The flight from Chicago to Minneapolis-St. Paul is about 51 minutes, nice and short for my 4-year-old and 3-year-old, who are both autism spectrum on top of being preschoolers. My 4-year-old could have spent the whole day just at the airport. He loved watching the planes through the window and running up and down the lines of seats in empty gate areas.
We booked a one-bedroom suite at the Country Inn & Suites across the street from the mall. It wasn't that expensive ($95 with tax on hotels.com) and that bit of extra personal space made all the difference. The couch in the main room pulled out into a bed for the kids and they had their own TV in that main room. My husband and I had our own TV in the separate bedroom. There was a microwave and refrigerator in the space between the two rooms. We were close enough to look in on the kids and close enough for them to get us quickly if they needed us, yet the extra space kept us from getting on each other's nerves, as we normally do in a standard two-queen-bed room.
The staff at Country Inn & Suites were exceptional. We arrived a few hours prior to check-in time and asked the front desk clerk if we could leave our bags somewhere until check-in and he let us check into our room early. They have a complimentary breakfast buffet that was good with just enough variety. The exercise room is small, but I was able to get on an elliptical machine in the morning without waiting my turn.
Country Inn & Suites offers a complimentary shuttle to and from the airport, as well as to and from the Mall of America. I found the latter to be odd since the hotel is across the street from the Mall, but upon arriving, I saw how complicated it is to get to the main entrance, so the shuttle was handy. I believe in the summer months it would be fine to walk to the mall, but in January, I appreciated the shuttle. The mall shuttle leaves the hotel at the top of each hour. The airport shuttle needs to be scheduled in advance.
The mall is huge. The stores were pretty much all the stores you can go to in Chicago, except all in one spot. The one downside of the mall are the kiosk vendors. They are very aggressive and if you try to ignore them, they shout insults after you! I've encountered aggressive kiosk vendors at Orland Square Mall in Illinois, but this was ridiculous.
I would not recommend the Nickelodeon store. We forgot to bring a sippie for my 3-year-old and had to buy a cheap plastic one there for $10. I saw items in the store that I had previously seen at Walmart, Target and Kmart over the holidays for much cheaper. If you're looking for a collector's item that is only available at Mall of America, I would only recommend it then.
The Nickelodeon theme park was very cute. The whole way on the plane I kept telling my 4-year-old that we were bringing him to see Sponge Bob, Dora, Diego and the Backyardigans. He was incredulous when he saw this was true! I liked the fact that there is not a standard admission price for the whole day. Some of the rides are for bigger kids and some rides are not appropriate for kids with sensory issues. There's a vending machine where you can buy “points.” Each ride costs so many points. Another nice feature is that parents are not charged points if you go on the ride with your child.
On the lower level of the mall, there is an aquarium. With your admission, you get a bracelet that grants you access to the aquarium for the day. We went through twice, the kids loved it. There's a glass tunnel you go through where the sharks, turtles, etc. are above you, on either side of you, all around. The Atlantis resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas has something similar. There's also an area where children can touch starfish and other creatures. My 3-year-old almost killed a starfish and my 4-year-old splashed water all over the place, but the staff were very nice and it was a good sensory experience for the kids.
That night, we ordered room service which is off the menu and delivered from the TGI Friday's in the building. Our meal came in 15 minutes and we fed 4 people for about $35, including tax and tip. The convenience and the kid-friendly menu were worth it. There's also an IHOP in the building with many meals under $5.
Our experience with Country Inn & Suites was so positive I became a Gold Points Plus member upon check-out and was able to get points for this particular stay.
All in all, Minnesota proved to be a good close-to-home family getaway. We'll be coming back!
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