The crowd at Super Bowl Experience
I took my kids to Super Bowl Experience on opening day, Saturday. This is the NFL theme park that fills two levels of the Minneapolis Convention Center, and I was dreading it big time. Though I’ve probably watched Stefon Diggs’ touchdown in slow motion at least a dozen times, I’m not a football fan. I’m also not a fan of theme parks—I’ve never taken my kids to Disney World—or crowds, and there needs to be a reward for waiting in line more than 30 minutes for anything (like an overflowing pail of Sweet Martha’s Cookies). But I wanted to give the kids a taste of the Super Bowl excitement I’d been witnessing downtown the last few months. So I sucked it up and planned our day of NFL theme-parking to end as evening fell and the lights on Nicollet Mall began to glow purple and blue while we headed to the free downtown event called Super Bowl LIVE.
We arrived at the Convention Center around 1p.m., and surprisingly the crowds weren’t overpowering. But the lines were deceptive, with waits for most of the popular activities averaging 45 minutes to an hour. That means you could potentially spend 5 hours there and only get to do a handful of things if you don’t plan accordingly. Here are some tips on how to do it right.
EVENT STATS / OVERVIEW
Crowd Level: Light to moderate on opening day, January 27. (I was told it will only get busier as the week goes on, but surely mid-week must be slower than weekends.)
Time spent: 4.5 hours
Line times: 15 minutes to 1 hour
Price Tag for a Family of Four: $120 (tickets $25 for children, $35 for adults), $8 (coat check $2 per coat), $22 (Convention Center parking ramp), $15-$30 (snacks) = $180
NFL Fan Mobile Pass App: You cannot participate in any of the activities without downloading the NFL Fan Mobile Pass app. You must register everyone in your group, including all minors, in order to get a unique QR code for each person. For some of the activities, such as the Draft Set (where you hold your favorite team jersey and pose for the camera), photos can only be taken by designated staff. You then receive your photos via the app. Don’t panic, it may take a few hours before you receive notification that your photos are there.
Kids 12+: The first floor (street level) is filled with football-themed games and challenges that will delight any football enthusiast, but especially the bigger kids who can actually attempt to kick a field goal and throw a Hail Mary. Tip: Lines for the most popular activities averaged 35 minutes (for the 40-yard dash) to an hour (punt-pass-kick), but if you check back regularly, you can sometimes score a short line.
Kids 5-10 years: There’s a Nickelodeon zone on main level that was mildly entertaining, but the lower level was the winner. There are tons of activities down there for little fans, and lines were much more tolerable, averaging about 10-20 minutes. In the NFL Play 60 Zone, the games and challenges are similar to the ones on street level, like field goal kicking and target throwing, only smaller and more accessible for the younger kids. One highlight was dressing up in shoulder pads, jerseys, and helmets from your favorite team and run a blocking play.
SOME DO’S AND DON’T’S…
DO: Try to snag a cheaper parking spot farther away from the Convention Center, then walk the skyways and be greeted by smiling Crew 52 volunteers positioned at every turn to hand you a skyway map and show you how to navigate. Skyway navigating was a big highlight for the kids.
DON’T: Leave your coats in the car if you park far away. You must go outside for the last stretch in order to access the Convention Center security point. Instead, splurge on the coat check for $2 per coat, and then you can head directly to Nicollet Mall from the Convention Center instead of trekking back to your faraway parking ramp on tired legs.
DO: Take the time to scope everything out when you get to the Convention Center; then decide what you most want to do before committing to anything.
DON’T: Wait to download the mobile app. It takes time to register everyone before you can participate in the activities.
DO: Ask people as they exit an activity how long they waited and whether it was worth it. It’s impossible to know from looking at the lines just how long the wait will be, as it really depends on the activity.
DON’T: Wait in a long line as soon as you get there or your morale will go downhill quickly.
DO: Wait in the long line for player autographs. It’s the one tangible thing the kids took home that seems meaningful, and will surely last longer than the Super Bowl LII pen ($14.99), crappy foam football ($32.99), and New England Patriots socks ($24.99) that the kids purchased from the NFL Store.
DON’T: Let your kids eat too many free Skittles and Snickers before running the 40-yard dash.
DO: Time your visit to Super Bowl Experience so you finish about 5 or 6pm. Then mosey down to Nicollet Mall for a taste of downtown Minneapolis lit up in purple and blue, for free concerts every night, an ice rink at Peavey Plaza, ice sculptures, snow sports on the Birkie Bridge over 9th Street, the old-new Dayton’s building alive again (Kitten Bowl, Prince paraphernalia, a local market, and more). It’s magical.
