Mall of America's Halloween

Mall of America's World's Largest Trick or Treat

    So we normally don't get trick or treaters at our condo since it's a high rise and I didn't want to just sit on my butt, watching The Great Pumpkin, eating candy corn... I did that later. So we went to Mall of America to check out the festivities (and to eat at B-Dubs).

 

      On first arrival, it seemed like the Mall was decently quiet, due to the lack of cars in the parking garage on the upper levels but this was not the case once we ventured inside. It was full of life;

 

 

      The rotunda had a costume contest  and was fully decorated. It also had a line going through the entrance of Camp Nickelodeon (although it'll always be Camp Snoopy to me) for pictures in front of a spooky backdrop. There were people everywhere; kids, adults, babies, way-too-old-for-this-creepy-young-adults all in costumes milling about throughout each level.

 

 

      It wasn't so crowded as to be obnoxious, where you wanted to beat back the masses of people but was enough where it definitely felt like Halloween in the air. I mostly wanted to creep on everyone's kid's costumes. I miss seeing them in our stupid high rise without children. As families walked about the Mall certain stores were labeled with a tombstone sticker and were part of the Trick or Treat experience. Most had a dedicated salesperson at the door to hand out the candy at each stop.

     We walked the 3rd and 2nd levels and noticed the level of participation of stores varied based on the level. I think the lowest level had the highest participation rate. The brochures said 150 stores participating with approximately 520 stores in MOA , so that's about 30% and would be about what I'd guess. I think this event would benefit from more stores participating, but still 150 isn't terrible. I'm sure some would complain about it, but seriously how likely is it you'd hit 150 homes in one night?

 

 

       Besides trick or treating there were areas with free giveaways and science experiments for the children to explore such as the ever popular static electricity generator ball. The lines for these additional activities weren't too long and added to the experience besides the candy gathering. Personally, I'd just hit up more candy!

      In summation, I enjoyed being inside, warm and walking around with all the families and kids in their costumes. I think when we have little ones this might be a very suitable alternative for the neighborhood for these reasons, especially if the weather isn't cooperative and if I'm feeling lazy.