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Photo TR: Canobie Coaster's World Adventures


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Great report! This place has been on my bucket list for a very long time. Since the Canadian Mindbender's southern cousin SFoG Mindbender is one of my favorite rides ever - I've always wanted to ride it.

 

I also wanted to mention that one of the things I REALLY enjoy about your reports is that you can always see your joy at being at a park. Things have to be SERIOUSLY F&^@ed up for you to mention negatives. You seem to enjoy yourself, roll with things and you don't bitch about every little inconvenience.

 

Just wanted to mention that as I appreciate it.

 

David

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HA. .that pic of you on Mindbender is Awesome-sauce.

 

still giggling over it.

 

 

really looking forwards to your full mall report, as I've always wanted to go to this place to check it out. (maybe not bucket list, but bubbling just under bucket list).

 

spoil a bit tho. . was the Aquarium worth it?

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Oh look it’s my boy Galaxyland! That one underrated park that nobody ever talks about, even with an incredible Schwarzkopf crammed inside it! I’ve been here multiple times— I have family in Edmonton and I have gone to this park since I was little. I rode Mindbender in July 2017, and it became my favorite coaster of all time for a few weeks besting Fury, Skyrush, Mako and Lightning Rod. You just have to lean forward on the restraints and get your neck above the “Accordions of Death”.

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Great report! This place has been on my bucket list for a very long time. Since the Canadian Mindbender's southern cousin SFoG Mindbender is one of my favorite rides ever - I've always wanted to ride it.

 

I also wanted to mention that one of the things I REALLY enjoy about your reports is that you can always see your joy at being at a park. Things have to be SERIOUSLY F&^@ed up for you to mention negatives. You seem to enjoy yourself, roll with things and you don't bitch about every little inconvenience.

 

Just wanted to mention that as I appreciate it.

 

David

 

Thanks! Ultimately I'm at the park to enjoy myself and not criticize them for a bulb being out or paint chipping. I definitely will note if operations are poor or rides are closed, but usually I end up leaving on a high note so I have a positive impression in my mind. And honestly I can just poke fun at a park sometimes for its shortcomings (see Camden Park).

 

As for Galaxyland's Mindbender versus Georgia's Mind Bender, I think they're very different rides. The two share the same manufacturer and forceful loops, but the rest of the ride feels way different. Georgia's feels graceful while Galaxyland's feels like a bat out of hell.

 

HA. .that pic of you on Mindbender is Awesome-sauce.

 

still giggling over it.

 

 

really looking forwards to your full mall report, as I've always wanted to go to this place to check it out. (maybe not bucket list, but bubbling just under bucket list).

 

spoil a bit tho. . was the Aquarium worth it?

 

Thanks! The mall as a whole was a really neat experience.

 

As for the aquarium, unfortunately it wasn't what I expected. What they had was very good (in particular a sea lion show in the middle of a mall), but the place was extremely small. I'm talking walk from one end to the other in 30 seconds small.

 

=) Oh look it’s my boy Galaxyland! That one underrated park that nobody ever talks about, even with an incredible Schwarzkopf crammed inside it! I’ve been here multiple times— I have family in Edmonton and I have gone to this park since I was little. I rode Mindbender in July 2017, and it became my favorite coaster of all time for a few weeks besting Fury, Skyrush, Mako and Lightning Rod. You just have to lean forward on the restraints and get your neck above the “Accordions of Death”.

 

I prefer the airtime centric rides of the coasters you mentioned, but I did really love Mindbender. Thankfully Robb taught everyone on the Oktoberfest trip how to ride coasters with accordion restraints since they definitely had the potential to ruin a great ride if worn incorrectly.

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That Schwartzkopf looks really good! I love how it almost touches the roof of that huge mall and those diving drops look sick. I had never heard of this coaster before and wasn't aware Edmonton had an amusement park as well but I am well aware of their indoor water park. Did you experience their water park too that looks really fun?

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Apparently they built the roof around this ride and you can tell when you ride it. The clearance at the top of the lift is very tight.

 

Yes I did visit the water park. Galaxyland was my top priority, but I will have a report for that. It was probably the best water park I've visited not named Blizzard Beach.

