When it comes to cartoon-themed trips, there’s a startling lack of neon orange.
It ’s my 30th birthday , the sun has just coif over Punta Cana , and I ’m sitting in an open - airwave theater watching an instalment ofSpongeBob Squarepantson a movie projection screen . My better friend and I are sip rum cocktails from a coconut , marveling at how tropical paradise and our personal version of paradise ( see : watchingSpongeBob ) have converged . After all , it was only a few years ago that the all - inclusive Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts Punta Cana fare into existence .
I place as a Nick Adult . That means I was raised on cartoons likeRugrats , The Wild Thornberrys , SpongeBob Squarepants , andCatDog , internalizing their goofy style of humour before I could even read . As I grew old , still quotingSpongeBobdaily , I noticed what so - calledDisney Adultshad , between their theme parks , cruise , festivals , taproom crawls , resort hotel , and hotels . And lead up to this trip , I joked with friends that I was taking a pilgrim’s journey to thePineapple Villaas the cooler , funnier , and ( so I thought ) more ironically detached translation of the kind of person who cries real rip while posing for a pic with a guy in a Buzz Lightyear costume . With that spirit in mind , I ’d booked a “ personal sliming , ” jot down down when I could meet Squidward , and resolved to take a photo with the holiday resort ’s oversized bronze statue of SpongeBob .
But now , three 24-hour interval into slurping gunk charmer at a swim - up bar and float down a lazy river under a mammoth orange Nickelodeon Colonel Blimp while other guests chased after their kid , I begin to doubt myself . It was becoming clear that my supporter and I were among the only childless adults on the belongings . Where were my people ?
Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts Punta Cana
It made sense that I could n’t obtain them ; Disney grownup have feed of a dozen theme parks around the world , while Nick adult are leave shinny for scraps . By my count , there ’s the Universal Studios in Orlando , a Nickelodeon Universe indoor theme park at the Mall of America in Minnesota , and another Nickelodeon Universe in New Jersey , where park goer can hop on rides like Jimmy Neutron ’s Atom Smasher , Sandy ’s Blasting Bronco , even aLegends of the Hidden Temple - themed ropes trend .
Leo Cimoch , a time of year passing game holder to the third one , has confab the green more than 100 times since it open in 2019 . “ After all of the stresses of a regular day , with my season fling , I really do feel like it ’s a nice place to get away , ” says Cimoch , who ’ll sport aSpongeBoborTeenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesT - shirt during his visits and is wide recognize by Mungo Park employees . “ It ’s upbeat . There ’s bright lights and euphony , and recurring character appearances . ”
Though the 43 - year - old loves the park , he wish there should be more for fans — take on - and - greets with character like Patrick Star are rugged to find outside of New Jersey . To that end , Chloe Liggett , a 23 - year - old TikToker who work for a base park called Kings Island in Mason , Ohio , recentlypenned a modest petitionto Paramount Parks . The ship’s company phased out Nick Kid - favorable elements at its attractions — cogitate tumbler coasters , ride , and talent store — back in 2006 , after CBS and Viacom split .
Photo courtesy of American Dream
Although she ’s hopeful about the forthcomingNickelodeon hotel openingin Kissimmee , Florida , in 2026 , Liggett still articulate that Nickelodeon has a long way to go in terms of appealing to more adult .
" Within the next decade , I opine it would make a lot of sense to impart back more Nickelodeon idea parks in some manner , " she says . " While there are the Nickelodeon Universe park , they do n’t even come near to the experiences Disney fans can deal . "
Though the deficiency of atomic number 10 - orange tumbler pigeon coasters is disappointing to some enthusiasts , they ’re not the only way to appeal to fans . A few Nickelodeon Adults have take matter into their own hands .
Photos courtesy of Madeline Bilis
Dominic Marciano is the bar manager atThe Brixtonon Long Island , where a so - called “ Drinkelodeon ” menu features cocktail with figure like Hey Arnold Palmer , Kenan + Mezkel , and Rumrats . The millennial and former Nick Kid says he come up with the idea about a year ago while trying to appeal to his butt grocery : multitude ages 25 to 40 . Catering to nostalgia seemed like an gentle mode in .
“ Watching Nickelodeon brings people back to their youth ; a simpler sentence with no broadside , no political relation , no responsibilities , and no concern , ” Marciano tells me . “ In my judgement , that ’s how a bar should be . It should be a position where you may let idle , have fun , and act like a fry again . ”
Meanwhile , rapperKa5shquotesSpongeBobdaily and even has a tattoo of a character from an episode in which the gang go tenting . The 32 - class - onetime North Carolina native lean into his Nick Adult status with the help of DJs and wink lights . He ’s the Almighty ofBig Bubble Rave , a touringSpongeBob - theme event that ’s been bumping remixes to “ Jelly Pisces Jam ” and “ F.U.N. Song ” to costume attendees since 2022 . The articulation of SpongeBob himself , Tom Kenny , made an appearance at a rave in 2023 , much to the delectation of 29 - year - onetime Desirea Price , who dressed up like Hibernation Sandy for the rave and look herself lucky to be there .
When Price was younger , and before it closed in 2008 , she visited the Nickelodeon Blast Zone at Universal Studios in Hollywood . But that experience pales in comparison to the two large house of cards Raves she ’s attended . Attendees untested and old go all out on costumes , she says , with one attendee lop up like Plankton ’s computing equipment married woman , Karen . “ They actually had an light-emitting diode sieve on their cheek with a boob tube monitor around their head , ” toll remembers . A 34 - yr - onetime buddy who ’d never see the show before had so much fun he was converted into someone who regularly watchesSpongeBob — a bonafide Nickelodeon adult .
“ I ca n’t even put into Son how cool the costumes are . And mass make them themselves , ” read Price . “ Being this eld , too , and seeing other people completely further that is just awesome . ”
On our last Nox at the Nickelodeon Resort , my friend and I saddled up to the bar in the “ Snick Lounge , ” which nods to ‘ XC Nick shows likeAaahh ! ! ! Real Monstersand theRen & Stimpy Show . In other word — the adult - coded hangout . We were the only patron for a while , until a couple of daddy popped down for a drink after putting their kid to bed .
By that full point , I ’d made peace with being a childless repair guest . I still had a fire and , unlike a kid , appreciated every little detail , right down to frame print of stills fromSpongeBobepisodes in each entourage . I ’d started to think : possibly Nick Adults do n’t need a 1:1 ticket of hotels , parkland , and cruise to rule their Disney - like communities . I reckon they ’d prefer fewer — and mirthful — experience alternatively . After all , Nickelodeon skew silly ( and sometimes absurdist ) , whereas Disney leans into heartwarming storyline and docile instant .
One solar day I hope to mention DoodleBob in an surroundings where everybody gets the reference . Themed booze menus , costumed raves , and Pineapple Villas are scratching that itch for now , but I see a time to come where Nick Adults revel freely . It ’s only a affair of clip until we create more place to convoke .
