-
January 2024 by Sara B.
American Dream is a wild place. After my first visit I decided that you could probably spend one entire month here and not do the same thing twice. There are just SO many things under one roof. So many attractions and activities, so many shops, so many eateries. I was seriously blown away. From indoor skiing to gold mining to waterparks and fine dining. It's just so much to take in. American Dream is like something you'd find in Vegas or Orlando, so to have attractions like this right here in North Jersey is great. I have a feeling I'll be in many times over the years with my kids. We got a combo pass for Legoland and Sea Life and both were great (separate reviews to come). This was the perfect way to spend a few hours indoors on a cold winter day, and I was super impressed with both. Giving 3 stars for some weird logistical issues that I'd think would have been better thought out at a five BILLION dollar establishment:- Once you arrive there are no signs that show you where to go for specific attractions. The info is of course online, but if you don't look it up beforehand you'll end up driving around in circles. They have four different areas to park (A,B,C,D) and it would be smart to list out the attractions next to each parking area. Instead it literally says 'attractions and dining' under each letter. My husband and I thought this was hilarious because well duh, the whole mall is comprised of attractions and dining. People need to know where to go. - Once you do park you end up on the ground floor near an elevator bank. Signage at the elevator bank would also be helpful so you know what floor to go to. Ex - visiting Sea Life. Great. Take the elevator to floor 2. There is no signage, so it's a guessing game. - There are only two elevator banks in the entire mall which feels super low considering at least half of the crowd has a stroller in tow.Overall, this is one of the coolest places that I've been to and it blows my mind that it's in East Rutherford. Cannot wait to come back and for my next visit I think I'll take my daughter to the Nickelodeon Amusement Park. Logistical weirdness aside, it's definitely worth the visit.
-
January 2024 by Max E.
This mall is crazy big. I was walking forever in this place and the craziest thing about this place is that just by looking at the people walking around you, you wouldn't know what the weather was like outside at the time. I say this because I had people walking in the mall with full snow gear with skies, while others were walking in shorts. So this place has an indoor real snow ski and snow resort, a water park, mini golf, regulation size ice rink, huge rope course, Ferris wheel just to name a few things on top of all the shops they have. Believe me, there is something for everyone in this place. Parking is like $5.00 after staying over 1/2 hr and parking is plenty. I definitely enjoyed spending time in here, I believe I walked over 5 miles, but that was because I was lost a few times, so I walked around previous locations I had been.
-
January 2024 by JiHae L.
I've never been to a mall where it has so many attractions all in one spot. The parking isn't that bad as the first 30 mins is free, and afterward, it's $5 for the entire day. If you're into rides, there's Nickelodeon, and if you're into water rides, there's the water park. You can even just walk around the amusement park without getting on the rides. There's also a pass for the last part of the night, which is supposedly cheaper. There's also the skating rink, mall with the food court, and stores, events can be happening around the mall, tilt museum, activate, etc.... if you want to do everything in one day, get a good night's rest or just divide it up into two days or so. I really enjoyed the attraction called activate, and walking around looking at the different clothing stores like primark. All in all, a good time was had.
-
January 2024 by Tina M.
This mall is the second largest mall in America. It is located adjacent to MET Life stadium. One thing to note, the parking is shared with people going to the games and concerts. There is plenty of parking and when it's super busy around the holidays, they have people outside directing traffic, which is helpful. We came twice because it was our first time and there is so much to see and do here! When I lived in NJ, this was a massive project, that was halted several times due to funding and permit issues. It's nice to see that it is finally open and thriving! This mall has various eateries which include, a Cocoa Cola food court, a top level (2nd floor) which includes a pizza place, M crepes from NY, cookie place, a wine tasting bar, and a bar which overlooks the meadowlands and Met Life Stadium. A third floor which includes a variety of restaurants. A restaurant called mozzarella bar, new Marcus Samuelson restaurant, a Mr. Beast burger, a Peruvian restaurant, a Chinese restaurant and others. There is a doner kebab place also located on the second floor. One thing I will say is that they need more seating for the food court areas. In addition to the fabulous eateries this mall has tons of fun for the whole family. They have a Dream wheel, which is a giant temperature controlled Ferris wheel that takes you up so high and above the mall you can see the NYC skyline, meadowlands, Met life stadium, the ice skating rink (in the mall) and other view of NJ. Outside of the Dream wheel, they have a fun concession stand that has carnival food. Popcorn, hot dogs, shave ice, funnel cakes, slushies, and drinks that you can take onto the Dream wheel. They also have an aquarium which we enjoyed. It's not too big and takes about 30-45 minutes to go through. Other fun things they have in addition to shopping are:Ice skating rink, Big Snow snow boarding, miniature golf, black light miniature golf, Lego land, Nickelodeon Universe theme park, Dream works water park, Paradox museum, Game arcade, Escape room, Legends of the hidden temple rope course, tilt museum (optical illusion art), mirror maze and more! Last thing, pick up some delicious Italian pastries from the Rosetta Bakery. Located on the first floor.
