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Galaxyland is the world's largest indoor amusement park situated in the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is home to the world's tallest (14 stories), and longest, indoor roller coaster, Mindbender. It is also home to the Space Shot, the world's tallest indoor tower ride (12 stories).
[edit] Beginner Rides
Balloon Race; a statue of Cosmo (in the foreground), a small portion of the Autosled (near the three highest balloons) and Cosmic Bounce (to the right of Balloon Race) are also visible
| Ride |
Tickets Required |
Description |
| Motojump |
2 tickets |
Miniature dirt bikes and ATV's that move in a circular forward motion. |
| Carousel |
3 tickets |
Merry-go-around horses that move in an up and down, circular motion. |
| Kiddie Convoy |
2 tickets |
A variety of vehicles that move on a pad in a circular forward motion. |
| 35th Aero Squadron |
2 tickets |
World War II planes that move up and down (controlled by riders) in a forward circular motion. |
| Space Bump |
2 tickets |
Children's cars that drive and collide with each other. |
| Balloon Race |
3 tickets |
A ferris wheel with cars shaped like balloons. |
| Galaxy Kids Playpark |
4 tickets (Ages 1-3)
6 tickets (Ages 4-12)
|
A large play area with slides, caves and ball crawl. A socks-only environment where children must be accompanied by an adult. |
[edit] Intermediate Rides
Flying Galleon; the Galaxykids Playpark is visible in the background behind the Galleon
| Ride |
Tickets Required |
Description |
| Cosmic Spinner |
5 tickets |
This ideal family ride takes 32 adventurers on an extraordinary whirling orbit. A space version of the funfair classic Tilt-A-Whirl ride, riders hop into one of 4 individually spinning UFO's to experience the numerous thrills and jolts that would please even the hardiest space voyager. |
| Galaxyland Express |
3 tickets |
A train ride through Galaxyland. Although the ride's target group is small children, it is very popular among all ages because of the slow, leisurely pace and the fact that there are no height restrictions. Galaxyland Express survived the park's extensive renovation period that saw most of the original rides removed, albeit the station and ride vehicles were extensively remodelled into a rocket theme. |
| Cosmic Bounce |
3 tickets |
10 seated family ride full of bounces guaranteed to shake you up. Essentially a pint-sized and gentler version of the Space Shot. |
| Flying Galleon |
4 tickets |
A Spanish motif style boat that swings back and forth. One of the park's original rides, and one of the few that has not been remodelled into a space-age theme. |
| TurboRide Theatre |
5 tickets |
A 3D movie theatre with full motion seats, DTS sound and a 3-story screen. The theatre sits in a large cement cube within the Mindbender's enclosure. |
| Autosled |
3 tickets |
A small roller coaster with a series of sharp turns and high speeds. Ideal for those who are too big for the Dragon Wagon, but not quite ready to try out the Mindbender or the Galaxy Orbiter. |
| Quirks in the Works |
6 tickets |
A crashed spaceship has been taken over by Quirks and you have to save the world by zapping as many quirks as you can in the dark. The ride's site was formerly occupied by the second part of the Drop of Doom. |
[edit] Advanced Rides
| Ride |
Tickets Required |
Description |
| Galaxy Orbiter |
6 tickets |
Canada's first spinning roller coaster, and the newest ride. Installed in 2007, Galaxy Orbiter is the park's second longest roller coaster (behind the Mindbender), and is a good step up for those who have outgrown the Autosled but are not ready to try the Mindbender yet. Construction of the ride forced the permanent removal of Rockin' Rocket and the UFO Maze as well as the temporary closure of Autosled and Galaxykids Raceway. |
| Space Shot |
6 tickets |
12 person ride launches passengers nearly 120 feet skyward then thrusts them back to earth. It should be noted that, while the ride is called "Space Shot" (and features the usual S&S Space Shot signage on the ride vehicle), it operates in the same style (and may have been converted to) a Double Shot. |
| Solar Flare |
6 tickets |
Experience an intense ground-rush as you circle the blazing sun, flipping and spinning in all directions as you control your flips and spins. A Hoppla manufactured by Moser. This ride was formerly occupied by a swinging inverter ship called the Perilous Pendulum. |
| Sonic Storm (soon to be removed) |
6 tickets |
A ride for the daring! 32 passengers are propelled backward in a circular bouncing motion. A Techno Jump manufactured by Sartori. This ride is in the former location of the Disco Dynamo. Currently being taken out to make room for a new ride. It's been heard they are bringing back the Rockin' Rocket. |
| Swing of the Century |
5 tickets |
A giant swing set with individual swings that moves in a circular, swinging motion. A Wave Swinger manufactured by Zierer. Along with the Mindbender, Flying Galleon, and most of the rides in the kid's zone, Swing of the Century is one of the park's few attractions that has not been modelled over and/or replaced to keep in conformity with Galaxyland's space theme. |
| Cosmo's Space Derby |
4 tickets |
2-seated bumper cars built for adults. One of the original attractions, the enclosure area in which the cars bang and bash was extensively remodelled during Galaxyland's renovation period, with the mirrors surrounding the enclosure wall replaced by space-themed murals. However, the original bumper cars are still used today. |
