West Edmonton Mall: A Complete Oral History - Best Edmonton Mall

[@haydenweir6416]

I worked for a restaurant on BRBNST for a few years and became friends with one of the Galaxyland ride mechanics. After talking about how they maintain the Mindbender, and the absolutely ludicrous amount of time they spend on it to keep it safe, he told me that their break room has photos, names, and news clippings of the accident covering a wall. He told me that they walk past it every day, reminding them why they do what they do, and how important it is to make sure to do the job right. No matter how tedious, annoying, or uncomfortable the job. I found that really comforting and inspiring personally.

[@sabrinamiller3671]

I can't say enough how meaningful that is. It tells me they truly care. It would make me less terrified to ride that sucker.

[@tyoung9012]

BEM guy made a couple of points that shifted blame on the accident towards the manufacturer but ultimately the responsibility is on the mall itself. They shouldn't have signed-off until all deficiencies were cleared (ie. German documentation), and if the manufacturer went bankrupt they could have pursued another company for support. I love that rollercoaster and ride it all the time so I really hope they know that people aren't going to forget what happened and that they are to blame

[@BestEdmontonMall]

This was a live presentation at the Edmonton & District Historical Society back in January of 2020. Thanks to all those who came, it was awesome meeting all of you!

[@kiankyars]

Great video!

[@meggiewillis9705]

Awesome video!

[@cvegroup1785]

Best Edmonton Mall your videos have helped made me appreciate all the work that goes into West Ed and make me love with Ed Moore as I was saying I hope that you could do a video on CrossIron Mall has a little bit of history that I know that but I would like to know more

[@RaeAnnKushnerek]

I also share the same love and appreciation for the old WEM, I miss it so much! My favourite ride in the water park was also the lazy river, i wish they kept it. so much nostalgia! Thank you for sharing this knowledge

[@jamieyakimets839]

It was awesome meeting you, too, Matt! 👍🏻

[@gregcoker4527]

What a great presentation. Well done. I really enjoyed it. I am an Australian that lived in Vancouver in 1989/90. In 1990 I visited WEM and returned in 1992 on a visit. Go forward 30 years and I told my daughter about it. We visited Canada in Dec 22 and she really wanted to see WEM.... so we took a flight and stayed at the hotel there for 3 days. It was a bit sad. No more Mind Bender. No more lazy river. What updates they have done since 1990 seem to be superficial and taken away from the "WOW" factors. .

[@BestEdmontonMall]

Hey thanks! I'm so glad you liked this! :)

[@scottysoften]

My comment is long but worth a read (maybe lol) The history is so interesting to me. The feeling of nostalgia and remembering the things that have changed and been removed from the mall over the decades is so fascinating. However, this video made me a little emotional at the end. I don't just remember what it was like back in the 80s and 90s, I remember being young and full of pure joy everytime my parents took me there. I have so many fun memories, I would compare my relationship with the mall to someone who grew up in Los Angeles and had access to Disneyland on a regular basis. As a kid it wasn't just a mall but a place to escape and get lost in the magic and excitement knowing it was the world's largest mall..

[@krishneel360]

I live here in Edmonton and i had no idea about some of this stuff looking forward to watching this premier

[@meggiewillis9705]

I give anything to live in Edmonton so badly.

[@aidanhammans9337]

This city is my home, and I love the World Waterpark

[@zacharybabcock7809]

Good news indiana beach is saving the other ride

[@MisoHungryForTravel]

Great presentation! This takes me back growing up. I had so many memories at WEM! - Going to the cheap theatres with my family located in the phase 3 food court and also another one near phase 1 food court - Going to Play Me after school to look at video games but never bought any since they were overpriced - Getting my first bike at Canadian Tire which was then replaced by many things that couldn’t survive at that location like a Science centre which is now T&T - Looking at that aquarium of fish in that tunnel area (International Marketplace) which Collector’s Edge and Antique Photo Parlour used to be and you could take an elevator leading into Fantasyland - Being amazed when visiting Planet Hollywood for the first time which was located in Phase 3 food court which was then replaced right after with a 3D ride - Being scared as a kid watching all those birds behind that glass except when the peacock would open its feathers revealing all the colors - Watching people race on the go-kart through the glass located where Crunch Fitness is now. I think before that it was Kidtropolis. - Visiting San Francisco as a kid and looking at the dirty section with my friends. Haha

[@LakeNipissing]

I did catch the peacock in full glory in the 1994 WEM / Fantasyland video I uploaded! I remember being in that Canadian Tire where T&T is too.

