I just uploaded a video of my visit to the West Edmonton Alberta mall to my TH-cam channel. It's the largest mall in North America and contains the world's largest swimming pool, an ice skating rink, and an amusement park in addition to all the shops.
Thanks for uploading the only known footage of the large ball machine! It must have either been gone the first time I visited the mall from Calgary in the early 90's or I just missed it. I however for sure didn't miss the small one! I was fascinated by it! Oh and you should pin your comment to the top of the comments :)
0:06 . . . THE BILLIARD BALL MACHINE!!!!!! Maybe the only video in existence with it in operation. Dang, the mall was so nice back then. so much has been removed over the years... animals, birds, aquariums, fountains, the whale, the mirrored columns, the lighted brass handrails, mineral displays.....
Yes. Fascinating to watch, and made some noise with the billiard balls bouncing off of xylophones, cymbals, etc. Sad it is gone. So much of what was really cool in West Edmonton Mall is gone now; bird, reptile and fish displays, dolphins, statues, Ming vases, mineral displays... now the corridors of WEM are like just about any other mall.
I didn't see them in either the FLH corridor, or at the top of the escalator in Europa Boulevard when I was there in January. This is where I always knew they were in glass cases. Maybe they have been moved to the movie theater entrance level, but I haven't been there.
Oh wow, this really video is so fantastic. I had to pause the video so many times to just let all the memories come back to me. I swear watching the video, I can actually smell the scents of the Mall and feel the coolness from off the Ice Palace. You had great clips of Elephant and Castle. I used to love going and having the Rarebit Burger there. And Sam The Record Man--- wow! I used to spend a lot of time looking through LPs, tapes and CDs there-- and spending a lot of money there too....lol. I miss that place! This video would have been exactly when I was going to WEM as a young adult. It was nice to see the brief shot of the International Marketplace. It was also very cool to see Fantasyland before being changed the Galaxyland name. I love this video so much. Thank you so much for filming this and uploading it to TH-cam. I brings back so many great memories! Thank you, Elwood.
Man this takes me back! I would of been 5 in 1990, but I remember some of those old things like the giant ball machine, the exotic birds and the old submarines~
Apparently the submarines were closed in 1996 and then completely removed two years later due to extremely high maintenance costs and low ridership numbers towards the end it it’s lifespan so it was pretty much loosing a massive amount of money in the mall towards the end so it was pretty much the best business decision to remove the ride.
I live in Edmonton. And West Ed Mall has it,s shares of changes. I too miss the mall in the early 90,s. Specially the darkness of the Food Court in Phase III. And the water fountains near the Movie Theatres. Has it really been close to 30 Years? My how times fly. Sighs. Those days were the best. Wish it would return just for one more time.
We used to ply back there when I was a kid, then one beautiful spring day we went out back and there was a giant pit! By giant, I mean stories deep. There was mud at the bottom so we threw rocks in it and made huge craters. A police/security car pulled up and told us we were trespassing and loaded us up and took us home to our parents with a stern warning that we were not to go back there again as it was trespassing and dangerous. We'd been playing there for years, so nobody got in trouble, but we weren't allowed to play there anymore - until it opened as a playground mall!
Brings me back to my childhood, thanks for posting! The very brief footage of the Fantasyland Marketplace at 3:36 - do you have any further footage on that part of the mall or even some pictures? I can't seem to find anything on that place - seems to be a very forgotten part of the mall.
This makes me wanna cry because i remember coming here with my foster mom when i was about 4 or 5 and thus being the most magical place ever and now its not i have made a video of this place as of January 30 2020 what happened in 30years since this video
Unfortunately, there seems to be a general decline in malls in North a America. Online shopping, and internet entertainment, and now Covid. I’m hoping they make a comeback.
I remember going to West Edmonton mall back in the 1990s the last time I was there was in West Edmonton Mall was back in 2009 much has changed now with the mall since I've been there
Good lord, this video is almost as old as I am... I don't think I would ever remember the billiard ball Rube Goldberg machine, or the cages with all the exotic birds in them. Good to see that Galaxyland is probably the one thing that *_hasn't_* changed in 25 years.
Gregorius Daneli You're joking right?! Galaxyland was originally called Fantasyland. I was one of the people that helped renovate the theme park. Those mirrored pillars are no longer there. Old rides have been replaced with new ones..some weren't. At the time there were only 2 roller coasters..
This has to be the best video on TH-cam for me. It brings tears to my eyes. I was a 15 year old teenager back then, I still remember everything in this video.
OMG!! I remember those puppet shows! MY CHILDHOOD! Nobody else I know remembers them! I used to particularly love the green sunglass-wearing puppet named "Duker."
