What Happened to the Submarines at WEM? - Part 2: Return to the Deep - Best Edmonton Mall

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What Happened to the Submarines at West Edmonton Mall Part Two: Return to the Deep is an underwater tour of the world's largest indoor lake in West Edmonton Mall, once home to the Deep Sea Adventure!
Follow the original submarine tour route, and remember what it was like to ride one of North America's most unique attractions: a submarine ride which was known as The Deep Sea Adventure.
Underwater cameras revisit the route which was home to what once was the largest fleet of submarines in Canada, and the first recreational submarines put into operation anywhere in the world.
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[@Eisbare]

I used to maintain the aquariums and the lifts for the submarine. It's sad to see what's happened to it all since the subs stopped running. You forgot to mention the company that used to take people for tours underwater with the air-supplied helmets! Cheers, and thanks for the memories.

[@Momsonkay]

Best Edmonton mall is the best channel like I’m being honest

[@Leggir]

They used to have the submarine ride shake a bit and a red light would flash inside, while saying "A Giant Squid has us. We'll try to break free giving it full thrust." Corny as can be, but terribly traumatic when your 8 years old in 1986. I remember freaking out.

[@Averyxox195]

Leggir I too have a traumatic squid memory of this ride... 😖

[@owellafehr5191]

I remember that too! I loved it! There was also a 'fifth' submarine that had been 'captured' by the squid and you could see it sticking out of a deep hole.

[@FNHot]

I was waiting for the close ups of the squid / octopus! That bastard scared the shit out of me as a kid, and I wanted to face him down as an adult. I didnt even see him and i still peed a little.

[@hansschaffland5683]

Me too...holy crap...to this day I remember that and have trauma. Im trying to get over it even to this day. I am terrified of underwater creatures because of this. It was not funny. I had a melt down. I remember screaming and begging to be let out.

[@bioshockbrat9171]

I've had such a weird fascination with wondering what it looked like down below, and now feel so satisfied seeing it for real. It's awesome :D

[@feferi]

My grandpa was a welder who helped build this ride. It’s always intrigued me after hearing all his stories, but sadly I never got to ride. 😢

[@indraelfallen5524]

I never got to ride this attraction, would have loved to have seen it back in the day. But you’ve given me some closure. Thank you.

[@SavouryLobster]

It was just alright. If you've been to the aquarium that's alongside it then you've seen the same stuff you would've seen from the sub. Also the water was always gross. No surprise there.

[@scottysoften]

I was at the l mall last night and as I walked across the bridge I over heard a group with one of them say "what is that track down there for?" I quickly stopped them and asked if they knew there used to be a submarine ride? As opened my phone to this video I told them to watch more Best Edmonton Mall videos because they are are so fascinating!!! As always Matthew, I truely appreciate all your hard work and talent for us to share and enjoy! 😁

[@BestEdmontonMall]

Thanks for the kind words, and for spreading news in my channel!!

[@scottysoften]

Best Edmonton Mall you're most welcome!! It's always fun to share the history of the mall that I remember growing up with. Your channel has become THE source to go to for that! 😁

[@kurtschmidt5005]

I rode the submarine ride when I was a kid back in the 90s. There was a trex down there

[@cowboylike_zoe]

The intro though. Really loving your content lately

[@Feiy16]

It's neat seeing the route as a whole. I can still remember the first time I went on this in 1994. It was a field trip with our kindergarten class. I didn't realize it at the time, but Edmonton kids had some really cool class trips.

[@pmatheson6345]

Former submarine captain here - great video!!

[@BestEdmontonMall]

Thank you, Captain! 👩‍✈️

[@Red1676]

If they wanted to, they could just do a glass tunnel tube like most modern aquariums do now, clean up the lake, put more natural coral, and stock the lake. Be a bit expensive, but would bring more of a purpose to something that probably costs them alot to maintain already. Would turn a empty place to a education attraction, which I'm pretty sure the government would help fund.

[@sarahpeace3977]

not jason kenney hahaha

[@woutervanr]

also cool. I'll not only never be able to ride this, but probably never visit this mall to begin with, but still...Awesome that we actuallly made this and that some people got to enjoy this!

