Region Adding Indoor Mini-Golf, Legoland Seeking Approvals To Open Before Winter
By Tina Traster
As promised, the Palisades Center is taking a swing at diversifying the mall with family entertainment.
Space Adventure Glow in the Dark Mini Golf, the only 18-hole indoor miniature golf course in Rockland County, opened this week in a 7,000 square feet space on Level One next to H&M.
Space Adventure Mini Golf offers visitors on a kaleidoscopic space adventure with intergalactic encounters along the way. Everything lights up under the luminescent glow of black lights, including the putters and golf balls.
Glow-in-the-dark mini golf is becoming a popular entertainment draw nationally. Malls are increasingly seeking to offer family entertainment destinations to shake up their offerings and compensate for the loss of traditional retailers and chain restaurants. Clarkstown voters recently gave the mall the green light to expand into unused fourth-floor space by releasing them from a 20-year restrictive covenant.
Mall owners are betting on family-fun activities like glow-in-the-dark mini golf, especially while the COVID crisis continues to hamper our ability to gather in tight spaces. New York’s COVID cases are on the rise. Set to take effect Friday night, New York’s new restrictions include no more than 10 people being allowed for home gatherings and restaurants and gyms closing by 10 p.m.
American Dream in the Meadowlands in May opened an intergalactic-themed mini golf course with Catch 3-D astronaut sculptures, planet murals and a splash of color at every hole. Out of This World Blacklight Mini Golf has glow-in-the-dark equipment: balls, putters, and scorecards. General admission is $15 and a family four pack is $48.
An Angry Birds mini golf course, being built by Rovio, the owner of the Angry Birds license, is another indoor golf offering at American Dream.
It is inspired by the “Angry Birds 2” movie. It will take players on an adventure through Bird Island, Pig Island and Eagle Island. Popular characters Red, Chuck, Bomb and The Pigs will be rendered in 3D form, golf balls will be designed to look like the birds and putters will be shaped like the iconic slingshot. A date for the opening has not been announced.
Monster Mini Golf, founded in Rhode Island in 2004 by Christina Vitagliano, an entrepreneur who also works with Gene Simmons of KISS, now has 30 franchised locations across the U.S., in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, Florida, and more including a KISS-themed location in Las Vegas. There are locations in Westchester’s Ridge Hill, which opened in mid-October, and in Paramus, New Jersey.
“We look forward to transporting all of Palisades Center’s guests to a different world and watching them putt their way through space,” said Yunus Emrenj, Owner of Space Adventure Glow in the Dark Mini Golf. “We’ve put all of the necessary safety measures in place so you can get your family out and have some fun.”
“It’s great to see Palisades Center offering another unique, affordable and fun family-friendly entertainment option for Clarkstown and Rockland County residents and visitors,” said Clarkstown Councilman Donald Franchino. “It’s refreshing to see these young business owners following their dreams, despite our current times. I wish Mr. Emrenj the best of luck.”
LEGOLAND GETS LOCAL APPROVAL FOR EARLY WINTER OPENING
The Town of Goshen Planning Board on Wednesday night granted Legoland New York permission to partially open early.
But that permission is contingent on approval from state authorities during the pandemic and the park meeting building, traffic and site safety standards.
The amusement park’s owner, U.K.-based Merlin Entertainments, wants to open for up to 1,400 visitors per day, sometime between November into January. Before the pandemic, park leaders projected up to 10,000 visitors per day between Legoland’s peak months of April to October.
The planning board this week voted 6-0 to sign off, pending state approval and other site safety requirements such as cordoning off construction areas, for invitation-only guests.
Legoland New York’s invited guests could include individuals who purchased season tickets for what had been a planned spring opening until the coronavirus pandemic postponed it, Bergus said.
The planning board’s conditional approval came on the same day that Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that, with coronavirus cases rising, New York leaders are adding new restrictions for bars, gyms, restaurants and home social gatherings.