Just imagine if they had dolphins and free aquariums, and rare artifacts to look at throughout the mall today! An international marketplace like they have in Hawaii, and a fire breathing dragon at the movie theatre. And water fountains everywhere! Sadly I guess the aquariums where too expensive to maintain, as well as the water fountains( like the cool ones you could walk under at the food court in Phase 2) It still is amazing, but its been around over 30 years- and malls have taken a bit hit with the internet and online shopping. I say they should bring back that ball thing and some interesting artifacts tho.
Wow! I worked there from April 1990 to October 1990. If you were filming during that time chances are I was working that day. My sister also worked the photobooth at 06:07 where people would stand on that surfboard and have their pictures taken in comical ways. It's too bad you didn't show more of the rides and the people operating them. I would've known most of them. I might've been there myself! Thanks for uploading!
I've been to the West Edmonton Mall twice....three days each visit. The first time was in 1989. It was amazing. The food court had fountains everywhere, the Waterpark was shiny and new, the Pirate Ship was immaculate and the Submarine Ride was great. All gone now.....the food court is tiled over and lifeless, most fountains are gone, the Pirate Ship is now covered in dust, the pool it sits in is now a garbage receptacle and full of coins. The Submarine ride doesn't exist. Galaxyland is filthy and smells bad. Bourbon Street is a sorry excuse for what it once was with many of the original eateries gone. This Mall is now just a big, sterile covered area for a multitude of boring womens clothing stores. Be on your guard its also become a huge hangout for bored and unemployed Natives that pick fights. I will NEVER ever return.
+Spanky Bruh That video was taken with an old Canon analog camcorder that was about 10"x5"x5", had a resolution of 640x480 pixels, and recorded to a special cassette tape. The videos were transferred to standard SHVS video cassettes for playing on an SVHS VCR. I transferred them to digital files using a Creative Audigy 2Z5 Video transfer box attached to an old Windows 98 PC. This was my second generation video equipment. My first was an old Magnavox shoulder held monster that recorded directly to an SVHS video cassette. The videos named "1988 Australia" and "1989 Cal in the Kremlin" here on TH-cam were taken with that equipment. I now use a Nexus 6 for all my videos.
Ah, yes. Now this is why I love technology. Here, we have a window into the past. I was only 4 years old in 1990, but I do have fond memories of the mid and late 90's. The world was such a different (better) place back then. More innocent and if you wanted to work, jobs were aplenty.
I just uploaded a video of my visit to the West Edmonton Alberta mall to my TH-cam channel. It's the largest mall in North America and contains the world's largest swimming pool, an ice skating rink, and an amusement park in addition to all the shops.
it's West *Edmonton* Mall actually.
Thanks. I've edited the comment.
Thanks for uploading the only known footage of the large ball machine! It must have either been gone the first time I visited the mall from Calgary in the early 90's or I just missed it. I however for sure didn't miss the small one! I was fascinated by it!
Oh and you should pin your comment to the top of the comments :)
I caught syphilis in that pool
0:06 . . . THE BILLIARD BALL MACHINE!!!!!!
Maybe the only video in existence with it in operation.
Dang, the mall was so nice back then. so much has been removed over the years... animals, birds, aquariums, fountains, the whale, the mirrored columns, the lighted brass handrails, mineral displays.....
what was the ball machine for??
it looks cool, was it just for eye candy??
Yes. Fascinating to watch, and made some noise with the billiard balls bouncing off of xylophones, cymbals, etc.
Sad it is gone. So much of what was really cool in West Edmonton Mall is gone now; bird, reptile and fish displays, dolphins, statues, Ming vases, mineral displays... now the corridors of WEM are like just about any other mall.
LakeNipissing Are the Ming Vases gone? If memory serves correct I think I saw them in Phase IV recently?
I didn't see them in either the FLH corridor, or at the top of the escalator in Europa Boulevard when I was there in January. This is where I always knew they were in glass cases. Maybe they have been moved to the movie theater entrance level, but I haven't been there.
Man the sounds of those water fountains bring back so many memories i miss those days so much
Holy Crap what a trip down memory lane. I was a " Mall Rat " there back in the early 90s. Just as I remembered. Thanks for posting.
brings back some beautiful memories. The mall had such character back then, and so much to see. I miss the birds.
This brings back so many memories.. Thanks so much for uploading!
It seems like it was better back then than it is now.
Oh wow, this really video is so fantastic. I had to pause the video so many times to just let all the memories come back to me. I swear watching the video, I can actually smell the scents of the Mall and feel the coolness from off the Ice Palace. You had great clips of Elephant and Castle. I used to love going and having the Rarebit Burger there. And Sam The Record Man--- wow! I used to spend a lot of time looking through LPs, tapes and CDs there-- and spending a lot of money there too....lol. I miss that place! This video would have been exactly when I was going to WEM as a young adult. It was nice to see the brief shot of the International Marketplace. It was also very cool to see Fantasyland before being changed the Galaxyland name. I love this video so much. Thank you so much for filming this and uploading it to TH-cam. I brings back so many great memories! Thank you, Elwood.