[@ER_GUY]

Great video. So many memories came flooding back as I remember my time as a High School (Ross Shep) sub captain. Once new years eve when a bunch of us staff and supervisor (Darryl??) took a sub into the cave so we could celebrate New Years underwater. I still have a Mae West life preserver that somehow came home with me! I don't remember the giant squid, but I remember the shark - we had to "make it real" for the customers, but after 10 rides-it become a little boring for the captains! Still, it was a great job to have listed on my resume when I was younger, I'm sure I got the jobs because I was a submarine captain in high school.

[@paradisiak]

I used to have nightmares about falling into the lake, thanks for reminding me of that 😂🙈

[@CoryTheRaven]

Awesome! Thanks for the trip down memory lane! The submarines were my favourite attraction at WEM and the biggest contributor to what I loved so much about what was, at the time, my favourite place on earth! My favourite memory was one Halloween (in the Eighties) when we rode it and, in the cavern part, right where the tentacles wrap around your sub, staff on the surface started banging on the sub. I lost my freakin' mind! I'm pretty sure I yelled something about the Bermuda Triangle, but have mostly suppressed the memory :) Man I miss those subs. Even the Disneyland version ain't that great, because this one had the live fish to go with it.

[@jendobing8482]

I used to get anxious when I’d see the giant dinosaur type thing before entering the tunnel. I think it used to move to! Then after the tunnel I remember that animatronic shark that would circle around a diving cage. Hated it haha

[@KRcanondaisa]

ok i was CONVINCED that i didn't hallucinate the submarines as a kid, i knew they were a real thing! honestly the ship and lake area is my favourite spot to go to in the mall now that i work there. love searching for all the things hidden in the depths and thinking of the story behind each coin tossed in. keep up the awesome work!

[@mitchm5049]

hey man ! it’s mitch saw you in G3 while you were filming this video ! thanks for the dope best edmonton mall card and awesome video ! thanks for taking time out of your day to say hi to a fan !

[@BestEdmontonMall]

My pleasure! 👍👍🤘🤘

[@Catsjamify]

WILD! I actually never went on the submarines, even though I was at the mall all the time. This is the first time I've seen what is down there. THANK YOU!

[@dustinr16]

I was on this ride many times in the 80’s and 90’s. It was a really cool attraction. The mall had so many unique attractions back in the 80’s. Now they seem more interested in cramming in as much retail space as possible. Nice work on the video. It brought back some good memories of this ride.

[@marknetw]

Not enough about the shark attack and dinosaur but still soooo awesome thanks

[@christinab.9427]

aw. this video is so, so good!! the acting and the editing and even the effects! every video you make is getting better and better! i went on the submarines once and i was pretty young. i remember that i got really scared. hahaha

[@FaultyStreams]

I cheered out loud when the logo came up! Awesome!

[@user-oe1sy3kv8q]

It's the dramatic music and looking into the lagoon for me

[@dmacpher]

Wow this is incredibly well done. Criminally underrated channel. Big ups.

[@ellasanguine7467]

This was a great place to work, It's so nostalgic to see this stuff from these angles again.

[@agguca]

I comes yo my mind that this aquatic place could be a scuba dive park, it will be really fun to scuba dive there

[@rjoewht]

That was an insane throwback. I remember ridding the subs a few times before it closed. Such an awesome experience.

[@jonengler1296]

My six-year-old self just had a hard nostalgia crash. I now have the urge to hit the button on that "jumpscare" alligator in Marine Life and then play with the trains at Kites and Other Delights.

[@dustfart466]

Jon Engler I love g to that store as a mkodo. So much to play With!

[@owellafehr5191]

Ahhh man, you're giving me nostalgia too!!!!