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Loved your reaction shot on Mindbender! It's much like ours was, waaaay back in 2001.

 

Glad to read you enjoyed the park. AND that glorious indoor waterpark!

Looking forward to your take on that, too.

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I'm a little late to the party, but I enjoyed your Phoenix TRs. Desert Storm is such a weird coaster, but I think that's why I like it so much. I visit Phoenix about once a year and always make sure to stop by Castles 'N' Coasters when I'm there. Desert Storm and all the weird Disney knockoff murals around the park are worth a trip to this park.

I didn't even know Wildlife World was a thing; I'll have to check it out on my next trip.

Glad to see you "enjoyed" what little this Grand Canyon State has to offer in terms of Theme parks. If you ever make it back out here, be sure to check Schnepf Farms. It is only open occasionally but it has the best coaster in the state. It may not be very tall but it sure has some "OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL" airtime moments when you sit in the back.

Dang, dude! I've visited Queen Creek Olive Mill a few times and had no idea there was a coaster right across the street. I'll have to check it out on my next trip.

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Loved your reaction shot on Mindbender! It's much like ours was, waaaay back in 2001.

 

Glad to read you enjoyed the park. AND that glorious indoor waterpark!

Looking forward to your take on that, too.

 

Thanks! That's a neat frame; the photo I got was only the photo.

 

I'm a little late to the party, but I enjoyed your Phoenix TRs. Desert Storm is such a weird coaster, but I think that's why I like it so much. I visit Phoenix about once a year and always make sure to stop by Castles 'N' Coasters when I'm there. Desert Storm and all the weird Disney knockoff murals around the park are worth a trip to this park.

I didn't even know Wildlife World was a thing; I'll have to check it out on my next trip.

 

Thanks! Desert Storm was definitely off and I agree that's part of why I really liked it. If it had OSTRs, I'd be singing a different tune.

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If you are into big thrills and coasters, well Mindbender is pretty much all you are going to like there. It is a pretty average indoor park with mostly family rides. As far as size? It's a small park, I believe the one at Mall of America is much bigger and it has more variety. I hate how they put that spinner coaster right thru Mindbender too! I thought it looked better without that in the way.

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World Waterpark

 

I expected to like World Waterpark simply because indoor water parks are a novelty to me. But I did not expect to like World Waterpark as much as I did. It had an awesome collection of speed slides plus climate controlled water. I’m the type of person who visits water parks on the least ideal day (rainy, 65 degrees, etc) to avoid crowds, so 86 degree water was an absolute godsend.

 

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I felt like a shark out of water in 86 degree water, but it felt so right.

 

This water park is the opposite of Splashin’ Safari. The only things this place has in common with Holiday World are friendly employees and free soda. While Splashin’ Safari consists entirely of tube slides, World Waterpark is almost entirely made up of body slides. Heck there were even 2-3 body slides with suspiciously oversized tubes that make me think they were once tube slides in another life.

 

My back wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of body slides only, but these are the smoothest body slides I’ve ever ridden. Even the extreme drop pod slides were smooth as glass. These slides were the real deal and not that garbage from SplashTacular (if you’ve ridden SFNE or SFA’s Bonzai Pipeline, it’s them).

 

So I guess I’ll start with Cyclone, the massive AquaLoop. I know there are taller water slides out there, but this thing looks colossal. The drop pod is mere feet from the roof. Even when the other slides built up queues, the drop pod slides were still walk ons. And it certainly isn’t because of their capacity.

 

The initial plunge was incredible. It felt like a true freefall and I’m pretty sure my back wasn’t touching the slide. The loop followed. While the loop itself wasn’t thrilling, the downward bit afterwards sure was. To ensure riders complete the circuit, there’s a powerful water jet at the top that gives you a turbo boost for the final few turns. This may just be the best speed slide I’ve ridden. 10 out of 10

 

By comparison, the standard freefall drop pods seemed like child’s play. Sky Screamer offered an open and an enclosed slide. I preferred the open one for the visuals. It was still a rush, but I didn’t get the freefall sensation like I did on Cyclone. 8 out of 10

 

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Pictures do not do these slides justice. They look massive indoors.

