Not Your Average Mall
Posted on July 2, 2008
Filed Under Call us tourists |
Posted by Sierra
Splash in the water, scream on a roller coaster, show off your figure skating moves, and shop! You can do all this, and much more, at the West Edmonton Mall. Located in Edmonton, Alberta, the mall is somewhere between the first- and fourth-largest in the world (due to confusion of sources, I’m not sure where it sits, exactly).
There are 59 entrances into the mall, so one shouldn’t be hard to find. Once you enter, you may want to start shopping immediately. Don’t. First confirm the following things.
1. You have a map or you know where one is.
2. You know where members of your party should meet if lost.
3. You have money—you’re gonna need it.
Even if you’re not exactly a shopaholic, you will find plenty to do in the mall. The first is, you will find plenty of places to walk. Let’s start with that. Begin on Main Street East on Level Two. Start walking west until you reach Chinatown. Now stop and admire Chinatown. See the fountain, the bridge, the turtle. Continue west. Eventually, you will reach Europa Boulevard, WEM’s piece of Europe. This is fashioned after some European streets.
Continue down to Level One. Walk east and you will hit Deep Sea Adventure, where you can see seal shows, go on a replica of the Santa Maria, take a submarine down under, and more! All of these are on or in the world’s largest indoor lake. North of this is Professor WEM’s Adventure Mini Golf (the mall people sure like the word “adventure”!).
East of Deep Sea Adventure you will find World Waterpark, which I will discuss later. Continuing east, you’ll discover Bourbon Street, which has most of the mall’s restaurants. It is decorated in New Orleans style. Still east of this is Ice Palace, an NHL-sized ice skating rink. Eastward is Galaxyland Amusement Park, which has plenty of rides and games to satisfy all. Walk east and you will see the Centre Fountain, a.k.a. “River,” which runs for quite a length.
You’ve decided to take a swim in World Waterpark. You pay your admission, change into your swimsuit, step into the park, and blink your eyes. It might be snowing outside, but it’s warm in here! You splash in the wave pool and ka-splash through slides including:
* Tropical Typhoon—Go down a slide and into a funnel, spin around, and splash (hard) into the water.
* Nessie’s Revenge—Go down some bumps, become airborne for a split second, and hit the pool.
* Howler—Slide down the twisting slide, which is partially covered and has very little light in it.
* Thunderbolt—Sit on a small seat and slide down a monstrous slide, then bump across the water.
* Raging Rapids—Work your way across a lazy Lazy River then plummet through a long, dark tunnel (usually backwards) until the end.
Of course, I can’t fit everything onto the page, so I hope someday you will visit West Edmonton Mall and love it as much as I did.
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