[@chonkeyshonkey]

I remember the Kites And Other Delights!! That store had the best selection of toys

[@christinaf4982]

Rode the sub by accident! Firstly i think i found the aquariums, through a doorway and down some stairs and suddenly you were on the inside of the aquariums. Definitely rode the subs as a kid and it was so fun back then. Amazing experience. Everything about the mall was incredible, the hotel theme rooms, the lazy river ride at the pool, indoor go-karts once upon a time, proper Burbon street! The theme rooms are completely falling apart (granted it's been probably 10 years since my last visit) and all the unique fun elements are gone, it's really too bad

[@miraclo3]

i remember going on the submarine rides when i was a kid back in 2002 on a field tip. my teacher was so scared she kept her hands over her eyes the entire time. lol.

[@Cobaltios]

9:33 No joke, I actually used to know where to look to see those tentacles from the surface. It was a random highlight of mine each time we visited this part of the mall.

[@m1k3l1f3]

One day i hope to come across the Best Edmonton Mall Guy while in the mall. Awesome intro by the way! 😄

[@rhino2960]

my mom claims she took me on this ride once when i was extremely young, i have no memory of it at all, the only memories i have of the subs growing up was brief distant blurry ones of them when they were still operating, and mostly memories of them sitting unused and immobile until they were scrapped

[@ericletourneau4474]

I’ve been waiting all day for this, it’s going to be so good!

[@mizunopearl]

This is awesome thanks so much, brings back many wonderful memories.

[@williamm.buttlicker3870]

This brings back tons of memories, thanks so much!

[@gabyhernandez1434]

This video was amazing!!! Love the editing and all the amazing details it had! I’ve always wondered what’s inside the lake and I’m so glad i watched this vid

[@Decade8Media]

Awesome video. I got to ride on the Deep Sea Adventure just a year or so before it was closed down. This video definitely brought it back to life.

[@Musicreach101]

I rode the sub ride back on the grand opening 👍🏻. I recall this mall having several fatalities, including a diver being sucked into the pool jet and a roll coaster detailing back in the 80s.

[@gkadnams]

Thanks for this. What a great ride down memory lane!

[@sinicalbob4585]

I moved to Canada for a few years when I was 3 due to my dads work, this channel's content reminds me of all the things I loved about living there even though I've never been to west Edmonton mall!

[@shammancer]

Thanks for the tour!

[@back3rman]

Love the videos! It brings back so many memories

[@BackcountryForward]

I was so young when I rode this I was mostly just scared. But I remember the awe! This was awesome! Thanks!

[@MrKris3333]

This channel has made me appreciate West Edmonton Mall so much! I vaguely remember the submarines but I was very young when they got rid of them, I think about eleven.

[@steff-annedark3166]

Wow! I'm doing a deep dive of you channel after finding it! I used to live in Edmonton, and hearing about all the stuff that happened (that I only heard rumors of before) is so cool! Thanks for documenting this dude!

[@justlivinmt8321]

Excellent videos. Do you have footage of the jumping water columns in Galaxyland ? We remember that feature as kids up there

[@cmpalmer]

This is by far your best work. Well done.

[@cuzicantstop82]

I was lucky enough to ride the submarine not too long before it shut down. Afterwards they had a thing where you could toss a helmet on and walk around the ship underwater. That was trippy.

[@broformers6433]

Very good production value

[@STGGamings]

That intro was Mint! Great video, it's a shame in the 90's my Dad and i would go to WEM countless times, but i've never once took a ride in those subs. This was a cool look at what was.

[@mrdss]

What a great video. Thanks so much.

[@foxfury7838]

I remember when i first came to edmonton i rode that before it was close... so lucky to experience riding a submarine.

[@northerncountryrailroad8939]

This is going to be awesome!

[@deusboi8113]

I was too young to remember but I thank you guys for giving me a taste of what it was like

[@burtbakerack1110]

It was an awesome attraction. I think the t-Rex was my favourite. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[@onedge70moparsuperbee23]

Great video!:)

[@masteryoshi7121]

I love how you end your videos. remember remember remember and remember the thing. It gets me so emotional every time. Another very enjoyable video about WEM. Thank you so much. You probably saw my comments before about wanting a Turbo Ride video some day here. Please?

[@luke_atthat]

Nice video thank you

[@sepiatonecoma]

Wow wow wow!! Amazing video! So exciting!

[@rootbeer1053]

Great video!! I remember being freaked out on this as a kid too!!

