So, you know malls, right? Many are dying, but there are also plenty still holding on like Gurnee Mills. There is a mall that is thriving, so big that it calls itself the “Mall of America”. But is this Minnesotan beast really worth the title? Let’s find out…

When you walk in, you can already feel its scope and sheer size. three main stories, two giant department stores, two food courts, and a movie theater already seems like a bit much. But then you see what stores are there. There’s a Lego store near the middle of the mall where you can create a custom printed Minifigure, an M&M’s store where you can personalize M&M’s, a Toys R Us (yes, they aren’t dead yet), a Barnes & Noble bookstore, a big Crayola building where you could make your own crayons, an arcade, and lots of other luxury and average mall stores that you could see in Gurnee Mills. There are even multiples of some stores, with there being a Claire’s for each level of the mall. Not to mention an entire theme park…

Nickelodeon Universe is located smack dab in the middle of the mall. There are rides based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, SpongeBob, the Fairly Odd Parents, and other Nickelodeon TV shows. I didn’t go there because you have to purchase separate tickets for the park, which are comparable to Six Flags’ prices. But it seems like a worse deal because the park is smaller and has less rides than Great America.

There are plenty more things to talk about, like the abundance of restaurants, a mirror maze, the mini-golf course, and the arcade… but we need to get to the point here. This is not an ordinary mall, this is just a place that seems to be focused on tourists who like giant things and is not really efficient for locals to walk around regularly. Besides, most of the mall experience can be found at other malls nearby, and things like personalized M&M’s can just be found on their website. But this place does have the charm of being able to physically look at things, while also having more unique things you can’t just find at Walmart. There’s also more unique things you can’t find at Gurnee Mills, which is a plus to this place.

So overall, my opinion is that The Mall of America is cool, but it does get boring after a while once you have experienced everything. But that’s just my opinion. If you really want to go there, take the 6 hour trip over break (even though that’s many months away).