Shopping Madness at the Mall of America! A One day trip grows into two . . .
May 18th, 2007, 02:59 PM
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Shopping Madness at the Mall of America! A One day trip grows into two . . .
I decided to do a special getaway with my college-age daughter to reward her perormance in school, recognize that she's held a responsible part-time job for a year, and celebrate her summer internship. I also wanted to spend some time with her doing something I know she would love.
Well, she's twenty, and like most girls her age, loves to shop! I decided we would fly up to Minneapolis to the Mall of America just for a day, leaving on the first flight and returning on the last. We got wonderful fares through an AirTran online sale, and I didn't have to worry about accomodations. The helpful posters on this forum gave me the scoop on shuttles, airport terminals and light rail to the Mall.
We kept it a secret for two weeks---not easy with our talky family. The key was not to tell her younger brother, and I found out later that she'd called him to find out where we were going almost immediately after I told her to save the date.
She spent the night before we left with us since we had to leave very early. My alarm clock did not go off and she woke me up at 5 a.m. We left about 15 minutes later than planned, the drive to the airport took longer than planned, and the security line at the airport at 7:15 am on a Wednesday was already 40 min. when we arrived. We had checked in online and ran to our gate, only to find a small, confused group and no agent and no plane.
Rule #1: gates are subject to change...duh! We raced back 20 gates (!) but the plane had left early, and we'd missed it. In all my years of near misses, this has never happened. While we were trying to regroup, the other passengers were reenacting "Frankenstein vs. the village mob" with the agent. The combination of early departure (not announced) and the last minute gate change were wreaking havoc on many vacation plans. We were offered a later flight with no penalties and decided to take it, stay overnight and come back the next day on the last flight. We found a hotel room with the help of my daughter's friend, who we called to look up hotel numbers. The first one I called (Country Inns and Suites) had a AAA rate of $116 and we took it. They also had shuttle service from the airport and hourly to the mall.
When we landed in Minneapolis it was about 52F and we thought we would freeze... the shuttle driver told us that two days before it had been 91 degrees!
The Mall of America had almost every store my daughter likes and a few that aren't in our area. Some stores have multiple locations, and that actually works pretty well. (If they don't have your size at one American Eagle, they're sure to have it at the other one.)
We started by finding a cute batik sundress right away. Anyone who shops knows that it is a tremendous relief to find something great right away. It's discouraging when you shop for hours before you find that first wonderful item.
We had a map that was not that helpful until we almost already knew the mall. Unlike house numbers, which march sequentially up a street (usually odd on one side and even on the other), the mall stores increased in number on one side and decreased on the other side, and at every corner they started all over again. Not the best system, IMO. The map was also outdated and we searched for a half hour for Sigrid Olson, only to finally find a store with a blank front that we surmised had been S.O.
The camera store had moved since the map was printed, and it took a bit of detective work to find it. Most of the store employees did not seem to know the Mall too well, which I thought was odd. I had forgotten my camera and bought one of those small, inexpensive Nikons to use on the trip and to give to DD afterwards.
A note about her surprise when I told her where we were going: she was simply amazed. I usually will not even go to the mall that is one hour from our house. When we lived 10 minutes from a mall in Fla. I went perhaps once a year. I am just not a "mall" person, but knew she would really enjoy this. She was so surprised and thankful! She was so excited that she called her best friend/roommate/sorority sister and text messaged our destination to her entire "girl" group---who had all wondered with her where she was going.
We had a very late lunch at Rainforest Cafe, and our waiter had the most delightful Minnesotan accent. As we ate we developed a plan, trying to find the stores on the map and put them in some logical order to visit. At that point we were glad we had the extra day, because we physically could not have seen all the stores in one day.
Wednesday was a blur. We found cute things everywhere. She was a bit discouraged Wednesday evening because we just couldn't find any tops that fit her well, but at about 8:30pm we finally found a few at New York & Co., and barely had time for our ice cream dinner before the shuttle came at 10 to take us back to the hotel.
Although I wasn't planning to shop for myself, I did have to get clothing for the next day, so I ended up with a few things also The hotel gave us toothbrushes and toothpaste and a few other necessities. The staff at the hotel, along with basically every single person we met in Minneapolis, was polite and friendly and helpful.
