Of A & Litfetime New Family Attraction Celebrates Cereal (NAPSA)—Shoppers may be bowled over by the newest attraction at Mall of America. The nation’s largest retail and entertainment complex is now home to Cereal Adventure, a 16,000 sq. foot family attraction created to celebrate cereal. Bursting with bright colors and larger than life characters, including a 50-foot-tall version of Cocoa Puffs mascot Sonny the Cuckoo Bird, Cereal Adventure features a wide range of activities and areas of discovery. Visitors can wander through a maze of imaginative pavilions, from the Cheerios Play Park to the Lucky Charms Magical Forest. Before opening to the public in June 2001, Cereal Adventure underwent careful development and eight months of round-theclock construction. No detail was too small, from the materials used to the logo design. According to General Mills Entertainment President Ami Anderson, the goal of the project was to create a place “where your favorite cereals come to life.” “We spenta lot of time creating Cereal Adventure, ensuring thatit would be a great experience for kids and their families,” says Anderson. “It is a playful, interactive learning experience where kids can immerse themselves in the exciting world of cereal, from learning howit’s made to creating their very own cereal brand.” Cereal Adventure features a wide variety of entertaining and educational areas. For instance, Farm to Factory invites kids to explore the cereal-making process, from climbing on a real tractor to operating control panels at the “factory.” They can walk through an oversized cooker (large enough to hold 1,300 gallons of dough), use bicycle pumps to simulate the puffing process, and control the heat in the giant cereal toaster. Along the way, a video shows them footage from an actual cereal factory. Most activities within Cereal Adventure are covered by the $3.95 cost of admission. Additional opportunities include an area called “Make Your Own Cereal” in which visitors can design and take homea one-of-akind cereal brand for $6.95, and the chance to pose for a souvenir Wheaties box for $16.95, with each participant’s picture displayed on a 24-foot-high box for all to see. Of course, breakfast is served all day long in the Cereal Adventure Caf, which offers every General Mills cereal brand, special treats like Trix on a Stick and Wheaties Breakfast of Champions Bars, and other products ranging from Betty Crocker signature items to Colombo frozen yogurt. Tourists can also take home souvenirs, including everything from plush cereal characters to Wheaties sweatshirts, from Cereal Adventure jewelry to Betty Crocker spoons and aprons. “This is a one-of-a-kind attraction and we have noplansto replicate it anywhere else, but we know it appeals to cereal fans all over the world,” says Anderson. “We’ve already had visitors from every state in the U.S. and numerousinternational tourists.” Just minutes from General Mills’ corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, Cereal Adventure is located at Mall of America, which attracts over 42 million visitors each year. The attraction is open Monday-Saturday, 10am to 9:30pm and Sundays from 1lam to 7pm.