[@vinnievee5710]

RIP Heritage Mall. Spent so much of my teen years there. It had a lot of the same character WEM had in the 80’s.

[@pinkpools]

That was a treat to watch, thank you for this.

[@laurenlauren3814]

This is so cool 😎 you’re a great KZbinr 👍

[@FanPage-df8ox]

I love your videos! I just started watching yesterday but now I can’t stop!

[@BestEdmontonMall]

I'm happy you're enjoying them!

[@landmarkcreations1183]

You did an awesome job on this presentation. Was searching for more info on this mall and this video showed up. Thanks!

[@BestEdmontonMall]

Thank you!

[@myless7387]

Your videos are AMAZING. Never once been to the mall but your history of it has made me fascinated.

[@vinnievee5710]

71 71 it used to be way cooler. In the 90’s as a kid it was such a cool place to go. It’s lost a lot of its charm sadly. Also the owners are not the nicest people. I worked at galaxyland in high school and I remember when they came to visit they had us working overtime doing housekeeping in the park because if there was any dust shit was gonna hit the fan. Also, they still have the old roller coaster cars from when the accident happened. You can see them stored on a ledge at the very end of the coaster ride right after it brakes. They were there last time I rode

[@manisharaman9474]

So excited!

[@Decade8Media]

Outstanding. Your channel always gives me the feels for the old West Ed from back in the day.

[@DarylAnnDeRoche]

Great work. I don't remember the water park river as a lazy river. I remember it as the tube ride and it was fairly bumpy on both slides of the ride. One slide was bumpier than the other

[@mpaulm]

Your opening about Heritage Mall made me feel old.😢😂

[@sabrinamiller3671]

A very minor attraction, but does anybody else remember those puppet shows next to the main entrance of Fantasyland, by the full-size McDonald's? I think there was even a toy store next to the McDonald's.

[@LakeNipissing]

It is seen in a 1990 video of WEM uploaded to KZbin: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWS5pXmsf7OUoa8

[@sabrinamiller3671]

@@LakeNipissing I've seen that vid- love revisiting it when I'm feeling especially nostalgic- but thanks very much, nonetheless!

[@crystalbrown3728]

I vaguely rember this.

[@jendobing8482]

I remember it was a massive toy store!! Loved it as a kid same with kites and other delights

[@crystalbrown3728]

@@jendobing8482 I do not rember the toy store, but I rember kites and other delights, and the bear store by the waterpark

[@vinnievee5710]

There is a Polaroid of me as baby, so probably 1986, of me with a lion cub taken in the mall

[@marknetw]

Great history lesson good mix of humour very interesting!!!!

[@portiasnowdon9443]

These videos are always great, friendly and informational ✅

[@sifq]

Well worth the wait

[@dylanthomas8961]

Considering that no one will be visiting the mall today (i.e. COVID-19), this could not have come at a better time, thank you!

[@ryuytyhy]

I wish I came! Me and my sister are huge fans! We’ve learned a lot from you! Now when I go to WEM I notice things I wouldn’t have otherwise. Thanks for your videos.

[@vinnievee5710]

Ruth Melketsadik next time you ride the mindbender when the ride breaks look up. You will see the old coaster cars from the 80’s that they used before the accident. They’ve been storing them there since forever, they were there when I worked at the park in 2003. Not sure why they keep them. They keep a lot. The old cave in the kids area is used as storage now but it’s all still there. The werewolf’s eyes even still blink

[@sabrinamiller3671]

I remember that cave! I loved it so much! I wish I could find video footage of it.

[@budstik]

@@sabrinamiller3671 The cave was the best.

[@YehyaAl]

Waiting the whole day for this vid was so worth it and I would love to meet you in person someday

[@realtimfrancis]

Fantastic presentation, thank you!

[@status101-danielho6]

My favorite store when WEM first opened was a small curio store just outside of Sears called "Good Grief!", that sold licensed Peanuts and Sanrio merchandise. I would admire every square inch of the merchandise when my family was there. I think it only lasted a couple of years before it closed. Charlie Brown and the gang was already on its way out by the early 80's.

[@crystalbrown3728]

I miss the science store that was close to the bronze wall

[@DareCine]

I had the privilege of working at not one, but two iconic WEM locations. First at Playdium, then later at HMV. I was never a great employee at either establishment, but I am now glad that I got to work at WEM during it's golden years.

