Mall of America, Explained

The sections below cover what the building is, its hours and house rules, the seven attractions that sell tickets, five common mix-ups, and how a first visit fits into a day. The short answers are here; the longer ones are on the pages they link to.

What the mall is

Mall of America is a shopping and entertainment complex in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb south of Minneapolis next to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, and it opened on 11 August 1992 on the site of Metropolitan Stadium. Its gross leasable area is 5.6 million square feet, about 520,000 m², which makes it the largest mall in the United States, and the mall counts more than 500 stores, restaurants and attractions. Triple Five Group, the company that built it, states more than 40 million visits a year and over a billion since opening.

A free building with a clock

Entering costs nothing and needs no booking, and parking is free in the East and West ramps, the North Lot and the South Ramp. Retail hours, as published, are 10 am to 9 pm Monday to Saturday and 11 am to 7 pm on Sunday; check before travelling, and check the mall’s own hours page before a holiday. The doors open three hours before the shops, and walkers use the empty corridors as an indoor track. Each level is about 1.2 miles round, and the walking club, Mall Stars, has around 200 members. The early hours are covered on mall walking.

The second rule is about age. From 3 pm to closing every day, anyone under 16 must be with an adult aged 21 or over, and the rule runs all day on Black Friday and from 26 to 31 December. One adult may supervise up to ten young people. The Parental Escort Policy began in 1996 for Friday and Saturday evenings and has applied daily since 2020. It covers the attractions as well as the corridors, so a group of teenagers arriving at 4 pm will not get into SEA LIFE alone. The dates and details are on the escort policy page.

Seven doors, seven tickets

Nothing on GetYourGuide is a tour of the mall itself. The seven tickets are for seven attractions inside it, and each has its own entrance, hours and length of visit.

Nickelodeon Universe is the seven-acre theme park at the centre. Walking the park floor is free; the ride pass is a one-day wristband for unlimited rides, and a points card sold at the park covers a handful. It can fill a whole day. SEA LIFE Minnesota, on Level 1 at the east side, holds 1.3 million gallons of water and a 300-foot tunnel with sand tiger sharks overhead. A visit takes about an hour, and children aged 2 and under enter free with a paying adult.

Crayola Experience, in the south-east corner of Level 3, is a flexible-date day ticket for 3 to 4 hours of hands-on rooms where visitors wrap and name their own crayon. The Escape Game, also on Level 3, sells one 60-minute game for up to 8 players, recommended for ages 13 and over. Museum of Illusions, on Level 2 at the north side, has more than 50 interactive exhibits; it is the only one of the seven with no free cancellation. Two 18-hole mini-golf courses on Level 3 take about an hour each: Moose Mountain Adventure Golf with a north-woods theme, and Rock of Ages Blacklight Mini Golf with glowing putters and a rock soundtrack. Both close on Christmas Day. All seven are compared on the tickets page.

Five common mix-ups

“MOA” is also SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, Manila, with the MOA Eye ferris wheel and a bayside amusement park, and “MOA Tours” and MoaTrek are New Zealand companies selling coach tours of five to seven days. Neither has any link to Minnesota; the names are untangled on which MOA is which. The film Mallrats (1995) was not shot here but at Eden Prairie Center, another Twin Cities mall. The mall is the largest in the United States by leasable area but not in the world, where Iran Mall in Tehran is larger. And the “no heating” story is half true: there is no central heating. About 8 acres of skylights, the lighting and the people inside keep the building between roughly 65 and 75°F (18–24°C), with local heaters near the entrances.

A first visit, in order

The METRO Blue Line runs from both airport terminals to Mall of America station in about 12 minutes, and from Target Field in downtown Minneapolis in about 39. The station is on the ground floor of the East ramp, and a tunnel under the ring road leads into the mall. Drivers use Interstate 494; the exits for each direction are on how to get there. SEA LIFE is the nearest attraction to the station, so an hour in the tunnel makes a morning start before crossing to the park at the centre. The park and Crayola Experience compete for the same hours, since one can fill a day and the other takes 3 to 4, and Crayola closes at 6 pm Monday to Thursday as published. A family day usually picks one of the two. Groups with teenagers who plan to move around alone fit their free time before 3 pm. The afternoon suits a round of mini golf or the escape room, and a lap of the shopping levels before the train back. Two versions of the day, one for families and one for adults, are laid out on one day at the mall.

Booking

The unlimited ride pass for Nickelodeon Universe covers the largest of the seven attractions; the other six are compared on the tickets page and planned into a day on the one-day itinerary.

Frequently asked questions