If you want your preschooler's Halloween costume worn more than once, Nickelodeon Universe has a dry, heated trick-or-treat run on the Tuesday before Halloween. The Toddler Tuesdays Treat Trail runs from 10 a.m. to noon on Oct. 27. Kids in costume follow a route through the park and pick up treats along the way, according to Mall of America's event listing.
To join, you need a Toddler Tuesdays wristband. Buy one first, then pick up a treat bag at the Nickelodeon Shop, the mall says. The listing doesn't give an age range, and it doesn't say whether you need one wristband per child or one per family. If you're bringing siblings, ask at the counter.
The wristband costs $15.99 plus tax, according to Nickelodeon Universe. It's sold on-site and only on Tuesdays. It's good for 5 hours, and the clock starts when it's scanned at your first ride, not when you buy it. It covers select Junior and Family rides, so the trail and a few laps on the small rides fit on the same band. That's a better deal than paying for the treat bag alone, which isn't an option anyway. The park says wristbands are sold at Nickelodeon Universe ticket kiosks, guest service desks and merchandise locations.
The treat trail is a Halloween version of Toddler Tuesdays, the mall's weekly program for small kids and their caregivers. Every Tuesday brings the discounted ride wristband, free kids' meals at participating restaurants for children 6 and under, and some retail deals, according to the mall. On the second Tuesday of each month there's also free entertainment in the Huntington Bank Rotunda, with character appearances, arts and crafts, story time and performances. Oct. 27 is the fourth Tuesday, so there's no rotunda show that day. Kids get the treat trail instead.
The treat trail is part of a busy Halloween stretch at the mall. The weekend before, on Oct. 23 and 24, professional pumpkin carvers will be turning Nickelodeon characters into jack-o'-lanterns. That's a good preview trip if your toddler is still deciding between Paw Patrol and SpongeBob.
Practical notes: the trail ends at noon, which fits most nap schedules. Since the 5-hour wristband clock starts at the first ride scan, starting the trail before the rides gets you the most time on the band. Mall parking is free.