The second day at the Mall was even better. We bought ride passes and DD talked me into going on a roller coaster whose cars swing freely (and crazily, I might add) around while the chassis and wheels stay on the tracks. Thus, you are not only screaming down tracks sideways, you are being flung around in circles that are constantly changing direction. I kept my eyes closed and promised God that I would never again get on such a thing if He would only let me live through it I crawled out of the coaster car after it was finished and gave a hard Paddington Bear-type stare to the young man who had flippantly lied and told me the ride was "more fun than scary."
I thereafter refused anything that went fast or upside down. I wanted DD to have a good time, and did not think that included taking care of a motion-sick mom! I took photos of her on all manner of rides. She wisely decided not to get on a contraption that looked like an ax. After an hour of that "fun" we went shopping again in earnest, stopping only once for a pretzel snack. We had to catch the 4pm shuttle to the hotel, where we would get the 4:20 shuttle to the airport. We went into each store left on our list, divided up the rows and picked up everything we thought she might like. I would lift things up and call her name, and she would say "yes" or "no." We asked the sales force for help, and they were all great about finding different sizes, colors, etc. I took lots of "trying on" photos.
By 3:30 pm we were finished! Grand total:
2 sundresses (one with coordinating headband)
14 tops/blouses
4 skirts
undergarments
1 capris
1 shorts
With what she had found a few weeks before in Atlanta, her summer wardrobe was complete
The shuttle driver was the one scheduled to take us to the airport, so he insisted we stay in the bus with our feet up while he retrieved the suitcase.
The mechanics of this trip were pretty easy----until we got to the airport, and found that AirTran's computer system was down. Systemwide. We checked in manually; a man ticked our names off a printed manifest (remember that?) and wrote out one boarding pass for the two of us. Unfortunately, security protocol for handwritten boarding passes is to red flag those passengers. Every single AirTran passenger had to be searched, shoes wiped, luggaged searched, etc. I was very thankful to have arrived so early at the airport this time.
Unfortunately, since we couldn't check in the regular way we didn't have seat assignments. The gate agent announced that the people who had checked in online and printed their own boarding passes (which we hadn't done at the hotel) would be allowed to board first, and then it would be open seating for the rest of us. I happened to know the plane was overbooked, (we were told that when we rebooked our return flight in Atlanta) Since we had to get seats on that plane, we stood for an hour at the gate to be the first in line for open boarding. Thank heavens we did not have any problems, but not everyone made it on the plane.
The flight left only a little late, and when we arrived in Atlanta at a D gate(farthest away) the trains weren't running. So we had to walk all the way back to the terminal, which took about 20 minutes. We used the moving sidewalks, but in the areas where people don't normally walk through they were pulling up carpet and tiling the floors, and we had to walk single-file past the workers. The airconditioning was not working on that level, either, and it was hot and stuffy. By this time it was 11 pm.
We went out the wrong side of the airport and got to the end of the fourth level lot and could not find our car. It was on the other side of the terminal, and we had to walk back through the parking lot, through the terminal, out the other side, and to the top level farthest away. I was pretty tired at that point, and we still had an hour to drive. In all the many years I've parked at the Atlanta airport I have never before "lost" my car, and put it down to Extreme Shopping Syndrome.
We got home at about 12:30 a.m., and DD drove back to school because she had to work the next day. I guess I just fell asleep the minute I walked in the door because I don't even remember her leaving.
She repeatedly thanked me throughout our trip, and kept expressing her surprise and happiness at being there. Today she sent me several sweet messages of thanks and love. We had a wonderful, exhausting time, and now I don't need to take her shopping again until about October
Well, she's twenty, and like most girls her age, loves to shop! I decided we would fly up to Minneapolis to the Mall of America just for a day, leaving on the first flight and returning on the last. We got wonderful fares through an AirTran online sale, and I didn't have to worry about accomodations. The helpful posters on this forum gave me the scoop on shuttles, airport terminals and light rail to the Mall.
We kept it a secret for two weeks---not easy with our talky family. The key was not to tell her younger brother, and I found out later that she'd called him to find out where we were going almost immediately after I told her to save the date.
She spent the night before we left with us since we had to leave very early. My alarm clock did not go off and she woke me up at 5 a.m. We left about 15 minutes later than planned, the drive to the airport took longer than planned, and the security line at the airport at 7:15 am on a Wednesday was already 40 min. when we arrived. We had checked in online and ran to our gate, only to find a small, confused group and no agent and no plane.