I was so young when the mall looked like this, seeing this video made me remember so much. Thanks!
You had a nice camera back then.
maccollectorZ (Commenting Account) I was just about to say that myself. Must have been pretty expensive for the time.
I miss the Old West Edmonton Mall.
Me too also.
Me too
Man this takes me back! I would of been 5 in 1990, but I remember some of those old things like the giant ball machine, the exotic birds and the old submarines~
Apparently the submarines were closed in 1996 and then completely removed two years later due to extremely high maintenance costs and low ridership numbers towards the end it it’s lifespan so it was pretty much loosing a massive amount of money in the mall towards the end so it was pretty much the best business decision to remove the ride.
Holy fuck wem looks so cool back then
I'm here in 2024 wishing I could go back 34 years. We never truly understood how good we had it back then. RIP to the Mindbender.
I live in Edmonton. And West Ed Mall has it,s shares of changes. I too miss the mall in the early 90,s. Specially the darkness of the Food Court in Phase III. And the water fountains near the Movie Theatres. Has it really been close to 30 Years? My how times fly. Sighs. Those days were the best. Wish it would return just for one more time.
We used to ply back there when I was a kid, then one beautiful spring day we went out back and there was a giant pit! By giant, I mean stories deep. There was mud at the bottom so we threw rocks in it and made huge craters. A police/security car pulled up and told us we were trespassing and loaded us up and took us home to our parents with a stern warning that we were not to go back there again as it was trespassing and dangerous. We'd been playing there for years, so nobody got in trouble, but we weren't allowed to play there anymore - until it opened as a playground mall!
West Edmonton Mall sure has changed since then. Cool video.
I totally remember the mall the way it was in 1990.cool video.
Crazy have everything changes. Amazing Video!
It's amazing how much things have changed but how much has stayed the same
outstanding footage
This brings back so much memories haha i was 5 - 10 years old when it looked like that
Remember when WEM used to be an attraction in itself? now it just has attractions in it :(
Brings me back to my childhood, thanks for posting! The very brief footage of the Fantasyland Marketplace at 3:36 - do you have any further footage on that part of the mall or even some pictures? I can't seem to find anything on that place - seems to be a very forgotten part of the mall.
Holy crap this looks so different compared to now!!
This makes me wanna cry because i remember coming here with my foster mom when i was about 4 or 5 and thus being the most magical place ever and now its not i have made a video of this place as of January 30 2020 what happened in 30years since this video
Unfortunately, there seems to be a general decline in malls in North a America. Online shopping, and internet entertainment, and now Covid. I’m hoping they make a comeback.
I remember going to West Edmonton mall back in the 1990s the last time I was there was in West Edmonton Mall was back in 2009 much has changed now with the mall since I've been there
Good lord, this video is almost as old as I am... I don't think I would ever remember the billiard ball Rube Goldberg machine, or the cages with all the exotic birds in them. Good to see that Galaxyland is probably the one thing that *_hasn't_* changed in 25 years.
Gregorius Daneli You're joking right?! Galaxyland was originally called Fantasyland. I was one of the people that helped renovate the theme park. Those mirrored pillars are no longer there. Old rides have been replaced with new ones..some weren't. At the time there were only 2 roller coasters..
it changed fROm faNTASY LAND TO GALAXY LAND...
Oml I always go their I never knew it was like that
this is absolutely priceless!! do you have any more footage?
Sorry, I'm afraid that's it from my ancient camcorder.
Back when the mall had class!
This mall is like Disney. Wow!
Cool video!
I just entered the mall last night and I was surprised everything has changed
The good old days.
I used to smoke cigarettes on the patios of bars on bourbon street lol seems crazy now
I have pictures from 92 of Wem but man to see Fantasyland BEFORE it was Galaxyland.
Search for videos from TH-cam member "Blendeture" they have two WEM videos from 1990 showing a fair bit of the original Fantasyland.
that was amazing-- how long did you tour the place???
The. Whale is back in the mall I remember being crushed when my parents told me that they where getting rid of it
They brought it back tho
The hotel looks soooo much better this time because i seen it in a video in 2017 everything changed W0W
I would like that marble run at 0:10 in the video
reminds me of Las Vegas
I'm watching this and I'm 10, it's 2016, the mall looked cool back then
Oh I'm an Edmontonian
I laughed at the cars of course
I wonder where the submarines went to?
+Maurice Hilarius They were sold for salvage
Trudeau bought them for our navy
Lol old balls
The ice rink will look so much better after the renovation 😣
For 11 mins I was 11 years old again... Not sure why but this made me feel a lot better today... Thank you!