 

Corkscrew and Twister are the two body slides that I swear must have been tube slides at one point. The trough is wide enough to accommodate a sumo wrestler. Neither slide were particularly fast, but they awkwardly rocked riders back and forth because of their width. 6 out of 10

 

Blue Bullet actually felt like your normal body slide. It wasn’t overly forceful nor did it have any surprise drops, but it did hold its speed pretty well. 7 out of 10

 

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Nessie's Revenge (purple) was unfortunately closed. Is it just me, or does the profiling look a bit (for a lack of a better word) triangular almost like Magnum's bunny hills?

 

The lone tube slide I rode was probably the park’s most unique ride in Slideboarding. The rafts are heavy. They’re only for one person, but they have some serious girth to them. If you thought carrying those clover tubes up a tower was the Seventh Circle of Hell, you clearly haven’t been on Slideboarding.

 

But the rafts are technological marvels. They turn an otherwise mundane slide into a game of Guitar Hero. You choose your song and during the descent, the trough is lined with colored lights. As you pass these lights, you need to select the same colored button on your raft. As an added bonus, it did have one very nice drop at the end.

 

It was a really neat slide with a ton of reridability. Now I did hear others complain that their raft didn’t work. Either that or they were trying to find a scapegoat for their zero. But for me, I had fully functional rafts on all three of my rides. 9 out of 10

 

I’ve ridden my fair share of toilet bowl slides, but usually they’re of the tube variety. The only body slide version I’ve ridden was at Whale’s Tale. It was undoubtedly more thrilling and way more fun, but it was pretty uncomfortable on my back. I was worried Tropical Typhoon would be the same.

 

I don’t know if this is a different manufacturer or just everything in Canada is better, but it was perfectly smooth. This allowed me to appreciate hurtling around the bowl like a top. And being the graceful human being that I am, I face planted into the water on my first ride. 9.5 out of 10

 

What was probably a comical visual for the employees quickly turned into a murder scene. The sheer force of the water gave me a nosebleed. Fortunately, the employees were super responsive and had some towels handy. It was an unfortunate way to end the day, but I wasn’t going to risk closing down another slide for clean-up.

 

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The mall itself has plenty of viewing decks to showcase their neat water park.

 

Logistically there are two confusing aspects with the water park. For one, the park entrance forces you through the locker room. That part makes sense considering most patrons aren’t wearing a bikini around the mall. But the weird part is that you literally have to walk through the showers. Not around, but through. Picture a line of 20 or so people showering and guests awkwardly squeezing their way by.

 

Second, the slide tower is an absolute labyrinth. The main tower has a seemingly endless combination of staircases and many of the queues intersect. Unless you memorize the slide names prior to your visit, good luck. I knew I should have took a left at Albuquerque…

 

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Finding the slide you want is like capturing the Golden Snitch. It can be done, but it's very hard.

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Or you could cheat and go ride this lonely slide off all by itself.

 

On the day I visited, the World Waterpark had a sign out front they were closing 2 hours earlier than posted online. At first I thought it was because it was the offseason, but then I discovered it was because they were having a concert in the evening called SoundWave.

 

They transformed their wave pool into the coolest dance floor I’ve ever seen. While I didn’t attend, I did peer in from the mall’s viewing deck and it looked like one heck of a party with all the strobes and music. It was a neat concept and I could see this going over well at other water parks.

 

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This is the best dance floor I've ever seen.

 

It may just be the best water park I’ve visited outside of Blizzard Beach. I really have to flip a coin whether or not I prefer it to Splashin’ Safari. I know this site is more about theme parks, but this water park should not be missed in a visit to the West Edmonton Mall provided you enjoy body slides.

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Wow, World Waterpark seems like a really nice indoor waterpark, and it looks enormous. I would definitely love to visit Edmonton Mall at some point in the near future!

 

The wave pool occupies a majority of the park, but the main slide tower is approaching 90-100 feet tall.

 

I think I might’ve gone to World Waterpark as a young child... I might be going back to Edmonton to visit family this summer and that means an excuse for me to ride my #5 coaster and visit this amazing looking waterpark.

 

Enjoy! The mall really is awesome.

 

 

It literally looks like the train is about to fall off. That's how abrupt the twists are.

 

 

Too Soon.

