Grab a cab. It's not far away at all and will cost you next to nothing. That should be a great plan for the layover. You will have lots of fun. We also have light rail here, but I don't think it goes from the airport. It's worth a check.

There is light rail between the airport & Mall of America. Lindbergh Terminal is the main terminal.

http://www.metrotransit.org/rail/station_detail.asp

Light rail - cheap but you'll walk a bit to get to the station in the airport.

Thanks so much for the advice! Say, on the way home we fly back into MN at 11:30PM and fly out at 9:00am...is it best just to stay in the airport or would you recommend getting a hotel?

Those are some crappy layovers.

Depends on how cheap you want to be - I'd opt for getting a hotel room as it would be more comfortable and relaxing. If you can get your bags checked through onto the 9am flight it would simplify things - you'd be out of the airport and at a hotel by midnight (assuming everything is on time) and wouldn't need to be back until 7:30 or 8 to go through security (also assuming you're checked in all the way to your final destination).

P.S. Which terminal are you flying in/out of?

I would get a hotel. You can easily get a hotel near Mpls Airport/MOA by using Priceline.

Get a hotel. I think people underestimate how horrible it is to stay up all night or to try to sleep in an airport. I haven't been able to do that since I was 18.

At that time of night almost everything at the airport will be close -- airline clubs, shops, restaurants. You'll be sitting for a long time on some hard seats with nothing to do if you stay at the airport.

Just so you don't get too confused trying to figure out which hotels are actually near the airport, here is a list. This web site has maps of hotels in different areas. Its not always easy to decide if a hotel is near the airport if you are unfamiliar with street addresses in a new city. Good luck.

http://hotel-guides.us/minnesota/bloomington-mn-mall-of-america-hotels.html

Oooops! meant to say: At that time of night almost everything at the airport will be CLOSED.

Sorry for the typo.

I so appreciate the advice. I'm not sure which terminal we fly out of we're on Delta. We are only taking carry on luggage. I think we'll go for the hotel room.

Delta flies out of the main terminal (Lindbergh). That will make it a little easier to get to/from the light rail station.

We took the light rail and it was so easy...we put our things into a locker at the airport then hopped on the light rail and spent the afternoon at the MOA then road back caught our flight and it was a great day. I appreciate the advice.