| Galaxy Twister |
6 tickets |
A fast speed 36-seated ride that moves and twists forward and backward with sharp drops and flipping motions. A Crazy Flip (Super Loop on Top) manufactured by Soriani & Moser |
| Mindbender |
7 tickets |
The "world's largest indoor high speed, triple loop roller coaster." A mirror image and modified "Drier Looping" designed by Schwarzkopf. Mindbender was recently modified with new fail safe magnetic brakes. |
[edit] Decommissioned Rides
| Ride |
Tickets Required |
Description |
| Kiddie Bumper Boats |
Unknown, likely 2 |
Battery operated boats in a shallow pool for children to drive around, unknown manufacturer, closed 1998, Moto Jump is now located in its former location. |
| Kiddie Karavan |
2 tickets |
Miniature Carousel for small children with no horses. Riders would ride in either 1 of 2 fish, a deer, a duck or a carriage. Moto Jump is now located in its former location. |
| Paddle Boats |
Unknown |
Paddle boats for larger children and adults, unknown manufacturer, Galaxyland Raceway is located in its former location. The "islands" of the lake and staining from water exposure are still visible, especially on the "island" that supports the Dragon Wagon. Additionally, the exit/entrance stairs from the ride are also visible beneath the base of the Cosmic Spinner, and are best seen from riding the Galaxyland Express. |
| Zipper |
Unknown |
The Zipper was located near the operating booth of the Mindbender where the entrance to the "Haunted Castle" and "UFO Maze" now reside. It was removed due to numerous breakdowns in one spot. The mechanics could stop the constant breakdowns by modifying the ride to run differently but it would not be as fun to ride. Also to constant breakdowns were because that the Zipper in Galaxyland was the only park model zipper known. It ran all year round in end put excessive wear on the ride causing constant breakdowns. Manufactured by Chance Amusements. |
| Orbitron |
Unknown |
A ride with a center that rises about 10', and crank arms at the ends of the sweeps. Each crank arm has two tubs on it, and as the center rotates, the crank arms rotate to bounce the tubs up and down. Manufactured by Zierer and known as a Hexentanz or Fireball. Upon the Orbitron's removal, the cement pad underneath it supported the famed "UFO Maze". This maze stood for a number of years before it was removed due to the construction of the Galaxy Orbiter. The pad currently supports a "finale" section of the Galaxy Orbiter. Despite its removal, the ride's operating booth (complete with a height-restriction notice) and the que lines can still be seen, and are best viewed when riding the Mindbender or Galaxy Orbiter. |
| Disco Dynamo |
5 tickets |
Spinning ride, capable of rotating forward and backwards on an undulating path in a circle. In its later years the ride only ran backwards. manufactured by Chance Amusements. The Sonic Storm is located in this ride's former location. |
| Perilous Pendulum |
5 tickets |
Upside down boat. Manufactured by Intamin AG as Looping Starship. The Solar Flare is located in this rides former location. It should be noted that the main riding area (the boat) was located in the parking lot just north of Galaxylands entrance 10 wrapped in tarps until its removal in the late 2000s. |
| Drop of Doom |
5 tickets |
A free fall tower ride. Manufactured by Intamin AG. Riders were transported up a high gantry in a cage similar to a vintage elevator car before being dropped down 120 feet into an exiting area. Despite the arguable fact that it was the park's second greatest attraction (behind the Mindbender), it was removed in the mid 2000's. The tall, cylindrical space where the gantry stood is currently occupied by the "Space Shot" tower ride (albeit it operates similar to a Double Shot). The entrance/exit area set unoccupied for a short time before housing Quirks in the Works, an interactive laser ride. |
| Rockin' Rocket |
4 tickets |
A rocket shaped vehicle would move back and forth on a curved metal base while spinning. A rocket version of the Zamperla Rockin' Tug ride. The Galaxy Orbiter's loading and unloading station is located in its former location. The rocket itself sat outside of Galaxyland wrapped in tarps, until its removal. |
[edit] Controversy
Galaxyland was originally known as Fantasyland. However, the name Fantasyland was already used for one of the theme lands existing in Disneyland and other theme parks owned by the Walt Disney Company. A lawsuit eventually forced the mall's owners to change the park's name, though they were allowed to continue using the name "Fantasyland Hotel" for a hotel in the mall. Fantasyland became Galaxyland officially on July 1, 1995. This was celebrated with a new "space age" theme, and the arrival of the park's new mascot "Cosmo". But a lot of people were disappointed of the change to the theme. Most people thought that just changing the name would have kept the parks great rides. Since the change of theme from an outdoor park theme to a galaxy theme has caused lots of good rides and good scenery to be removed and new "LESS" exciting rides installed. But some classic rides live on like the Swing Of The Century and Mindbender.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 53°31′19″N, 113°37′19″W