 

That's not where I was trying to go with that, but probably not my best choice of words considering the ride's history.

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I was super anticipating this report on the World Waterpark and I'm very glad you posted it. Edmonton Mindbender is the #1 coaster on my bucket list, but I would be so devastated to buy a $400 cross country flight to a random mall in Canada and find it closed. I feel like I could definitely justify tacking this on to a Portland OR trip (when seeing my sister) though if the awesome waterpark was also involved.

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I remember visiting the WEM as a young child, it must have been around the time the first Wayne's World movie came out because I remember seeing it with my parents at one of the theaters in the mall. Mindbender is one of those amazing coasters that really seems like it shouldn't exist but I'm super thankful that it does. I'm just hoping that it manages to last until whenever I can make a return trip, because being able to get another ride (or dozen) on Mindbender is right now probably my #1 bucket list item.

 

Couldn't help but notice in that second-to-last picture of yours from the waterpark... are they still doing bungee jumps over the wave pool from that platform?

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I was super anticipating this report on the World Waterpark and I'm very glad you posted it. Edmonton Mindbender is the #1 coaster on my bucket list, but I would be so devastated to buy a $400 cross country flight to a random mall in Canada and find it closed. I feel like I could definitely justify tacking this on to a Portland OR trip (when seeing my sister) though if the awesome waterpark was also involved.

 

Thanks! Galaxyland has their maintenance schedule for several months out posted online. I don't recall seeing Mindbender on it and I'm guessing all the inspections may help with that.

 

I remember visiting the WEM as a young child, it must have been around the time the first Wayne's World movie came out because I remember seeing it with my parents at one of the theaters in the mall. Mindbender is one of those amazing coasters that really seems like it shouldn't exist but I'm super thankful that it does. I'm just hoping that it manages to last until whenever I can make a return trip, because being able to get another ride (or dozen) on Mindbender is right now probably my #1 bucket list item.

 

Couldn't help but notice in that second-to-last picture of yours from the waterpark... are they still doing bungee jumps over the wave pool from that platform?

 

That's cool that they used to have bungee jumping. They have since turned that platform into a zipline that runs over the pool. I didn't see anyone doing it so I don't know if it was closed or just too expensive.

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West Edmonton Mall

 

The West Edmonton Mall is the crown jewel of consumerism. They basically have any store imaginable- clothing stores, gaming stores, pharmacies, religious stores, pot stores, British stores, etc. If it’s a type of store, the West Edmonton Mall probably has it.

 

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If you can name another mall where you can go from a chapel to a pot shop to a British store, please enlighten me.

 

Rather than shopping til’ I dropped, I spent the entirety of my visit exploring the entertainment options at the mall. In fact, I don’t think I bought a single item. I was there for 20 consecutive hours from 6 am to 2 am and could have easily spent more time. Massive doesn’t begin to describe this mall.

 

For hotels, I openly admit that I’m a cheapskate. I do have standards (a minimum of a 7 star guest rating on Hotels.com), but I tend to gravitate towards the Econo Lodges and Motel 6’s of the world. Usually my definition of splurging is a Holiday Inn. But I will make an exception if the hotel offers something I cannot get otherwise (ex. Resort guest ERT). The Fantasyland Hotel did that.

 

The Fantasyland Hotel is located inside the mall. Since I didn’t rent a car, the convenience was a major draw. In addition, I was able to get a discounted combo ticket for the mall’s attractions. Last but not least, each room had a unique theme. I was eying the space room, but the staff told me that room is usually booked a year out! So I selected the Roman themed room as a consolation.

 

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This sure beats the Quality Inn I originally booked.

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The hotel included all the attractions, but you received a separate wristband for each. So it became quite confusing to keep track of them. You think they'd color code it or something.

 

One of the weirdest things about the mall is that it’s seemingly open 24/7. The stores have the usual hours and some of the attractions and restaurants stay open late. But even absolutely nothing is open at 6 am, you’re free to stroll the mall. For me, it was the perfect opportunity to appreciate the architecture. For others, it was the perfect place to go for a jog since Edmonton is a dark freezer.

 

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Some people came early to ice skate.

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Others came early to clip their toe nails.

