Fly Over America

There’s a new attraction out at the Mall of America! Peyton and I just had to go check out Fly Over America. It’s located inside of Nickelodeon Universe between the Peeps Company and Hard Rock Cafe.  I would say it’s more of an attraction than a ride. Fly Over America does take a little while to go through and enjoy so I would set aside about a half hour for the experience. If there’s a line, plan on spending more time.When you first arrive to Fly Over America, you’ll stop at a ticket counter where the helpful staff will assist you with your ticket purchase. Currently, the prices are $16.95 per adult and $12.95 per child plus tax. While Fly Over America is located inside Nickelodeon Universe it is not part of it. This is a separate, ticketed attraction.  After you’ve purchased  your tickets it’s time to start your adventure.

First, you’ll head over and have your picture taken. Have some fun with it! At the end, you’ll see yourself and your travel partners flying high in the sky over America! There’s an option to purchase a printed or digital version of this picture to help commemorate the event.Now it’s time for some walking and waiting. You’ll wrap through a rope drawn line until you come into a large room. It’s like a holding area. Be sure to take note of the walls, scenes from all over America will appear. Because this is an attraction, there’s about 15-20 minutes in between each experience. So, you may be in this holding area for a while depending on how many people are ahead of you.When it’s time to start your experience, you walk into another room! Here, the staff will line you up into 3 different rows. This part is very important – be sure to stand on your mark. On the floor, there are painted circles with numbers on them. One person per number. If you are not standing on a mark the staff may overload your row and someone’s not going to be able to ride.Once everyone is lined up a short video will play. We found it to be very entertaining. But while it may be entertaining it’s also informing you of the safety rules you need to abide by while on the ride. For example, there are no food or drinks on this ride. Be sure to finish them and dispose of them. Another one is, no large packages. We had just finished shopping at the American Girl store and had a huge bag! The staff checked our bag and gave us a ticket to retrieve it after the flight. Sorta like a coat check.

Now it’s time for the flight! There are three levels to Fly Over America so there may be a few or a lot of steps before you reach your seat. Once seated and buckled in the adventure begins!
Fly Over America is spectacular! You will be flying over America, feeling the wind blow through  your hair, the water spray in your face and smell the trees as if you are there. It truly is a one of a kind experience. We flew over bodies of water! It felt like we were right there. We also went to the Grand Canyon! Your trip will last approximately 10 minutes.

Peyton and I both really enjoyed the ride. Though I will admit, Peyton was a tad nervous at first. There are two moments you will be submerged in complete darkness, for a few seconds at the beginning of the ride and at the end. The few seconds at the beginning of the ride was a little scary for Peyton because she didn’t know what to expect. But once we started flying her fears instantly disappeared.

Fly Over America is open 7 days a week, Monday thru Saturday 10 am to 10 pm. On Sunday 11 am to 7 pm. If you are heading out to the Mall of America and looking for a new experience you should stop by and check out Fly Over America.

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