-
January 2024 by Renato M.
This is a decent mall with the main stores and plenty of parking. I spent many hours and paid just 5 bucks for parking so I guess this location is different than the other ones that charge you by the hour or fraction of the hour. You will find the main clothing stores, Apple Store and other stores you would expect. The area with restaurants and bars is also pretty decent. You can always grab a beer at Yard House while your wife spends hours shopping!On weekends it gets packed so my suggestion is to go on weekdays and you won't have to wait in lines.
-
December 2023 by Hank C.
More restaurants and entertainment venues (like the virtual arcade, perspective museum, etc.) opening and that'll be interesting to try a few - what this update primarily addresses is a really annoying blockage on the 2nd floor of the area above the ice rink where apparently they don't have many businesses so they did a lantern/light show there which impedes walking through the mall efficiently, causing you to loop around to the A court.
-
December 2023 by jana veiga
Funny mall… I like the ski station, kind of unique.
-
December 2023 by Marie D.
Our first time coming to the mall, we saw it on kids YouTube one day and got lucky to come here. Our favorite part was the Nickelodeon universe, mini theme park it had rides and games! The all access day pass was a bit expensive unfortunately. About $79 per person. The slime roller coaster was a lot of fun! The lines are pretty lengthy, so be prepared to wait unless you want to pay extra.They had so many options to shop. They had the luxury mall side, and other shops too. We stopped by the large candy store, Toys "R" Us with a slide for kids, Japanese store that had toys and other goodies. They had a lot of great food too so many great choices. It definitely took us from 1 PM till around six or 7 PM to finish the mall, but I feel like we didn't even get to cover at all.The parking is a bit confusing and the different levels of the mall also gets confusing so make sure you check out the maps or ask someone for help. Most of the mall had dirty bathrooms I can't imagine with all the people the day after Christmas. They have Tesla chargers which was great for us!
-
December 2023 by Ric T.
I'm really not a mall person and was in the area and decided to check out New Jersey's largest mall. It's a very pretty site but I noticed a lot of vacancy. Why? Hasn't this been open over three years?Parking is free for the first half hour and five dollars for the rest of your stay. You can't possibly stay for 30 minutes. There's too much to see. As mentioned very nice but especially nice for kids. You got an amusement park, have a water park and skiing all within this mall. There are a couple of upscale restaurants and a food court. I walked 3 miles and was there 3+ hours. I was there on a weekday and the mall was not crowded. If you have a family 3/4 members, plan to spend $100+ for the day, includes rides and games for the kids and feeding time.If you do Santa, thats another $30. Your children will definitely appreciate their time here.
-
December 2023 by Kerri B.
What a fun place! We got to the mall around 12:45pm and left around 6:00pm (still could have done so much more). Our tips: -Use the online mall map that gives you GPS navigation to help you walk to your requested store.-Read parking below, so important!-Make online reservations for restaurants and attractions. The attractions cost less online, so never pay at the door. Do it from a chair nearby or from home.There are so many stores, from food to clothes and more! There's coffee shops, bakeries, snacks, restaurants, and a food court. We ate at Latin Grill in the food court, Rosetta bakery (phenomenal), and Oreo Cafe. All were great! The mall itself is decorated from head to toe in modern art, including the murals allover. There's tons of places to sit and relax in these three floors.They also have a unique twist to the mall with a Dreamworks Waterpark, Angry Bird Golf, Nickelodeon Amusement Park, large rooftop Outdoor ferris wheel,indoor skiing and ice skating, selfie museums, aquarium, and so much more! Already planning our next trip.Parking is free for one hour, then short term for $5, make sure to take your printed ticket with you into the mall then hit the pay kiosk before you exit the mall. The qr code to pay from phone didn't work for us* BTW, there are tons of spots, we had no issue finding any.
-
November 2023 by Emanuel C.