Rule #1: gates are subject to change...duh! We raced back 20 gates (!) but the plane had left early, and we'd missed it. In all my years of near misses, this has never happened. While we were trying to regroup, the other passengers were reenacting "Frankenstein vs. the village mob" with the agent. The combination of early departure (not announced) and the last minute gate change were wreaking havoc on many vacation plans. We were offered a later flight with no penalties and decided to take it, stay overnight and come back the next day on the last flight. We found a hotel room with the help of my daughter's friend, who we called to look up hotel numbers. The first one I called (Country Inns and Suites) had a AAA rate of $116 and we took it. They also had shuttle service from the airport and hourly to the mall.
When we landed in Minneapolis it was about 52F and we thought we would freeze... the shuttle driver told us that two days before it had been 91 degrees!
The Mall of America had almost every store my daughter likes and a few that aren't in our area. Some stores have multiple locations, and that actually works pretty well. (If they don't have your size at one American Eagle, they're sure to have it at the other one.)
We started by finding a cute batik sundress right away. Anyone who shops knows that it is a tremendous relief to find something great right away. It's discouraging when you shop for hours before you find that first wonderful item.
We had a map that was not that helpful until we almost already knew the mall. Unlike house numbers, which march sequentially up a street (usually odd on one side and even on the other), the mall stores increased in number on one side and decreased on the other side, and at every corner they started all over again. Not the best system, IMO. The map was also outdated and we searched for a half hour for Sigrid Olson, only to finally find a store with a blank front that we surmised had been S.O.
The camera store had moved since the map was printed, and it took a bit of detective work to find it. Most of the store employees did not seem to know the Mall too well, which I thought was odd. I had forgotten my camera and bought one of those small, inexpensive Nikons to use on the trip and to give to DD afterwards.
A note about her surprise when I told her where we were going: she was simply amazed. I usually will not even go to the mall that is one hour from our house. When we lived 10 minutes from a mall in Fla. I went perhaps once a year. I am just not a "mall" person, but knew she would really enjoy this. She was so surprised and thankful! She was so excited that she called her best friend/roommate/sorority sister and text messaged our destination to her entire "girl" group---who had all wondered with her where she was going.
We had a very late lunch at Rainforest Cafe, and our waiter had the most delightful Minnesotan accent. As we ate we developed a plan, trying to find the stores on the map and put them in some logical order to visit. At that point we were glad we had the extra day, because we physically could not have seen all the stores in one day.
Wednesday was a blur. We found cute things everywhere. She was a bit discouraged Wednesday evening because we just couldn't find any tops that fit her well, but at about 8:30pm we finally found a few at New York & Co., and barely had time for our ice cream dinner before the shuttle came at 10 to take us back to the hotel.
Although I wasn't planning to shop for myself, I did have to get clothing for the next day, so I ended up with a few things also
The hotel gave us toothbrushes and toothpaste and a few other necessities. The staff at the hotel, along with basically every single person we met in Minneapolis, was polite and friendly and helpful. The second day at the Mall was even better. We bought ride passes and DD talked me into going on a roller coaster whose cars swing freely (and crazily, I might add) around while the chassis and wheels stay on the tracks. Thus, you are not only screaming down tracks sideways, you are being flung around in circles that are constantly changing direction. I kept my eyes closed and promised God that I would never again get on such a thing if He would only let me live through it
I crawled out of the coaster car after it was finished and gave a hard Paddington Bear-type stare to the young man who had flippantly lied and told me the ride was "more fun than scary." I thereafter refused anything that went fast or upside down. I wanted DD to have a good time, and did not think that included taking care of a motion-sick mom! I took photos of her on all manner of rides. She wisely decided not to get on a contraption that looked like an ax. After an hour of that "fun" we went shopping again in earnest, stopping only once for a pretzel snack. We had to catch the 4pm shuttle to the hotel, where we would get the 4:20 shuttle to the airport. We went into each store left on our list, divided up the rows and picked up everything we thought she might like. I would lift things up and call her name, and she would say "yes" or "no." We asked the sales force for help, and they were all great about finding different sizes, colors, etc. I took lots of "trying on" photos.
By 3:30 pm we were finished! Grand total:
2 sundresses (one with coordinating headband)
14 tops/blouses
4 skirts
undergarments
1 capris
1 shorts
With what she had found a few weeks before in Atlanta, her summer wardrobe was complete
The shuttle driver was the one scheduled to take us to the airport, so he insisted we stay in the bus with our feet up while he retrieved the suitcase.