They've really let West Edmonton Mall go! Its lost so much of its touch!
Its just bigger and has more stores now 🤷♀️ if its lost its touch then you must be a boomer.
I feel you on that we as Edmontians couldve even say its lost its magic it once had
Wow the mall was so cool back then, it had so many fun things to look at. Now it's just a shopping mall.
Thank you so much for posting, this is awesome.
They have ruined the West Edmonton mall mean it's OK now but everyone locked glory days
My childhood. I so miss that West Ed.
This has to be the best video on TH-cam for me. It brings tears to my eyes. I was a 15 year old teenager back then, I still remember everything in this video.
OMG!! I remember those puppet shows! MY CHILDHOOD! Nobody else I know remembers them! I used to particularly love the green sunglass-wearing puppet named "Duker."
Amazing! Never in my wildest imaginings! It's like a mall on steroids shaken and stirred with dash of casino and topped with an amusement park. :)
Malls back had of greenery and water fountains!
Just imagine if they had dolphins and free aquariums, and rare artifacts to look at throughout the mall today! An international marketplace like they have in Hawaii, and a fire breathing dragon at the movie theatre. And water fountains everywhere! Sadly I guess the aquariums where too expensive to maintain, as well as the water fountains( like the cool ones you could walk under at the food court in Phase 2) It still is amazing, but its been around over 30 years- and malls have taken a bit hit with the internet and online shopping. I say they should bring back that ball thing and some interesting artifacts tho.
The WEM of my childhood, I miss the giant ball machine. It's really nice seeing it how I remember as a kid.
8:48
Aw this takes me back- miss those submarine rides, that was fun! Thanks so much for this video!!! :-)
I went to this mall today. Looks way funner and better back then
I do to it was better before
5:00 what's the car?
rip sears
Wow! I worked there from April 1990 to October 1990. If you were filming during that time chances are I was working that day. My sister also worked the photobooth at 06:07 where people would stand on that surfboard and have their pictures taken in comical ways. It's too bad you didn't show more of the rides and the people operating them. I would've known most of them. I might've been there myself! Thanks for uploading!
let me guess you worked at sam the record man lol.
It seems like they filled the things you could look at into annoying kiosks and pushy salesman. Man I miss this old mall.
I've been to the West Edmonton Mall twice....three days each visit. The first time was in 1989. It was amazing. The food court had fountains everywhere, the Waterpark was shiny and new, the Pirate Ship was immaculate and the Submarine Ride was great. All gone now.....the food court is tiled over and lifeless, most fountains are gone, the Pirate Ship is now covered in dust, the pool it sits in is now a garbage receptacle and full of coins. The Submarine ride doesn't exist. Galaxyland is filthy and smells bad. Bourbon Street is a sorry excuse for what it once was with many of the original eateries gone. This Mall is now just a big, sterile covered area for a multitude of boring womens clothing stores. Be on your guard its also become a huge hangout for bored and unemployed Natives that pick fights. I will NEVER ever return.
Damn this was around the time my dad would have been hanging around here.
the submarine is also being removed now.
What is this camera called?
+Spanky Bruh That video was taken with an old Canon analog camcorder that was about 10"x5"x5", had a resolution of 640x480 pixels, and recorded to a special cassette tape. The videos were transferred to standard SHVS video cassettes for playing on an SVHS VCR. I transferred them to digital files using a Creative Audigy 2Z5 Video transfer box attached to an old Windows 98 PC. This was my second generation video equipment. My first was an old Magnavox shoulder held monster that recorded directly to an SVHS video cassette. The videos named "1988 Australia" and "1989 Cal in the Kremlin" here on TH-cam were taken with that equipment. I now use a Nexus 6 for all my videos.
+Elwood Anderson thank you so much. I appreciate it man (:
Elwood Anderson The quality is very good for being from 1990 and recorded on a consumer camcorder. Thank you so much for posting this.
What are those puppets at the 6:00 mark?
can this footage be used for a project I am making about the political philosophy of Neoliberalism?
Sure, if you credit me for the video portion.
thanks, I'll be sure to cite you if I use it
The Whale & peacocks are long gone now
The Whale has been moved to the deadest area of the mall. Phase I. In front of Sears on main level
Ah, yes. Now this is why I love technology. Here, we have a window into the past. I was only 4 years old in 1990, but I do have fond memories of the mid and late 90's. The world was such a different (better) place back then. More innocent and if you wanted to work, jobs were aplenty.
@Yonas Gerima Yeah, now there are no jobs to be had ANYWHERE. It was like that even before C-19...
Look how clear the water is in the pirate boat thing comared to it now
It is still pretty clear. You can see right to the bottom like always... just no more subs. ;(
Yeah i guess, its just is a tint browner. I was actually there yesterday and it really isnt as brown as I really thought it was.