 

We’re used to themed areas at amusement parks. I’m not used to themed areas in a mall, but that’s exactly what the West Edmonton Mall has. Their themed areas include France, Chinatown, Bourbon Street, and an aquatic area. Even the non-themed areas were gorgeous and often lined with fountains.

 

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Bourbon Street was still rocking at 2 am, but not at 8 am when I took this.

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Yes this is still a mall.

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I wish my local mall looked half this nice.

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Instead my local mall looks something like this. That's probably why it closed a month later.

 

One of the most well-known attractions at the mall is the Sea Life Caverns aquarium. In terms of the animal exhibits, they were top-notch. And by luck, my visit coincided with the feeding hour for the penguins, so it was definitely a treat seeing those awkward birds scarf down fish.

 

The one thing that shocked me was just how small the aquarium was. I’m not even exaggerating, but I’m pretty sure you could walk from one end to the other in about 30 seconds. That being said, what they have is well worth seeing and the price point seemed fair.

 

But the main attraction of Sea Life is the sea lion show. It occurs 2-3 times per day. Your aquarium ticket gives you a seat in the arena, but you can also see the show unobstructed from the mall’s second story balcony. I think locals were privy to this as they started lining up a few minutes before the show. It lacked the comedy of Clyde and Seamore, but the sea lion did plenty of tricks.

 

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What better way to enter an aquarium than to be eaten by a fish?

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These penguins probably wish they were outside in Edmonton's negative degree weather.

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Rocket is in the doghouse.

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What few exhibits they had were pretty big.

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In some ways, the view from outside the aquarium is better for the Sea Lion Show.

 

Almost everything about the mall was perfect, but there was one black mark- Professor WEM’s Adventure Golf. I love mini golf courses with obstacles- windmills, loop-the-loops, statues, etc. So I was really excited when I saw the whimsical theming. However, none of that is on the course itself.

 

It’s an absolute waste if you ask me to put in all these castles, blimps, and trees around the course, but not include them in any hole. All of the holes were pretty much straightaways. There weren’t even rocks blocking the holes. I was so disappointed that I quit after the 7th or 8th hole. I’ve never done that with a mini golf course.

 

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Doesn't it look awesome? Too bad none of those figures actually interact with the holes. Very disappointing.

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These things looked like they were more fun.

 

The mall also had at least 3-4 different arcades. I popped into a few of them. For the most part, the games were identical to what you’d find in the US, but I did find one little nugget for theme park fans. One of the games included a Chance Chaos on the backdrop.

 

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Look, it's one of the last remaining Chance Chaos rides.

 

In the evening, I used my included movie ticket to see Into the Spiderverse. The movie was good, albeit overhyped, but I was most impressed with the lobby of the theater. They had giant freaking statues of Yoda and Batman suspended from the ceiling.

 

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Canada gets Yoda and Batman in their theater's lobby. All we get are the local druggies.

 

Arguably the wildest ride of the weekend was the trip back to the US. I had an early flight back to the US at 5:30 am (hence why I pulled an all-nighter in the mall). My plane wasn’t your usual Boeing 747. Rather it was something called a Bombardier Dash 8. It was a 10 row plane powered by two little propellers on the side and I was seated face to face with 2 other passengers.

 

And of course it was snowing with 30-40 mph winds. I mean, why wouldn’t it in Canada? I was skeptical the plane would even take off, but by god the pilot did it. Airtran once flew us down to Orlando in the midst of a tropical storm, but at least that was in a full-size aircraft.

 

This was the most extreme turbulence I have ever experienced. I’d equate most turbulence to a B&M rattle; it’s there but it doesn’t bother me. This was like riding the Great American Scream Machine in a wheel seat. There was airtime (plenty of it!) but it wasn’t the least bit smooth. But eventually we did land to a rousing applause from the entire cabin.

 

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My chariot that miraculously landed in the middle of this windy sleet storm.

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I think they only way they could make this baggage claim more Canadian would be to add a Tom Horton's logo.

 

I don’t know the next time I’ll make it out to the West Edmonton Mall, but I do plan to visit the Mall of America and American Dream Mall (assuming it opens) later this year. If they’re even half of the West Edmonton Mall, I know I’ll have a good time. This is what a mall should be.

