Local News

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) ― So long, Charlie Brown. SpongeBob is taking over.
  
The Mall of America's indoor amusement park, seven sprawling acres of rides, games and assorted fun once ruled by the Peanuts gang, is now the domain of Nickelodeon Universe.
  
After a $25 million makeover, SpongeBob Squarepants, Dora the Explorer and Boots the Monkey now greet visitors to the park, which has its grand opening Saturday with appearances by Ashlee Simpson and an assortment of the popular cable network's stars.
  
The debut gives Nickelodeon its first standalone theme park as it expands its brand. For the megamall, the new tenant fills a void left by Snoopy's departure two years ago with attractions that promise to pull in more older children and teenagers.
  
The mall considered "almost every brand out there" before choosing Nickelodeon, which is owned by Viacom Inc., spokeswoman Maureen Hooley Bausch said.
  
"They're the No. 1 brand with children," Bausch said.
  
Nickelodeon, which also is expanding into cruises in August and developing a lodging resort brand with Marriott International Inc., has had Nick-branded zones in theme parks before but never a full park, said Howard Smith, Nick's executive vice president of recreation.
  
"We really wanted to create a place where kids and families could come out and play together," Smith said. "Kids tell us going to a theme park with their family is one of the most memorable experiences that they can have."
  
Camp Snoopy operated in the center of the Mall of America for 13 years, from the mall's opening in 1992, until an agreement couldn't be reached to extend its run. For the past two years, the mall kept generic amusement rides going as "The Park at MOA." Just over a year ago, Nickelodeon was announced as the new theme park tenant.
  
Charlie Brown, Lucy and the other Peanuts characters are "a wonderful brand, but they're slightly more nostalgic," Bausch explained.
  
"It was hard for us to see it go, but we also knew that the children could relate to a new brand, also," she said.
  
C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group, said Nickelodeon's characters are "a distant second place" to Disney's, but they include popular characters such as Dora the Explorer.
  
Beemer said the megamall -- with its 520 shops and 40 million annual visitors -- gives Nickelodeon a ready audience to introduce new characters.
  
The overhauled seven-acre theme park now features new, edgier rides aimed at drawing older children and teenagers. There are no age restrictions on the thrill rides -- only a height requirement of 48 inches.
  
"If you're a second-grader and you are 48 inches and you're gutsy, you can go on it," Bausch said.
  
Some of the former rides were retooled, while five new ones were added to bring the total number of rides to 24. Visitors can take the twisting SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge roller coaster; the Avatar Airbender, a half-pipe track that brings riders close to the atrium glass covering the theme park; or the Splat-O-Sphere, a 60-foot tower that takes riders up, then drops them.
  
Other attractions are aimed at younger children, such as Blue's Skidoo which uses cartoon dogs from the show "Blue's Clues" as airplanes. There's also "Pineapple Poppers," a giant orange pineapple modeled after SpongeBob's home where kids can bounce.
  
SpongeBob, Dora and other Nickelodeon characters will mingle with visitors.
  
The new park is more expensive, with an all-day ride wristband rising to $29.99 from $25.
  
Days before the grand opening, families strolled among the rides as workers put the final gloss on Nickelodeon Universe (the park remained open during construction except for some brand-new rides being tested).
  
"It's exciting," said Katy Lorusso of Eau Claire, Wis., who was there with her three children. "It's relevant to them because that's what they're into right now. They've been looking around and saying 'oh, Backyardigans' and 'oh, Wonder Pets.' "
  
Her 7-year-old daughter, Maddy, rode the Backyardigans Swing-Along and declared it her favorite.
  
"Pretty fun," she said.

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