I grew up during the birth of the American Mall. I always loved going to any number of them with friends and family. Do a little shopping, a little eating, catch a movie, hang out in an arcade, and enjoy some time away from home. This mall feels like those old experiences. However, it falls flat in a number of ways. 1 - Having to pay for parking and it is pricey.2 - It is inside one of the busiest locations in the area, outside of heading to NYC. Making it a nightmare sometimes to get here or leave due to the traffic incoming and outgoing for events at the stadium or track. 3 - There is no movie Theater4 - No ArcadesOn the positive side, there is easy access to trains, but you will walk a bit to get to and from the mall. However, you will (on busy days) be stuck on the train like a can of packed sardines with thousands of people coming to and from the games. That's more of a half positive, I guess. The mall itself is sprawling and beautiful. The phrase: "spared no expense" comes to mind. However, it lacks a lot of stores with any substance. The kind of stores that bring customers in at all times. Stores like Macy's, Nordstrom, JCPenny, Kohl's, or any other such anchors.The dream has a lot of random shops that have overpriced products that are not really driving sales. Part of the issues they had recently caused store closures or lack of store openings leading to unpaid taxes. Either the mall not being fully opened and filling their retail spaces or perhaps issues arising from COVID are likely to blame. I venture a guess that some companies don't like the location or the costs of spaces there.I'll tell you what they do have.A ton of theme park like experiences. You'd think this is cool? But you'd be sorely mistaken. Most are so outrageously priced you'd think you flew to Orlando or LA and paid for a full Disney package for a week. Then you'd realize: it's just for a few hours for one day ... in a mall. Yeah, no thanks.I think on paper, much of this seemed exceptional, but really, I am curious how many people actually do come here on a day to day basis? Don't get me started on the water park. For me and my kids, it's priced at about 1400 for a day. For a water park. I can pay $50 a month and go to any of the Six Flags parks all I want. Those water parks are huge! I live in Rutherford...down the street from the mall and we don't really like coming here. My kids prefer to go to Westfield, which is miles away, versus coming here. Parents in my town prefer the same or even Newport Mall, where we feel they are safe on their own. I don't think the recent shooting helped this location. I give it three stars because there is a tremendous amount of potential. Much of which will never be fully realized because they charge for parking. Others likely dont come here as often because they have no movie theater. This would make it more of a destination. the Theme Parks are mostly priced out for even upper-middle class folks like my family. I'd rather spend that money at Disney or Universal in Orlando on a week long trip. I think folks do enjoy the skating rink and the various decorations throughout the year. My kids will ask as a treat to go to the large candy store found inside, "ITSUGAR" and the Oreo bar but they are not as concerned with it as much anymore, preferring to go to the candy stores in NYC over these, like Dylan's. I think the Toy's R' Us opening there is a credit to the mall. I think they need a lot more to really improve. It's comfortable inside. There are plenty of places to sit, and my wife would say I'm being too harsh. She found the Zoltar Machine from the movie Big, and that sort of gave her the warm and fuzzies. I will say my little kids love the animal car rides you can rent. But that is also something we do very rarely. I think the location and paying for parking are really what keeps me away. I guess we'll just come for Christmas shopping and the occasional candy splurge.
-
November 2023 by Ryan J.
A mall that has so much space and potential, but falls flat to bringing enough people into the building. There's so much space in the mall, but all the space and walking feels to be a chore and very cumbersome. You'd expect with all the walking you do to explore the mall, there'd be a cool reward at the end. Nope, just spaces under construction. Unfortunately, malls are becoming a thing of the past now. However, this place should look at how places such as Westfield Valley Fair in San Jose, CA does it. There's lots of walking, but millions of visitors continue to visit the mall everyday. It's more on the quality on what's provided inside than the quantity. American Dream mall feels like a ghost town. I was really rooting for it when I stepped through those doors. Such a shame...
-
October 2023 by Lise H.
We had a surprisingly great time at this mall with our group - they have so much to do and honestly so much to explore. Note, this part of Jersey has a weird law that prohibits certain sales on Sunday, so thus, not all the stores were open when we visited. Most of the attractions were though! Be ready to walk a lot if you intend to visit. Tip: DO check the American Dream website before going. Some rides we wanted to ride were closed and we were quite disappointed. You can buy your tickets on your phone day of if you don't go on a packed weekend. Some highlights were:- Hidden Temple Ropes Course challenge (world's tallest highest rope course) - not for the faint of heart, if you look down, it truly is nerve-racking. For $20, it's definitely very unforgettable, but heed caution because it's not an easy course. We bundled ours with some other nickelodeon rides to get a discount on our tickets (15$ per)- Dream Wheel (very family friendly ferris wheel with nice views)- Dream Rider (plush animal rides where you ride your animal of choice around the first floor of the mall) - pro tip, get there earlier to avoid the massive line that forms. Great for kids and adults alike. We regretted waiting until later to hop on these - by the time we got ours around 3pm, there was a line and the mall was a lot more packed with people traffic that can hinder your Animal motor navigationDefinitely a ton to do! Of course they cost a little, but it was well worth it!
-
October 2023 by Bevano L.
Large mall with several theme parks and Big snow. Came here on Sunday for first time and was surprised to see majority of stores are closed due to a stupid Bergen rule. They could have posted some information to educate people before entering the parking lot. Hence a three stars.
-
October 2023 by Estrella E.
One thing I'm so excited about living in NJ is being close to this mall. They have so much actives that one day is not enough. They have indoor ice rink, indoor skiing, amusement park, and water park. They have other activities like mini golf and mirror maze. Each time we go, we have to try some new activity.