[@maxwellaguilar1]

That was really cool, keep up the good videos

[@username6175]

The quality is actual amazing

[@patrickoconnor661]

Great channel. These are the memories that make me proud to be Albertan.

[@AlexMoenR]

That shipwreck corner was prime childhood fascination material. Praise BEM channel for this video 🙌

[@nstein2309]

Scuba diving in west Ed lake must be great

[@owellafehr5191]

Aw man, I'm feeling sorry for everyone in the comments section who never got a chance to ride the subs! I LOVED going on them as a kid; I think I was in my preteen or early teen years when they took them out, much to my dismay. I've wanted for so long to be able to see what it was like down there again (I remember bits and pieces), so this video was a godsend! Thank you!

[@owellafehr5191]

And now I'm getting sad remembering that amazing castle-like building they used to have near the submarine loading area (with a gift shop in it to boot) and how they cleared all that away now and it looks so empty. :(

[@lionelfrantzsiplife]

Exciting

[@bethbanman409]

That kraken pulling down the submarine gave me nightmares as a kid. This is 100% not as scary as I remembered. Hahahaha

[@imaDUCKIE11]

I was 6 when I went on this ride! I'm so glad I got to experience it, I definitely rode the right side of the submarine :) brings back memories

[@LakeNipissing]

Excellent, excellent work again!!! I always seem to miss the premier by still being at work.

[@BestEdmontonMall]

Happy that you enjoyed it! (Missed you at the premiere!)

[@xXSexyEmoSkittlesXx]

I remember on my 5th or 6th birthday party we went on the Deep Sea Adventure and it felt truly magical.

[@Melinko7902]

Thank you for this! I always wanted to go on those submarines but never got to as a kid, and by the time I got there as an adult they were shut down. I had no idea what was down there!

[@ShawnWigginsKafka]

That was great! I got to ride the old sub, you always wanted the right side of the sub, such cool fish tanks! Portals were awesome. Always thought the top hatch was like a washing machine, apparently not! Miss those boats! A mall attraction will never be built like it ever again!

[@Eli_G454]

Did you dive into the lake to get the footage because I remember last month I saw 2 people with scuba gear going all around the lake.

[@vivp7437]

I saw that too! It would be cool if it was him

[@nathanpole391]

People still occasionally scuba down there for training. In my opinion if you’re gonna scuba in edmonton, there’s no better spot.

[@gkadnams]

You can see in several shots they are in a row/paddle boat. The camera is on an arm submerged in the water. As a side note, I dated a guy who saw a body floating in the lake one time. It was some guy who was drunk and decided to jump in.

[@SavouryLobster]

Gen K That wasn't even that long ago. 2016 maybe? Lots of people saw it, myself included. Idk why that's something to brag about.

[@gkadnams]

_Couch Because I, like most people, seek adoration and acceptance from strangers online. Can’t you just play along?

[@spunkflunk]

how did u get this footage, did u actually get permission to go into the water with a water proof camera and record this footage? and I was just in Edmonton a few weeks ago and my friend was about to jump into the lagoon for shits and giggles but bailed at the last minute.

[@twinberettas]

It looks like this might be a combo of go-pro and scuba diving, which the mall had years ago for a bit in the lagoon, post-bumper boat era IIRC. Don't recommend jumping in the lagoon as I've heard it's enough to earn you a ban from the mall. Then again, if you never want to go again, YOLO?

[@missmagpii3416]

You'll get a lifetime ban if you do apparently lol

[@OwlskiTV]

If it's any deterrent; A fellow mall patron had the same idea as your friend, except he was found dead (drowned) near the backside of the ship. Don't do stupid shit.

[@780franklin]

@@twinberettas they still do scuba diving its run by Northwest Scuba! Awesome people who run the diving program!

[@mackenzie-deltadurocher]

@@780franklin Good to know!!

[@BlondeandProudBaby]

I honestly think that water needs drained, the bottom cleaned and then refilled lol. Love your channel!