[@johnfairsgoldpanningschool.]

I worked the Drop Of Doom ride in 1987. I had a great time back then at the mall.

[@jeffpepin7683]

The beige colored attractions made the Blue Bullet such an epic slide It held this mysterious allure because it looked so different. I was thought I’d fly out, but it was so fast and fun

[@crystalbrown3728]

This brought me back to when I was a kid. This mall has always been in my life since I was old enough to remember it. I was really obsessed with the tall ball machine as a child my mom and I would get basket Robbins ice cream in that area, and I remember when the new hmv opened when I was like 16 and it was so cool. It also got a lot of visits from people from like spruce grove as we had nothing in terms of selection, and entertainment for kids and such. God I love this mall. Glad I live close to it. I know this mall inside out and upside down.

[@petercharney9356]

The bungee picture is ME!! lol

[@Bekind2033]

Thank you so much for an amazing presentation. It is great to learn about the history of WEM. I live in Calgary now and the malls here just don’t have the same type of history! Any chance you can please do a historical of Westmount Mall? The first mall in Edmonton. Similar to the video you did for Heritage Mall! Thank you kindly! 😀

[@cassidypresley3271]

Yes!!......I also worked at the mall, in the mid to late 80s. Work in a small Mexican restaurant......it was called Carlos O'Graidy and a French restaurant.......Café De'France on the.......upper level floor......where the fancy French stores were located. The Mexican restaurant was on lower level.......Burbein St.

[@budstik]

How about a video on the history of the plant life in the mall? Did they ever have coconut palms? Who maintains etc. I loved looking at the miniature models of the mall when I was kid.

[@battleground7008]

Hey Matt love your videos. I miss how the old mall looked and felt. There was so much more character in it. Like bourbon street, the whale in the middle of the mall, and the shooting fountains etc... I hate the new food court just another cookie cutter food court, no more bridge to cross with water over your head, no more high ceilings its very warm when you go there with all the cooking and no where for the warm air to go. Can you please do a video of t&t supermarket and the China town there??? T&T is a big anchor in the mall it's the only supermarket there tons of people everyday. Before that it was the brick I believe and before that it was Canadian tire??? I'm sure you could dig something up about that! Also do you remember the market above galaxy land? There was actually another entrance into galaxy land from upstairs going in.

[@meggiewillis9705]

I will love to go to West Edmonton Mall so badly

[@vinnievee5710]

Meggie Willis Kitachan it’s not as cool as it used to be sadly. Plus no matter what time of day or what day you go, good luck finding parking lol

[@YehyaAl]

Same but it's dead from covid-19

[@yeahbuddy666]

i really miss how the mall use to look

[@stibo12]

Very enjoyable. The last thing I was expecting was Stalin, but there you go!

[@johnnymcnally8335]

nice job bud

[@kristenungstad3252]

WEM was glorious back in the day! Now it's a tragic crumbling ruin of its former self...

[@lindsay1065]

Kristen Ungstad a modernist paradise

[@chonkeyshonkey]

Yeah, after when the Dragon and the King Kong statue were removed that was the final straw, the mall had forever changed 😭😭💔💔

[@crystalbrown3728]

True, but it did need to evolve though. I am still annoyed they changed bourbon street.

[@Toro_Da_Corsa]

No its still a pretty damn cool place. I moved to Vancouver and i really miss wem

[@Blendeture]

Very cool video! (Like all your videos!) I wish that the city of Edmonton's website had interactive historical imagery maps, so I could jump around time and see the changes throughout the years. (They should take a cue from maps.calgary.ca!) And I just wanted to point out a wee error, your description says WEM opened in 1983 instead of 1981. Whoopsies! Again, great video, thanks!

[@MATTDALOR1AN]

Heck yesssss

[@Derwin63]

Wasn't there a movie shot at WEM several years back, on a Christmas theme? They said it was slated for some release - and I never did see that happen. It would be interesting to see that.

[@BestEdmontonMall]

Look for our video on "Christmas in Wonderland"

[@ABC-te9bh]

Can someone tell me how to find pics of the mall being built it seems to be hard to find pics

[@brandoalexander6901]

Best Edmonton Mall for mayor! Lol

[@guesstime6445]

Congratulations

[@sabrinamiller3671]

This was awesome, Matt! Fantastic research, as always! I'm sad I couldn't be there in person to see you. Was it nerve-wracking speaking in front of a live audience?

[@BestEdmontonMall]

I was so nervous! Not used to it at all... but, it wen't alright (I think!)

