I have to say they have improved this waterpark. It's more organized and they have more staff. I…read morerecommend getting the pass to skip lines because the lines does take up time. Came for my son's 10th birthday and he had a blast. There were 6 of us and we got there around 12 and left when they closed at 7pm. We also ate here which was a bit pricy but food was good and there's a lot of options. You can even get alcoholic drinks too. My son has food allergies and safely ate the French fries here. The bathrooms were clean too. I recommend adding more small lockers like the ones they have near the food, near the kids area. It was a pretty far walk to do to store my son's allergy and asthma meds. Otherwise, great park and we had a great time. I already know we will be back !

We bundled tickets to the water park and amusement park and spent one day here. We arrived around…read more10:30am (they opened at 11am) and there was already a line. We were let down around 10:55am and let into the water area promptly at 11am. We easily got three seats right in front of the wave pool. We had myself and a 36" tall kid and a 48" tall kid. 48" could ride all water slides. The 36" year old was relegated to the kiddie slides in the Kung Fu Panda area and the Arctic Zone slides but she still had a blast. The highlight was probably the hot tub. The kids loved that they could go in too-we made several visits throughout the day. The lazy river was also fun but the kids preferred no tube. There are two paths and one is less lazy than the other. The wave pool was fun without a tube and, actually, most people didn't have one. My youngest loved the dance party with King Julian from Madagascar. The Arctic zone has 6ish slides for 36"+. The Kung Fu Panda area has 5-6 slides also 36"+. We also spent some time in the Gabby's Dollhouse splash pad. This is for the VERY youngest guests. My 7 year old went on some 48"+ slides right next door and my 4 year old was done in 15 minutes. We also had lunch at the burger shack and it was decent for an amusement park burger and hot dog. We also secured a locker but could have in retrospect kept everything at the towels as long as I kept my bank cards/phone in my watertight case. I really look forward to returning here in the future and so do my little companions!

This is a fun indoor amusement park. They pack a ton of rides into a relatively small space,…read moreincluding several rollercoasters. You can walk around for free and purchase wristbands if you want to enjoy the rides. I came on a Thursday and lines were not too long. Most rides require kids to be 3 feet in height. There were not really any options for babies under 1, except for a play space with blocks and climbing. They have a good amount of seating and a small arcade inside as well. It's part of the American Dream mall with tons of other attractions, including a water park and an aquarium, so it's a great place to spend a full day.

We did bundle tickets with the water park. We visited on a Saturday. We arrived around 10:30am and…read morethere was a line already for the 11:00am opening. They had a character come out for pictures for some entertainment. I visited with a 48" kid and a 36" kid. The taller one could go on most things but they interpreted 48" as not tall enough to ride things that said "those 48" and under" must ride with an adult, so since I was unable to leave the smaller child, he couldn't ride those ones. The smaller kid was limited in rides though. No roller coasters for the little one which was disappointing for her. I loved the 90s Nickelodeon nostalgia. Still had a bunch of Paw Patrol for current littles. There's also an arcade but luckily I was able to avoid that. We went to the food court for lunch and returned after. There are also character appearances-we got pics with Marshall and Rafael. I'd love to return when my little is just a little bigger!

I finally got to go here. Parking is for a nominal fee and seemed chaotic on a Sunday afternoon…read more Walking into the mall was a moment of aww. The decor, lights and fixtures had a serene feel. This mall is huge. I happened to enter on a more quieter side. I strolled through the section of the mall I entered in and was in complete sensory overload because its so much to see and the stores were abundant. There were plenty of resting areas in the mall and of a more luxury appeal. This mall boast of an indoor amusement park. The park is not in my opinion work the cost. It appeared that Nickelodeon portion is a separate fee from the waterpark portion. The amusement park portion was in a more crowded and busier portion of the mall. Covering the entire mall didnt seem feasible in one day. I will get back another time as it is huge.

Glad I was able to check out the second largest mall in America!…read more I came to America Dream with my niece and nephew and it was a blast. This mall is definetly a one stop shop for fun and fashion! They have everything from a ski resort to Nickelodeon Amusement Park. They also got the high end bougie stores like Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci. We went to the Nikelodeon Park and was able to pay per ride which was cool. We also was able go on the Ferris wheel that overlooked Manhattan. I also finally found the World Cup soccer ball from the Addidas store. American Dream is a place that requires multiple trips! Parking was easy peasy. I paid 6.50 to park in thier parking lot.

Great views at this playground. We love to visit around sunset. Play area for tots and older…read morekiddos. A splash pad area that runs seasonally. My kids are huge fans of this playground and love the monkey cars and rock climbing with the rope. One of our top 5 parks in the area. Highly recommend.

Amazingly beautiful pier…read more Some of the best views of the city are from here. I can come by this pier & relax honestly for the remainder of my life. Will for sure be back.