[@SARA-kh1kp]

BlondeandProudBaby Yeah the water stinks up the whole mall, they need to definately drain it and give it a very good cleaning because its disgusting

[@BlondeandProudBaby]

@@SARA-kh1kp oh I've never noticed a smell, but if the water has NEVER been drained then yeah it would for sure have a smell. Think of the crowds of people walking through the mall daily and such.

[@SARA-kh1kp]

BlondeandProudBaby They definately need to drain it and give it a good scrub and clean all the trash out of it 🤢

[@BlondeandProudBaby]

@@SARA-kh1kp oh yes I agree. They make enough money that they can hire a team to do it after the mall closes.

[@blzt3206]

This was really well done and I didn't know about all those aquariums!

[@hammond1167]

Thanks for sharing this, never had an opportunity to ride the subs, this was very cool, the mall used to be fun to be at in the 80s.

[@evanjohn1857]

Glad you mentioned the dinosaur and snake statue. When my parents went to the phase opening that was the aspect my dad mentioned to me and I always enjoyed it in the late 80’s/early 90’s. I also enjoyed the miniature of the mall in phase 1 where you could see aspects of Deep Sea Adventure from an exterior perspective. I wonder what happened to that model...

[@alonedoughnut]

Man, I loved this ride as a kid.

[@curtis1220]

Very well done👏👍

[@drslothful]

Man, I wish this attraction would come back:(

[@TheAweslims]

I love your channel! Can you do a video on whatever is underground at the mall? I’ve heard they originally built something for an underground LRT??

[@azenhamilton3593]

I got to ride them when I was like 4 was of the only things I remember vividly from that young I wish they would bring it back would fill something in me that the old kid wants to see kinda crazy how I’m 20 born in 02 and these subs seemed like they were here 5 years ago

[@RaySarasin]

I was on them 2 times and enjoyed both trips and would go again today

[@madmick420]

Thanks for the video. I was a sub captain from 97 to 99. So many memories.

[@praireigurl21]

i remember the submarine, but i also remember being told by my parents that it was wayyy too expensive, so i was never able to go on it, but it was awesome see'ing it go through the water.

[@loganholmberg2295]

I never got a chance to ride the subs. I usually blew my wade at fantasy land before we made it to that end of the mall. Makes me wish my dad would have splurged on a night or 2 at the fantasy land hotel instead of staying at my aunt's place or camper at an RV park.

[@mjb995]

Well done.

[@donfrankish2855]

I got to scuba dive there about 30 years ago. It was great.

[@kaylamls5703]

These videos just keep getting better and better! Thank you for all of the hard work you put into these. They are awesome!!

[@happey123n]

Haha I Soo miss riding the subs as a kid also love the videos found out my older brother tyler has done some filming with you

[@sabrinamiller3671]

Sadly, I never got the chance to ride this. I rarely got taken to the mall as a kid, and by the time I started going regularly in 2002 (I had turned 18), this just escaped my radar for some reason. I really regret that now. There's something really peaceful about the mall after-hours, isn't there? It's so cool that you're wearing your old WEM hat as seen from the fashion show, and even more so that you got your limited ed. Pepsi bottle! How many of those did you have? And most important question- how on earth did you do those underwater shots??

[@zeptoglow8500]

Yes!

[@nathanpole391]

I went on the submarine ride twice in the 90’S I can’t say it was amazing but it sure was memorable.

[@MartinRadio2]

Wasn't there a shark animatronic in this ride somewhere??????

[@bleepbleep1961]

Very Cool !! I was lucky to visit the WEM a few times in the 1980's ... Never got on those Subs , the joke was how 4 Submarines was more than The Canadian Navy had !! (still true) It's a shame to not use the Lake , what about "Snorkelling" or "Paddleboarding" ?? Maybe "Bumperboats" ? I bet the cost of operation would be too much to absorb in these days of Malls Closing and turning back into "Plazas" !!!

[@N0xKn1ght]

I remember this attraction... but unfortunately I never took a ride on the subs, I have never gone swimming in the wave pool, never played mini golf, I have never taken a ride on the roller coaster in Galaxy Land... I have done many things and lived in Edmonton for decades now... heck I have been to 6 Flags in Dallas Texas but their is so much I have or never took the time to experience.