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^HA! We also had a terrifying flight out of Edmonton! Just like you, typical Edmonton Winter Storming...captain announces we're going to pull out of the gate and get de-iced on the way to the runway. We pass the first de-icing station, we pass another, I look out at the wing and see a decent amount of snow and ice on it!!!! We pass another and turn onto the runway and the engines start roaring. At this point I'm thinking...do I try and alert someone that he forget to get de-iced!?!? Do I just assume the crash position!?! It takes a long time down the runway, but we finally take off at the very end and the captain later comes on explaining that they decided during taxiing that they didn't need to de-ice. Would have been nice to announce to your passengers a bit sooner!!!

 

Glad to see the mall is still surviving. I think it does better than US Malls in part due to the terrible weather half the year!

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^ I don't even know if we were de-iced. All I know is that Canadian pilots seem way more ambitious than US ones. There's no way that flight would have taken off on time in the US.

 

I imagine Mall of America would have the same benefit of bad weather considering it's in Minnesota? I'm just waiting to see how that American Dream mall does. On one hand, New York has bad weather. On the other hand, that county can't open retail stores on Sunday and has football games at the stadium to contend with during the cruddy winter months.

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Great trip report! Happy to see that you enjoyed WEM. I'm from the Edmonton area, and it's always cool to see trip reports from the mall. I have a few facts/trivia that relate to some of your pictures/comments.

 

Quirks in the Works is definitely the most unique dark ride I've been on. There was some talk going on several years back that the park was looking at doing a complete reno on the ride. Same theme, but totally re-done. New ride vehicles, new props, animations, video, lighting, everything. I don't know how true these reports were but haven't heard much since. I think it would benefit very well from a reno, it's a fun attraction.

 

For World Waterpark, I don't know if when you were there, the Zip Lines were in use. Prior to them being installed, the water park featured the worlds tallest indoor bungee jump tower. It was a cool thing to have at the mall, and while it was somewhat popular, I don't think it was popular enough to keep it open. Since the zip lines were installed, every time, I've been at the mall, they've been regularly in use.

 

A couple of slides that used to be in the park include a raft racer one, which had 3 slides. This was removed to make room for the Flowrider. There was also a lazy river, which was cool. There were two paths you could take. Both paths started and ended at the same points, but you could choose a slower, more relaxed way, or a faster one that featured drops and tunnels. As far as I know, the "river" is still there but hasn't been used for a number of years. I don't know the exact reasoning as to why it was closed.

 

All in all, I think the water park holds up well for being 33 years old. They seem to keep up with the times and bring in new attractions to keep the park fresh.

 

The mini golf course you checked out actually originally opened as a mini-golf version of Pebble Beach (trees, water features, sand traps). It was in the mid/late 90's that it was re-themed to its current theme. I think the original theme fit much better, especially with "Europa Blvd" above.

 

Up until 2010 or 2011, there also used to be a giant animatronic dragon that breathed fire every 30 minutes and had a light show to go along with it. It was removed due to maintenance issues/costs.

 

There was an attraction in the mall called "Lazer Maze". I'd best describe it as a "target shooting dark ride" but on foot. It had large animatronic characters and other animated props and various targets that you had to shoot during your walk thru. It closed in the late 1980's. Legendary Walt Disney Imagineer Rolly Crump was recruited for the development of the attraction.

 

Again, happy to see that you had a great trip, and survived the Edmonton winter, haha! Though I'm not really a fan of "extreme" coasters, every time I go to the mall, make a trip into Galaxyland and watch Mindbender for a couple runs.

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Thanks for all the facts and trivia.

 

I was at the mall the last weekend of January. The ziplines were clearly there, but I just didn't see anyone using them. Maybe they were closed the day I visited?

 

Along with the wonky theme, I think the ride system really works for Quirks in the Works. Considering how small that ride building is, I'm not sure another system would work much better without cutting down the ride time.

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Along with the wonky theme, I think the ride system really works for Quirks in the Works. Considering how small that ride building is, I'm not sure another system would work much better without cutting down the ride time.

 

Perhaps, you could go trackless with spinning vehicles ala Empire of the Penguin at SeaWorld Orlando? Just a thought. I still love Quirks in the Works as it is though, it’s crammed in really creatively.

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