The saga of American Dream, the massive mall located in northern New Jersey, is the stuff from which an outstanding documentary is likely to be made in the coming years. It began its existence as Xanadu, only to change names when new ownership took over the project in 2013. Located in the Meadowlands, part of the same complex that also hosts a racetrack and MetLife Stadium, the project offers people an answer to the question, “What if a shopping mall was also an amusement park?”
Visitors will have their first chance to see what the site is all about very soon: American Dream is set to open on October 25th. This, in turn, raises questions as to whether the opening of American Dream will decimate the other shopping malls in the area — a question that Crain’s New York Business explores in a new article.
It’ll be a little while longer before the full space is open to the public. On October 25, two features will debut: the Nickelodeon Universe theme park and an NHL-sized skating rink. (Fitting, given that the Devils used to play at the nearby Meadowlands Arena before it became a television production location.) They’ll be followed by the DreamWorks Water Park on November 27, and an indoor skiing and snowboarding area on December 3.
The rest of the mall is scheduled to open in March of 2020 — though prospective shoppers should be aware that the blue laws in Bergen County will keep the shopping areas closed on Sundays. And if the blend of shops and amusements sounds not unlike another massive mall elsewhere in the nation, you’re not wrong — American Dream shares management with the Mall of America. Is this the shopping mall equivalent of megafauna? We’ll have to wait until next week to find out.
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