The pool just came off a two-year, $19 million renovation -- closed after the 2022 season, reopened…read morein June 2024. Crews rebuilt the pool shell from scratch, replaced the deck and gutters, and put in new filtration and chemical treatment systems. The water itself feels noticeably better for it. That said, don't expect the renovation to have touched everything: the locker rooms, bathrooms, and communal showers are untouched, still the same ones I remember from before construction started. I was there again yesterday and can confirm: nothing's changed on that front, and honestly you won't be in there long enough for it to matter much. Access is still free, no Parks membership required, just a bathing suit and a padlock for the lockers. Security is strict about bag checks, and heads up: cell phones aren't allowed on the pool deck at all. Current hours: 11am-7pm daily, with the pool closing for cleaning from 3-4pm. Inside, you'll find the pool split into zones: a lap section, a general bathing area, and a shallow end for young kids. The bleachers give you plenty of space to stake out a spot for towels, and if you're lucky, you can grab one of the lounge chairs near the old diving pool (now covered over). Lap swimming has genuinely improved. The biggest change I noticed: there are now dividers separating the lanes, and they're generously wide. A real upgrade from the old system where everyone just shared open water and hoped for the best. A few things still apply, though: - Always glance ahead before pushing off to make sure no one's swimming toward you. - Roughly half the lap crowd sticks to a slow breaststroke pace. - Every so often someone decides to stand up and walk mid-lane, or just doesn't realize it's a lap-only zone. Lifeguards try to keep traffic moving, but it happens. - The pool's sheer size still works in your favor: way more room per lap than a standard 25m pool, and less crowded overall than most NYC public pools. - Timing tip: the best window for lap swimming is right at 4pm, the moment the pool reopens after the cleaning break. It might be the single best hour of the day to swim here. No outside food on deck, but there's a stand on the west side of the pool deck selling burgers, hot dogs, fries, wings, mozzarella sticks, salads, and ice cream. Cash and card both work. A heads-up: No tap-to-pay, since phones can't come out on deck anyway. Even with all the crowds NYC pools can attract, I've never found this one packed. Same goes for the surrounding park. Because it's a bit of a walk from the nearest subway stop, the crowd here skews heavily toward local families rather than people coming from across the city. This means that this pool never really gets crowded, let alone anywhere near capacity. If you're driving in, it's an easy trip: there's free public parking right at the entrance to Astoria Park, under the RFK Bridge. Speaking of pool renovations gone right: maybe for the Reflecting Pool the Trump administration should've called whoever redid the shell here at Astoria. This one's still holding water: No algae blooms, no peeling liner, no $16 million overrun. Sometimes the WPA crews from 1936 still know something the current contractors don't.

PUBLIC POOL: It's been a couple of years since the Pool became operational again, after a massive…read more$19 Million renovation. Spent many Summers at NYC's largest Swimming Facility both as a camper and a counselor. WORTH VISITING.

This experience was very cute! $20/person though is super expensive IMO for mini-golf. My kids are…read morefans of both movies so we enjoyed taking lots of pictures. It was a Sunday evening and we were backed up at a few holes for several minutes each.

A good time, but the holes are a little too simple. I got a couple hole-in-ones and I'm not exactly…read moreathletic or skilled. The course is bright and well-maintained, and is a fun time overall. They also oversell it. There was one group of 8 that was 2 holes in front of me, and 1 group of 6 in the hole in front of me. And there was a group of 5 directly behind me, with another group of 4 that was 2 holes behind me. All of us were waiting for each other to finish. So fun overall, but even pre-purchasing won't help you avoid a rush.

Great pool, well managed, lots of fun. I took my seven-year-old daughter and we both had a blast…read more It was clean and safe. Exceeded my expectations.

Open 7 days 11am-3pm and 4pm-7pm Lap Swimming Mon. - Fri…read more from 7:00 - 8:30 AM & 7:00 - 8:30 PM Rules: * Bring your own towels and lock * No electronics in the pool area- must store in locker * No luggage locks, only Master Locks allowed. * All bags frisked before entry Pros: * Enormous pool * Very clean and cold water - you can tell they constantly clean it * There is a lot of space to lie down, but its mostly uncomfortable concrete surfaces. Good thing there are about 10 plastic lounge chairs (that are heavily padlocked and chained to each other) at the back that go quickly Cons: * Because it's a public free pool- there are tons of rules and staff is very strict. Honestly I'd prefer rules and strict versus total chaos at the pool * Changing rooms and showers are gross!! It smells and there is never any toilet paper. Make sure to wear flip flops because the floors are disgusting. Tips: * If you want quiet, don't come to the Friday morning session because there are a million kids running and screaming.

World of Discovery is a great day camp. We've been sending our countless children there for 6…read moreyears. The staff is friendly and helpful. They run a fun and professional outfit. Oh! They are also very knowledgeable. I'll often have a hard question and I'll speak to some teenager (cue eye roll). Then, the kid gives me a friendly and accurate answer because they've been going to the camp since they were 4 and are subject matter experts! It's hilarious. Send your kids. They'll have a great time and not become part of the furniture over the summer. Why are you still reading this? Sign up, man!

My son has been to World of Discovery 2 summers ago and is excited to return this summer. He looks…read moreforward to the different trips and I have to say the staff is very communicative and responsive. It's a great summer experience and highly recommend it.

America was on the hunt for a unique centerpiece to outshine the 1889 World Fair's Eiffel Tower for…read morethe 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Enter George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., an engineer with a head for heights and a knack for defying gravity with a dream about building a giant, rotating wheel. An early version placed three of the wheels--each 50 feet tall--at Asbury Park and Atlantic City in New Jersey, as well as at Coney Island in New York. This grand spectacle, the Ferris Wheel, is an iconic symbol of fun, frolic, and fright, providing a panoramic view of the landscape with each towering rotation. For some of us, family member and I took a spin on the Dream Wheel by Skyviews at American Dream, located in East Rutherford. There are 27 climate-controlled gondolas that offer thrilling views of the Manhattan skyline, including sights of the Empire State Building, One World Trade, 30 Hudson Yards, and Vanderbilt Tower, and in NJ, overlooking the American Dream Mall, the epic MetLife Stadium, and beyond. The ride duration lasts about 20 min and goes around only once really slowly. If your party is less than 6, one shares the gondola with other visitors. This is just your run-of-the-mill tourist attraction without going into Manhattan, and if one's budget allows doing something extravagant, then go!

I'm normally scared of Ferris wheels because they are slow but move too much. This does not scare…read moreme. It's enclosed and goes very slow. There's seating when you pay for the VIP option and you can connect to the Bluetooth for music. The staff here are nice and friendly. My family had a great and memorable time. My son talks about it often and wants to do this again