PARAMUS — Malls over the country and here in New Jersey are trying to find ways to compete with online shopping and one of the ways they are doing that is by offering interactive experiences instead of just a shopping experience. Two new experiences are coming to the Westfield Garden State Plaza mall.

Kingsmen Xperience and Hasbro have announced that they will be opening the first North American location of Nerf Action Xperience and the world’s first Planet Playskool kids experience at the mall by the end of 2023.

The Nerf Action Xperience at Westfield Garden State Plaza will be over 25,000 square feet in size and is designed to bring the Nerf brand to fans of all ages.

Planet Playskool is an indoor children’s edutainment center that incorporates Hasbro’s Play-Doh, Transformers, PJ Masks, Mousetrap, Spirograph and Tinkertoy brands. The concept, aimed at young children, will span more than 20,000 square feet.

Both indoor entertainment centers will feature multiple activity zones, food and beverage areas, and retail stores.

“We are very pleased to be opening our first locations of these Hasbro branded experiences in North America with such a great partner and venue as Westfield Garden State Plaza. This marks the beginning of our strategic rollout plan, in conjunction with our longstanding partner Hasbro, to expand to many more key locations across the U.S. and Canada over the next several years,” says Corey Redmond, senior executive vice president of Kingsman Xperience.

Dennis Marnick, a vice president with the mall told NorthJersey.com about Planet Playskool:

"They have these legacy brands that your grandpa knows or your dad knows and now the child knows, I look at it as a really cool family experience, not just focused on children."

The mall is located at One Garden State Plaza, Paramus.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle only.

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