The mechanics of this trip were pretty easy----until we got to the airport, and found that AirTran's computer system was down. Systemwide. We checked in manually; a man ticked our names off a printed manifest (remember that?) and wrote out one boarding pass for the two of us. Unfortunately, security protocol for handwritten boarding passes is to red flag those passengers. Every single AirTran passenger had to be searched, shoes wiped, luggaged searched, etc. I was very thankful to have arrived so early at the airport this time.
Unfortunately, since we couldn't check in the regular way we didn't have seat assignments. The gate agent announced that the people who had checked in online and printed their own boarding passes (which we hadn't done at the hotel) would be allowed to board first, and then it would be open seating for the rest of us. I happened to know the plane was overbooked, (we were told that when we rebooked our return flight in Atlanta) Since we had to get seats on that plane, we stood for an hour at the gate to be the first in line for open boarding. Thank heavens we did not have any problems, but not everyone made it on the plane.
The flight left only a little late, and when we arrived in Atlanta at a D gate(farthest away) the trains weren't running. So we had to walk all the way back to the terminal, which took about 20 minutes. We used the moving sidewalks, but in the areas where people don't normally walk through they were pulling up carpet and tiling the floors, and we had to walk single-file past the workers. The airconditioning was not working on that level, either, and it was hot and stuffy. By this time it was 11 pm.
We went out the wrong side of the airport and got to the end of the fourth level lot and could not find our car. It was on the other side of the terminal, and we had to walk back through the parking lot, through the terminal, out the other side, and to the top level farthest away. I was pretty tired at that point, and we still had an hour to drive. In all the many years I've parked at the Atlanta airport I have never before "lost" my car, and put it down to Extreme Shopping Syndrome.
We got home at about 12:30 a.m., and DD drove back to school because she had to work the next day. I guess I just fell asleep the minute I walked in the door because I don't even remember her leaving.
She repeatedly thanked me throughout our trip, and kept expressing her surprise and happiness at being there. Today she sent me several sweet messages of thanks and love. We had a wonderful, exhausting time, and now I don't need to take her shopping again until about October
May 18th, 2007, 06:28 PM
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Hi Kswl,
What a special FUN trip! Having a dd about the same age, i can truly imagine how VERY special and memorable it was for both of you. And it sounds like missing your flight and staying overnight made it even more fun - and profitable in terms of shopping! Thanks so much for posting. We lvoe mom-daughter adventures and you've really inspired me to plan another one. I think i'll start by sending this thread to dd!
What a special FUN trip! Having a dd about the same age, i can truly imagine how VERY special and memorable it was for both of you. And it sounds like missing your flight and staying overnight made it even more fun - and profitable in terms of shopping!
Thanks so much for posting. We lvoe mom-daughter adventures and you've really inspired me to plan another one. I think i'll start by sending this thread to dd!
May 18th, 2007, 06:36 PM
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Thanks for the trip report kswl. Glad you and your daughter had such a good time - just sorry to hear about your plane problems, but glad you got home safely. I grew up in N MN but graduated from college in Mpls. and then worked there for several years and I still love Mpls. My husband and I get back several times a year (we live in S. Calif.) and we still love it. Your daughter is lucky to have such a special Mom.
May 18th, 2007, 07:26 PM
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Thanks, Ellen and Cali My DD confessed on the way up that she was secretly afraid I would take her on some esoteric educational trip (guilty on other occasions). Yes, the plane problems and last-minute change of plans made it more of a Shopping Adventure, lol.
Ellen, one thing we try to do is cook dinners together at a commercial kitchen. She didn't really want to learn to cook while living at home, but now she's more interested. I select the menus online and sign us up (the actual preparation takes less than 2 hours with 2 people involved). The dishes are usually something I wouldn't even try on my own. She takes a few of them back to school to freeze for her own dinners. She's learned a lot about safe food preparation, combining flavors and ingredients, etc.---as have I, after all this time!
Cali, we were struck by how genuinely friendly everyone was. Retail sales clerks are not always the best ambassadors for a city, but in this case they were all wonderful. I actually enjoyed the mall, for once.
My DD confessed on the way up that she was secretly afraid I would take her on some esoteric educational trip (guilty on other occasions). Yes, the plane problems and last-minute change of plans made it more of a Shopping Adventure, lol. Ellen, one thing we try to do is cook dinners together at a commercial kitchen. She didn't really want to learn to cook while living at home, but now she's more interested. I select the menus online and sign us up (the actual preparation takes less than 2 hours with 2 people involved). The dishes are usually something I wouldn't even try on my own. She takes a few of them back to school to freeze for her own dinners. She's learned a lot about safe food preparation, combining flavors and ingredients, etc.---as have I, after all this time!
