The Mall of America is a staple travel destination in the United States. In fact, I have been there a couple times in the past. This year, I got the chance to visit again, courtesy of Explore Minnesota, and this time, I was purposely looking at it through the eyes of a blogger. As I took in the sights and thought about describing it to my readers, the mall, as the kids say, hits different. Here’s my updated take on the Mall of America and why you should add it to your list of solo travel destinations.
Create Jewelry at Kendra Scott
The first stop at the mall was Kendra Scott. During this visit, set up by Visit Bloomington (the city where the Mall of America is located), my daughter and I were able to experience the Color Bar. At the Color Bar, guests can select from their vast collection of stones and settings and personalize their own jewelry. My daughter and I both customized pairs of earrings. This was so much fun that I am sure I’ll be coming back to Kendra Scott to customize jewelry again for myself and friends! This was clearly a great addition to a mother/daughter trip, but it could also work for couples travel or a girls night.
Get Your Fill of Food and Shopping
Next up, it was time to grab something to eat. We had lunch at FireLake Grill House and tasted local fare like my glazed pork chop and my daughter’s walleye fishcakes. After a delicious and energizing lunch, we wandered around the mall, and let me tell you, we probably could have made an entire weekend out of visiting just the mall! In fact, as we walked around my daughter and I agreed that this would make a great weekend getaway for families, girlfriends, or couples. There are a wide range of stores from Apple store to Zara—in fact, the list of stores online is a 28 page document!
Check Out the Mall’s Unique Attractions
Beyond the stores and restaurants aplenty, there is an abundance of unique activities. The mall is the shape of a square, and the inner part of the square is basically an amusement park. The space is large enough to boast an indoor roller coaster, Ferris Wheel, at least ten themed rock-climbing walls, and numerous other rides. If we hadn’t just eaten lunch, we definitely would have gone for a ride! An indoor amusement park makes sense—Minneapolis gets extremely cold, but even on those sub-zero days, you can still have lots of fun in the city.
Overlooking the amusement park area, you’ll find a huge putt-putt course. There’s a Lego store, and one of my daughter’s personal faves, the Crayola Experience. Adjacent to the Crayola store, the Crayola Experience offers visitors different activities to explore their creativity with the brand’s products. The store itself abounds with things like crayons, colored pencils, and markers but also has other kinds of products for purchase, even Crayola-themed apparel and novelty items. While it’s geared toward kids, I would venture to say that if you are a creative person, you will love the store and experience!
As you can see, there’s plenty at the Mall of America to fill up an entire weekend! If you spend the first day shopping, and decide to do activities the next day, make one of your stops on day two, the aquarium. Yes! There’s an aquarium in the mall. My daughter and I especially loved the sting rays.
If you’re all tuckered out by now, I suggest grabbing a refreshment at the huge food court, kicking up your heels (metaphorically, I wouldn’t suggest actually putting your feet in a chair in the foot court), and people-watching.
Stay Close by at the Hyatt Regency
Explore Minnesota set me up with an outstanding hotel for my stay in Bloomington! The Hyatt Regency Bloomington-Minneapolis is only a few minutes from the Mall of America—perfect if you want to take a break from the hustle and bustle throughout the day. The hotel has some excellent amenities, including a spacious mini-fridge, microwave, and ice on each floor. Breakfast is included in most room packages, and you can even request complimentary shuttle to the airport!
Make a Whole Weekend of Your Visit
The diversity of people in the Mall of America is a sight to behold in and of itself. I am not sure if it’s because a huge percentage of people visiting are tourists, if Minneapolis itself is an extremely diverse city, or if it’s a combo of the two things, but it felt like we saw a microcosm—not just of America, but of the world—shopping, eating, riding rides, laughing, and having fun at the mall.
Whether you’re a shop-til-you-drop type of person or hope to have an active indoor adventure, I highly recommend visiting the Mall of America! Come with me on the rest of my trip to Minneapolis by following me on Instagram.