[@sabrinamiller3671]

@@BestEdmontonMall Honestly, I thought you sounded fine! How'd the rest of the event go?

[@PeterBranco]

Thank you.

[@cosmoqueen100]

Does anyone remember the name of the bakery that was located at the beginning of Bourbon Street? I loved that place and it just vanished one day.

[@pontiacgoblin]

I think it was called Baguettes

[@owellafehr5191]

There was a store called Death by Chocolate ... not sure if it's what you're remembering, though.

[@cosmoqueen100]

@@owellafehr5191 No, that's not it. This bakery was around before that was there.

[@canadianbarber]

I think I remember there was a driving range on the roof next to the water park, late 90s early 2000 ,does anyone remember that .

[@BestEdmontonMall]

Yes! It existed!

[@haydenweir6416]

Could you do a video on that? I moved to Edmonton as a kid in 2000, and it's always been something that people told stories about, but I've never seen anything about it. I've been fascinated for 20 years!

[@kokaneegold100]

I was there when fantasy land opened and my mother worked at ( sea world ) in the food court, grew up there for 26 years,ask me, I was there 3 blocks away in Elmwood

[@darwinradke3198]

I remember biking on the dirt hills years BEFORE WEM was built....and later, when phase 1 opened, they actually had monkeys! ( upper level, near Sears - if memory serves ) I will never forget walking by their big cage just as one of the monkeys started vigorously - "pleasuring" himself.

[@Out4TheRealHiphopCAN]

I wonder why he was muted talking about the fountain in phase one? What the heck is under it now?

[@cvegroup1785]

Can you guys do a video on CrossIron Mall

[@Revegelance]

Does anyone know the name of the song that plays in the old dolphin ad footage, at the 30:00 mark? It's awfully familiar to me.

[@scottysoften]

Revegelance That part reminds me of this.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXfGnqieibmkpbs

[@charlottegambler]

Best Edmonton Mall What Would You Do If You Owned West Edmonton Mall?

[@BestEdmontonMall]

Cry because everyone is stuck at home and I have 800+ stores.

[@sabrinamiller3671]

@@BestEdmontonMall :( Stay safe, friend.

[@meggiewillis9705]

I will love to go to the West Edmonton mall.

[@yashmin786]

My dad was part of the team who made the mall....I was born the same year

[@immortalbucket136]

Honest Opinion Incoming: Remember the awful absolutely terrifying floating clowns that used to be on Bourbon St. I was like 4 and I still writhe with fear at the thought of it. That aside I feel as though the mall has lost its character and charm. All the remodeling that has been done has left the mall felling bland, empty and lifeless. I remember from my earliest memories how much more flare, color and vibrance the mall had. That magic feeling. The only places that still have that grand feeling is the Santa Maria lake (even though its clearly rotting away) and the attractions. The rest is so commercial. What a lost opportunity, theres so much more the city could do with it.. but I get it "bills" we all got em. :/

[@mitchellries256]

Technically American Dream Meadowlands has also stolen the record of North America's largest mall from West Edmonton Mall. You should do a comparison on both locations as soon as the pandemic is over and everything at American Dream Meadowlands has opened.

[@matthewshurvell1591]

Didn’t they have flamingos as well?

[@BestEdmontonMall]

Yup, and lemurs.

[@crystalbrown3728]

@@BestEdmontonMall yes and the flamingos always pooped. It was kind of hross

[@Stayinggolden519]

I love WEM I go there a lot it is so fun 🦄😍😃😊

[@DamonDaddario]

:D

[@iamrealhuman4360]

I love your Channel name

[@meggiewillis9705]

Was this video today?

[@YehyaAl]

No it was in January he said

[@stacyanhorn8689]

Cool video, but a lot of the mall history is missing. Could have gone way more indepth

[@BestEdmontonMall]

Yup. I was limited on presentation time though. Good thing I have the rest of my channel, lol.

[@feel65]

Please stop with the premeries.

[@BestEdmontonMall]

No.

[@chonkeyshonkey]

Feel65 Just stop being a negative asshole

[@chonkeyshonkey]

@@BestEdmontonMall Me and many others just love your content! Keep it up and don't let anyone bring you down! 😄👍👍

[@cvegroup1785]

@@BestEdmontonMall best Edmonton Mall never stop your premiers I love them

[@YehyaAl]

@@BestEdmontonMall how come you had made no video on galaxyland powered by Hasbro update is it because of covid-19