get" what it will take to pull something like this off.  There's the amusement and water park, an indoor ski slope, aquarium, observation wheel, performance theater (rumored to be a resident Cirque du Soleil show), ice rink, movie theaters, hotel and more to complete.  Even with so much announced, details have been somewhat thin thus far but some new items have appeared as a result of some recent press tours.  This article covers many of them, which include:

• Triple Five's COO said the water park's slides will be the "tallest and longest" in the world - a hard thing to actually accomplish but still promising.
• The Dreamworks theming for at least the water park (though probably the theme park, too) is still alive, and designed attractions include "Shrek’s Soggy Swamp and the Madagascar Rain Forest."
• The giant 286 foot observation wheel on property will be called the Dreamview Observation Wheel and give views of the NYC skyline.

Hopefully the mall can finish their leasing process so they can focus on divulging other details and both the amusement and water parks soon. 

A World's Tallest Headed to the American Dream?

© The American Dream

With construction now started on both the inside and the outside of the decade-plus delayed American Dream mall in New Jersey, formerly called Xanadu, we're getting occasional new bits of information about its offerings.

This news story shows how secretive the developers, who also run the Mall of America, are being - apparently it is rumored that as retailers are signing on board they have to give the mall sole rights to announce their tenancy.

The project is of interest to amusement park fans because it will include a 300,000 square foot indoor theme park along with a 225,000 square foot indoor water park.  The amusement park will have rides and attractions themed around the DreamWorks characters - there will also be indoor skiing, an observation wheel, mini-golf and more.

As for that new bit of information, well, the news story above also lists one of the American Dream's attractions as "the world's tallest drop ride."  Now that's got my attention!

As we know the world's tallest drop ride is currently also in New Jersey, Zumanjaro at Six Flags Great Adventure.  That ride features a 415 foot plunge, so if this news is true then the American Dream ride would be taller.

But sadly, I have to question if there isn't a catch in here somewhere.  Previous stories said the drop ride would be twenty stories, or roughly 200 feet tall, but still the "world's tallest."  That doesn't make sense, obviously, but if you look close at the concept art it appears as though the towers are indoor.  Perhaps this will be the world's tallest indoor drop ride?  That gives it much less competition, with a few rides like Mystery Castle at Phantasialand (213 feet or so) coming to mind.

Whatever the end result is, I'm happy the project continues to move along.  The hope is for an opening in 2016, though it is unclear if that is the entire complex or just a first phase.

The American Dream Back on Track for 2016 Opening

© American Dream

The American Dream, a giant mega-mall complex slated to be built just outside New York City, might finally be on its way to an actual opening in 2016.  The developers behind the project - which will finish the partially done (and despised as ugly) Xanadu project - have released some new renderings and now call for completion in the fall of 2016.  The project was originally announced in 2011, with most parts slated to have been open this year.

Triple 5, the American Dream's developers, also behind the Mall of America and West Edmonton Mall, both have amusement parks.  The American Dream will also have one indoors, coming in at 300,000 square feet.  It will also feature a 225,000 indoor water park - both can be seen in the image above which is from the project's website.  The amusement park, which will be themed to the Dreamworks characters, can be seen on the left, and the water park more in the middle.  Much of the park will be visible through 80 foot tall glass windows - how's that for an advertisement?

© American Dream

This is a similar, but more stylized piece of concept art - take notice of that coaster drawn in the amusement park!  Looks like it could be great... but this simply concept art and nothing more.  I would still think that creating a park with rides like those at Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America would be more realistic.  However, that large tower in the amusement park does appear to have some sort of free fall, listed as 200 feet in height, which is a very unique feature.

The American Dream will also be home to a large observation wheel, indoor ski slope, a full sized hockey rink, miniature golf, movie theaters and an aquarium.  Oh, and plenty of restaurants and shops, of course.

Will The American Dream Come True?

© The American Dream

The plan to open a mega-mall, complete with indoor water park and amusement park, located in northern New Jersey, may have finally received the green light.  The American Dream project would seen the completion and expansion of the partially finished Xanadu mall and entertainment center, which was a victim of the financial recession of several years ago.

The project is adjacent to the Meadowlands, home of the Giants and the Jets, and faced opposition from the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority due to concerns over making a crowded area even more so.

The American Dream would consist of a huge retail mall, with a 22 acre enclosed amusement and water park along with other attractions.  The mall's current developer is the same behind the Mall of America and the West Edmonton Mall in Canada, both of which have amusement or water parks as draws.

No timetable for work to start or a possible opening date has been mentioned, but this step is a big one - the project was announced back in May 2011.

American Dream's Amusement Park to Feature DreamWorks Characters

The American Dream, the mall that is slated to be developed on the site of the half finished Xanadu, just outside New York City, has announced plans for the theme of its amusement park.

The popular characters behind the DreamWorks Animation films will take up residence in the "full-scale, climate controlled, glass-enclosed theme park" that is planned to be open 365 days a year.  The developers that are currently behind the American Dream also operate the Mall of America and Canada's West Edmonton Mall, both of which include theme parks as part of entertainment offerings.

DreamWorks Animation has a large catalog of popular films, including the Shrek, Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda series.  The characters have been licensed for use in some theme parks already around the globe, but have yet to have a concentrated home of their own.  The theme park at the American Dream would fill that void.

The most recent set of plans call for the mall's opening to take place in September, 2014, though from what I've read it is unclear if the theme and water parks - which will have to be constructed from scratch - will be ready at that point.

Meet The American Dream

New Jersey's mostly built, but also mostly stagnant mega-mall project - formerly called Xanadu - will be opened as The American Dream at Meadowlands in 2013, according to developers.  The mall is located just across from Manhattan on what has been described as the most valuable real estate in New Jersey, and adjacent to the Meadowlands Stadium.

But this isn't a retail blog, is it?  The reason we care about the American Dream (I'm still working on loving that name) is that Canadian developers Triple Five are behind the project now.  You might have hear of two of their projects, the Mall of America and West Edmonton Mall - both of which contain amusement parks, and West Edmonton has a water park, too.

Naturally, they've added a park to plans for American Dream:

Now that's just concept art, but it looks nice with the NYC skyline behind it, right?  It also looks a lot like Nick Universe at MoA, but that's concept art for you.  The mall will contain plenty of other entertainment like the already built indoor ski slope, an indoor water park, movie theatre, ice rink, huge Ferris wheel and more.

Here's the catch, though.  The mall is scheduled to open in 2013, but the indoor amusement park and water park would open in 2014.  One article I read said that the mall doesn't even own the land for the parks just yet.  So I have to wonder if they could get axed if things don't take off as planned.  Regardless, it's a project to keep an eye on.