I visited the new American Dream megamall on its opening day and it was eerily empty

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• The American Dream megamall opened on Friday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
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• Only the Nickelodeon Universe theme park and the ice-skating rink were open to the public on opening day, in addition to some pop-up activities for Halloween.
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• When it fully opens, the 3 million-square-foot center will have a theme park, ice rink, water park, indoor ski center, and over 450 shops, and it will be one of the largest malls in North America.
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• New Jersey Transit added an express bus service for transportation to and from the mall.
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• Here's what it was like to go there on opening day.
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• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

American Dream is finally here.

The megamall opened in New Jersey on Friday in a ceremony over 20 years in the making.

As one of the largest malls in the US, the project had a drawn-out and often delayed evolution. At long last, the first phase of the complex - the Nickelodeon Universe theme park and an ice-skating rink - opened on Friday. Friends and family of some of the mall owners and employees were invited to experience the theme park on opening day.

Though tickets to the theme park sold out well before opening day, the public was invited to explore the unfinished complex and partake in various pop-up Halloween-themed activities and enjoy an ice-skating rink in the mall.

New Jersey Transit added express bus services to transport guests to and from the mall to help alleviate traffic. The New York Waterway is also running a ferry service to American Dream from Manhattan with dedicated shuttles to help travelers complete their journey.

I took the New Jersey express bus line to American Dream on opening day and found it almost entirely empty. When I got to the mall, it was devoid of the large crowds that characterized Mall of America when it first opened in 1992. Still, the theme park and ice-skating rink were in great shape.

"This is a big day for New Jersey and a whole lot of folks," New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said at the opening-day ceremony with representatives from Triple Five Group, which has overseen the project since 2011.

Here's what it was like to go to American Dream on its opening day.