the mommy avenger

For as long as I lived in New Jersey, they were working on a huge project in East Rutherford. This project had a few hiccups and was stopped and resumed multiple times throughout the past two decades. It finally opened up as American Dream a few years back, but I just now got the opportunity to go and visit it.

For those that have not ventured to American Dream, let me tell you, it is an experience! It is a massive complex of shopping, food, and entertainment. This past week, my family and I were able to come and explore the “mall” and we got to have a lot of fun in the process.

Of all the mega attractions found at this mall, we couldn’t believe there was an indoor ski resort inside. We knew we would have to check it out first!

Big Snow American Dream is North America’s first and only indoor, real-snow, year-round ski and snow resort. It is packed with snow, literally–they can make 4.4 tons of it per hour! With 4 ski lifts, 150,000 square feet of slopes, and 4 acres of skiable area, there is lots of space to learn to ski and snowboard or just go do it, if you already know how.

I don’t know many people who show up to the mall in ski gear with ski equipment in tow. But, while I was at American Dream, I actually saw several people like this. You can bring your own gear and go play in the snow. We were not planning on a day of skiing and we did not have any gear with us. That was not a problem at all.

We arrived at Big Snow and found the check in process to be extremely easy. It’s all done on your phone. Purchase the package that best suits your needs. You can select a snow day package for the day or get a snow pass that allows you to come and ski/snowboard unlimited. We opted for the snow day package that included everything we needed to enjoy the day. Coats, pants, boots, helmets, ski equipment rentals all come in this package, making it easy to do spur of the moment trips. It’s also especially great for anyone that does not have those things already. If you want extra add ons, like gloves, you can purchase them on premises for a really affordable price.

We filled out out waivers, ordered our time slot and packages all through the ease of our phones. Then we simply showed them our codes and we were on our way for some serious fun.

They take you into a room, give you instructions, fit you with your gear and send you on your way to have an absolute blast. If you are new to this whole game, no need to worry, it is very beginner-friendly! You can even take some lessons while you are there. If you are confident enough to go at it on your own, you absolutely can. 

Each session lasts for a couple of hours and you can get lots of runs in during that time. I was impressed at the amount of space and room for movement–it was not over run with people. In fact, I was thinking how much nicer it was than trekking up to a ski resort and the whole ordeal that comes with that.

Everything here was easy to get to and so much fun to use. The slopes are significant ones, as well. The slope grades are 26% Max, 3% Min, and 10% average. The slopes are kept at a cool 28 degrees, so you feel like you are outdoors enjoying the snow.

I saw people of all ages participating and having a wonderful time. If you don’t ski and just want to take your kids, you can do that, too. There are observation areas, both in the resort and in the mall, where you can sit and watch your kids with a nice warm cup of hot chocolate and a fire. Not too shabby!

I loved the ease of coming to Big Snow. It was just as easy as taking your kids to go roller skating, laser tag or bowling. You didn’t have to bring anything with you and you didn’t have to go really far away. I love that you can decide the day of that you want to do it, making it a great activity to do during a school break, a weekend, or a planned family outing.

My kids loved the opportunity to go snowboarding, something they had never done before, and had so much fun doing it. Buying a Snow Pass would be a great gift idea for Christmas, too, as it would allow lots of opportunity to get out and have fun year round. It’s definitely something I would consider doing because it is so much more convenient than driving to the mountains. You would get a lot of use out of a Snow Pass.

I noticed as I was in New York City the rest of the week, I would occasionally see people on the subway with their snowboards in hand and I knew instantly where they were headed. It’s such a great location for people both in New York City and New Jersey to go and enjoy snow sports.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Big Snow and highly recommend it to you. You can learn more about their passes and packages, as well as snow play and tubing by visiting them online.

^{*we were invited to facilitate a feature, all opinions are our own.*}