[twitter]Galaxyland, West Edmonton Mall
Admission: Over 48″ $32.95, Under 48″ $26.95
Hours: 10a – 7p

Originally called, Fantasyland (until Disney sued the name away), Galaxyland is a huge indoor adventure park of roller coasters, carousels, carnival games, and other rides. It is the 2nd largest indoor carnival in the world, making it a great escape for many in the dead of Edmonton’s eternal winter.

We spent the morning at Galaxyland while my wife wandered over to the Diana: A Celebration display. As with the World Waterpark, I found the signage a little difficult to get used to. When we go to Calaway Park in Calgary, the boys measure their height, and know the color of rides they are tall enough to ride. At Galaxyland, each ride has it’s own height bar, and it’s a confusing mess to see who can exactly ride where. The rides are color coded by ‘thrill’ or ‘danger’, but not by height. The fact that absolutely everything is a twist of roller coaster rails bathed in the same bright blue and yellow combination, makes it a little hard to get your bearings and find appropriate rides.

Image via JasonParis

After a couple of small coaster turns, we headed to the Galaxy Kids climbing area. This is where many parents seemed content to dump the kids. It’s a twisting mess of ball pits, slides, rope tunnels, and climbing aparatus. There is only one way in, and it’s blocked by a gate so you are really free to let the kids run wild in this area. Moms and Dads sat on benches with their smart phones, while the kids burned off steam.

In addition to having full admission to the rides in Galaxyland, you can also buy individual tickets to spend on each ride. This is where the Galaxy Kids area comes handy (and affordable) as parents just pay the admission $6 or $9 for this zone instead of the entire park.

Galaxyland is a great place to let preteens or older kids loose for a few hours, Galaxy Kids is fine for the young’uns.