Galaxyland
Galaxyland powered by Hasbro, previously known as Fantasyland, is an indoor amusement park. Located in the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the largest mall in North America, it is home to the world's tallest and longest indoor roller coaster, the Mindbender. It is also home to the Space Shot, the world's tallest indoor tower ride at the time of opening, at. The record was broken by Nickelodeon Skyline Scream at American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey in 2019.
History
Galaxyland was originally known as Fantasyland from 1983 to 1995. However, the name "Fantasyland" was already used for one of the lands of the themes existing in Disneyland and other theme parks, like the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, Hong Kong Disneyland, Disneyland Park in Paris, Tokyo Disneyland, and Shanghai Disneyland Park, 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".On December 18, 2019, it was announced that Galaxyland would undergo a renovation to be completed by late 2020, featuring new attractions licensed from Hasbro franchises. Balloon Race, Cosmic Bounce, Ropes Quest, and Zero Gravity are currently the only rides confirmed to be affected by the redesign. The redesign construction began in December 2019, with its grand opening as "Galaxyland powered by Hasbro" scheduled for the winter of 2020.
1986 Mindbender accident
On June 14, 1986, a wheel sheared off the last car on the train of the Mindbender and the train crashed at high speed into a concrete pillar, killing three of the ride's occupants. Since then the ride has had several safety improvements, including more routine maintenance checks and three emergency brake sections added to the track.Rides
There are a total of 24 different rides operating in Galaxyland.List of rides
| Ride | Year opened | Points required | Description | Park rating |
| Balloon Race | 1983 | 1 point | A Ferris wheel with cars shaped like balloons. Closed in 2020 to make way for the Hasbro retheming and renovations. | Beginner |
| Motojump | Unknown | 1 point | Miniature dirt bikes and ATVs that move in a circular forward motion. It moved to a new location in 2015. | Beginner |
| Carousel | 1983 | 1 point | Carousel with horses that move in an up and down, circular motion. | Beginner |
| Solar Spinner | 2015 | 1 point | A spinning teacup inspired ride; riders spin inside pods while spinning on a disk. | Beginner |
| 35th Aero Squadron | 1983 | 1 point | World War II planes that move up and down in a forward circular motion. | Beginner |
| Galactic Rodeo | 2018 | 1 point | Cowboys and Cowgirls wrangle intergalactic beasts in a space-themed arena. | Beginner |
| Galaxy Kids Playpark | 1983 | 3 points | A large play area with slides, caves and ball crawl. A socks-only environment where children must be accompanied by an adult. | Beginner |
| Galaxy Express | 1983 | 1 point | 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. Galaxy Express survived the park's extensive renovation period that saw most of the original rides removed, albeit the station and ride vehicles were extensively remodeled into a rocket theme. | Beginner |
| Cosmic Spinner | Unknown | 2 points | This ideal family ride takes 32 adventurers on an extraordinary whirling orbit. On this space version of the X-Arms ride, riders hop into one of 4 individually spinning UFOs to experience the numerous thrills and jolts that would please even the hardiest space voyager. Manufactured by Moser Rides. | Intermediate |
| Cosmic Bounce | 2002 | 1 point | 10 seated family ride full of bounces guaranteed to shake you up. A 5 + 5 model spring ride by Moser Rides. Essentially a pint-sized and gentler version of the Space Shot that is run mainly by cables, winches, and hydraulics. Closed in 2020 for the Hasbro retheming and renovations. | Beginner |
| Flying Galleon | 1983 | 2 points | A Spanish-motif boat that swings back and forth. One of the park's original rides, and one of the few that have not been remodeled into a space-age theme. But it moved to the former Sonic Twister location in 2015 and its old location was replaced by Zero Gravity. | Intermediate |
| Galaxy Quest | 2013 | 2 points | A 3D movie theater with full motion seats, DTS sound, and a 3-story screen. The theater sits in a large cement cube within the Mindbender's enclosure. | Intermediate |
| 7D Adventure | 2020 | 8 points | A dark ride with 25 motion seats, DTS sound, and a 3D semi-curved screen. Gigamon and Neon Ninja are now playing. | Expert |
| Autosled | 1985 | 2 points | 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. | Intermediate |
| Quirks in the Works | 2003 | 2 points | 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. | Intermediate |
| Ropes Quest | 2015 | 2 points | A zipline area with lots of ropes. Formerly located near the World Waterpark viewing area, replaced the old Sonic Twister location, and this made the closure of Solar Flare. Closed in 2020 for the Hasbro retheming and renovations. | Intermediate |
| Galaxy Orbiter | 2007 | 3 points | Canada's first spinning roller coaster. Installed in 2007, Galaxy Orbiter is the park's second-longest roller coaster 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 Galaxy Raceway. The ride was installed by Ride Entertainment Group, who handles all of Gerstlauer's operations in the Western Hemisphere. | Advanced |
| Space Shot | 2002 | 3 points | 12 person ride launches passengers nearly skyward then thrusts them back to earth. Although the ride is called "Space Shot", it operates in the same style as a Double Shot. | Advanced |
| Zero Gravity | 2016 | 3 points | Opened on December 3, 2016, in the Flying Galleon's old location, this ride allows you to control how much and which way you want to flip as you rotate in a circular motion with up and down movements. You can also stop in place by keeping the lever in neutral. A UniCoaster by Chance Rides. Due to the Hasbro retheming and renovations, this ride has now been themed to the board game Trouble. | Advanced |
| Swing of the Century | 1983 | 2 points | A giant swing set with individual swings that move in a circular, swinging motion. A Wave Swinger manufactured by Zierer. Along with the Mindbender, 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 modeled over and/or replaced to keep in conformity with Galaxyland's space theme. | Intermediate |
| Cosmo's Space Derby | 1983 | 3 points | 2-seated bumper cars built for adults, teenagers, and larger kids. One of the original attractions, the enclosure area in which the car bang and bash was extensively remodeled 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. | Advanced |
| Mindbender | 1985 | 3 points | The "world's largest indoor triple loop roller coaster." A mirror image and modified "Dreier Looping" designed by Anton Schwarzkopf. Mindbender was recently modified with new fail-safe magnetic brakes. | Advanced |
| Havoc | 2018 | Opened in April 2018 and themed to G.I. Joe, this ride is a custom version Space Trainer by Moser, scaled down to fit within one of the Autosled's helix sections. HAVOC replaces the Cosmic Revolution, which was removed in 2017. The park's only ride with an upper age limit - riders must be under age 65. | Advanced |