Cali, we were struck by how genuinely friendly everyone was. Retail sales clerks are not always the best ambassadors for a city, but in this case they were all wonderful. I actually enjoyed the mall, for once.
May 18th, 2007, 07:35 PM
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Thanks for the trip report - I remember your posts about putting this together - it sounds like a great time was had by all and that you kept your sense of humor through out. I live in Southern Ca. and am toying with the idea of taking my soon to be 14 year old there for her b-day
May 18th, 2007, 07:44 PM
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So glad the trip worked out in the long run. Your description of rides reminded me of this wonderful picture of have of my husband on the flying swing ride...him surrounded by a dozen 8 year olds strapped into their swing and ready to whirly whirl!!! Thanks for a great trip report!
May 19th, 2007, 03:09 AM
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kswl - you are a far better parent than I - although your trip has me thinking - I also am mall-averse and do not like to fly, especially on Air Tran. Glad it worked out. My 16 year old has wanted to go to the Mall of America for years and I keep telling her no one just flies to MN to go to a mall - glad she does not read this forum.
As far as Air Tran and computer system - after a frustrating experience with them in February, I now know what happens to all the old computers that offices discard as obsolete - they sell them to Air Tran.
As far as Air Tran and computer system - after a frustrating experience with them in February, I now know what happens to all the old computers that offices discard as obsolete - they sell them to Air Tran.
May 19th, 2007, 03:57 PM
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KSWL, I forgot to mention that I too find the directions for MOA (floors, areas and stores) to be a bit hard to figure out. I am getting better now that I have been there so many times, but I still have to stop and think where I am and then try to figure it out from there.
May 19th, 2007, 07:24 PM
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I've been looking forward to reading this since you said you were going to go -- having extra time probably helped in the end, no? Glad you had a good time !
It always re-amazes me how friendly midwesterners are -- I grew up out there but have lived out east for 30 years now, and whenever we return, it just knocks me out how nice people are.
It always re-amazes me how friendly midwesterners are -- I grew up out there but have lived out east for 30 years now, and whenever we return, it just knocks me out how nice people are.
May 20th, 2007, 05:58 AM
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Cali, you should have seen one group of elderly shoppers, they must have come on a bus and I saw them several times, referring to the map with baffled expressions. I knew exactly how they felt.
Having the extra day was key, and I really don't know **what** I was thinking. I completely underestimated the amount of time it would take. My mall inexperience showed!
We had such a wonderful time that I think this will go down in our histories as one of the best times. Our daughter is the middle child between two boys, one four years older and one four years younger. Many times when she was growing up she would feel crowded out by them. Her code to let me know she needed me all by herself was to ask for a Sweetpea Club meeting. Those times are some of my most cherished memories, and helped us both through her teen angst period. I think this was the best club meeting, ever
Having the extra day was key, and I really don't know **what** I was thinking. I completely underestimated the amount of time it would take. My mall inexperience showed!
We had such a wonderful time that I think this will go down in our histories as one of the best times. Our daughter is the middle child between two boys, one four years older and one four years younger. Many times when she was growing up she would feel crowded out by them. Her code to let me know she needed me all by herself was to ask for a Sweetpea Club meeting. Those times are some of my most cherished memories, and helped us both through her teen angst period. I think this was the best club meeting, ever
May 20th, 2007, 07:06 PM
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What a great trip - and I'm so glad it ended up being an overnight. I barely made my flight out of Atlanta last week - security was a nightmare. Glad she enjoyed it so much - and it wasn't an "educational" trip!
May 21st, 2007, 05:53 AM
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Funny! I didn't know that you had even seen my post on the other thread. Flying/security is so stressful nowadays, I don't think I have much stamina for two times in one day. Glad it worked out so beautifully!
Flying/security is so stressful nowadays, I don't think I have much stamina for two times in one day. Glad it worked out so beautifully!
May 21st, 2007, 06:22 AM
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"We had a very late lunch at Rainforest Cafe, and our waiter had the most delightful Minnesotan accent." Hope you didn't get too many "uff-da's".
Glad your trip was so successful; I'd love to go shopping with you.
Glad your trip was so successful; I'd love to go shopping with you.
