I have never been to Masa. With respect to Mystic Lake, they don't have all of the Las Vegas cash games. Tons of machines and card tables - primarily Blackjack. Canterbury Downs horse race track is near Mystic Lake and they also have gambling. No machines, just card games.
OK You are a good husband. My wife could spend weeks at the MoA. Hell she could spend weeks at Baybrook Mall. To be fair to my wife though she has now allowed me to wander off as long as I answer my cell phone and bring her purse to pay for stuff and carry her purchases.
Best would be to build the largest mall in the world here in Houston.. I suggest the Astrodome conversion.
Cool tidbit about the mall of America though.. They don't need to use heaters in the winter bc of the sheer amt of bodyheat
I hate shopping, but the Mall of America is pretty cool. There is some really cool stuff there, but 3 days? You'll be lucky if you spend 1 ENTIRE enjoyable day at the mall. Its got enough to keep you interested many hours, not many days.
I would prefer a swap meet / "outdoor" barbecue and Tex-Mex / pay-here-buy-here used car lot. We've actually kind of knocked it out of the park already with Galleria and Katy Mills.
And, unlike most malls anywhere, presumably a pretty decent Barnes & Noble with a solid magazine section and considerable seating. Amazing how all those Waldenbooks and B. Daltons disappeared, like those H&H Music stores.
Mall of America took a big hit after the recession. (Really shopping in Minneapolis as a whole did) A lot of the highest end stores left the MoA and Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. (Bloomingdales shut down, a lot of the smaller high end stores left as well) I'm fairly certain that the Galleria now has a stronger set of high end stores. The Mall of America is still bigger in overall size but the Galleria has shrunk the gap to the point where there isn't even a reason to come exclusively for the MoA anymore. The Galleria is just as good in my opinion (and in some ways better) If you have kids though, the Mall of America will have more things to entertain. It still has the indoor amusement park in the middle, the movie theater on the 4th floor with an arcade next to it and it has an aquarium downstairs (although I've personally never gone so I cant vouch if its any good) If you're coming to Minneapolis soon, go to the state fair. It's the only state fair I've seen that rivals the Texas State Fair in size and quality. And as suggested by others, catch a Twins game. The casinos nearby are decent enough too. Plenty of stuff to do besides hanging out at the Mall. They're planning on doubling the size of the Mall of America eventually so when that finally happens, I suppose it might be worth coming back for it.
I ate at Masa once and it was overpriced and not very good. That was years ago so it might be better. If you want good Mexican food in the Twin Cities I would skip the big name restaurants and go to the many Tacquierias that have opened up on East Lake St. Nicollet Ave. south of Downtown Minneapolis is also called Eat Street and has some very good Vietnamese and Mexican restaurants.
I haven't been to Mystic Lake and years but one thing I remember about the MN casinos was that there wasn't alcohol allowed on the casino floors if you are looking to do some drinking. Also right around Mystic Lake and Canterbury Downs is the largest amusement park in Minnesota, Valley Fair.
they just don't have heaters. "Their enthusiasm is a prime reason the Mall of America, now in its 20th year, can claim to continually reduce costs through conservation. But it is a complicated process because the mall is not just large, but also composed of hundreds of enterprises — stores, restaurants and an amusement park. And it is heated not conventionally but by skylights, electric lights and the body heat of 45 million visitors annually." http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/11/b...-energy-to-cut-costs.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
http://brokensecrets.com/2010/03/02/the-mall-of-america-does-not-have-a-central-heating-system/ id say its been validated lol
