Does a spike count for the new tallest indoor coaster? Let me know! Follow me on Twitter and Instagram twitter.com/expthemepark instagram.com/expeditionthemepark See you soon!

I used to love going on the Mindbender and was so sad to find out it's been officially shut down, but I'm so happy to see one of my favourite channels make a video covering it. That coaster will always have a special place in my heart.

I was born and raised in Edmonton and never got the chance to ride the Mindbender. I was always too afraid, but once I actually got the courage to do it, the pandemic hit and everything shut down. I promised myself that once everything reopened again, I would finally ride it like I had wanted to all this time. But now it’s being taken down and I genuinely regret never taking the chance to ride it. You never expect something as iconic as the Mindbender to be gone and so I didn’t even consider it happening. Do the things you’re too afraid to do because you never know when that chance will be gone. It’s going to be weird going to Galaxyland and not hearing the roar of it anymore

Hi, edmontonian here. One theory as to the accident can be seen in your videos. The old grainy videos had 4 cars, it apparently was never made for 4. That's why it had 3 later. Every 2 hours the mind bender would be cleared of passengers and have a "dry run" for 20 minutes. I will say my husband says the seats are uncomfortable for him (he's 6'4). I will say that an indoor theme park makes sense when you live in -20C 6 months of the year :3

I live in Edmonton and rode mindbender many times. It’s truly one of the most physically intense coaster in the world, due the the restricted sized loops and 97km/h top speed. A lot of my friends blacked out on the second of the double loops due to the G’s. I’m sad to see it go as it was my first big roller coaster, but I feel for the maintenance techs who have spent there lives keeping it running. I’ve spoken to many of them over the years and they do enjoy working on it.

Apparently they never actually got rid of the old trains and kept them in storage. Also the impact on the concrete pillar is still visible.

One Correction: The Mind Bender did run again after the 2020 closure: it reopened briefly in mid-2021 for a few weeks. This was the last time it was open. I must say, this is a very well put together and detailed video. Well done.

I actually got legitimately upset when I heard this was going away. This was one of the coasters I was really hoping to ride one day.

"Something about this roller-coaster is wrong." Yes. Very reassuring.

The dispute with Disney is gives me real “why take the family to Disney, we have Disney at home” vibes😂

I’m from Edmonton and this is my home park and the coaster that made me fall in love with coasters. I’m so sad it is closed for good and I didn’t get a last ride. Thanks for the great video and for thinking of us way up here in Canada. From a loyal follower and Canadian coaster enthusiast.

Well done, I've ridden this Schwarzkopf beauty 37 times and never had a bad ride. It rides a lot like Olympia Looping which I've ridden 29 times. I do wish someone would buy this ride and give it a home

I rode Mindbender on its opening weekend, nearly blacked out on the third loop. Immediately got on it again (I was a kid). Years later I went scuba diving in the sub tank. And of course there was skating, water slides, mini golf, driving range on the roof, three movieplexes.... what a mall.

This guy is literally the best story teller!

Man, West Edmonton Mall in general is just wild. Giant indoor waterpark, ice rink, aquarium, formerly a submarine ride, sea lion show, Galaxy Land, and a full scale replica of the Santa Maria. All of this inside one of the worlds largest shopping malls, and for some reason its in Edmonton Alberta of all places.

Mindbender was definitely one of the many roller coasters I wish I could have ridden. That, and I would have loved to have ridden in the mall's submarines.

I was fortunate enough to visit the WEM on a business trip the winter after the Mindbender had reopened. What a ride. The lift hill took you to the ceiling, (where the air was warmer) and the first drop felt vertical. Maybe it was me, but about halfway through the second loop, I would begin to black out. Kind of scary, yet still a smooth and enjoyable ride. Back then, the mall was at full attractions, nothing had been removed. The submarines, the Spanish Galleon, the dolphins, the miniature golf, all still there. It was a magical place. Upscale and classy, whimsical and enchanting. I loved that mall.

I am glad I had my first and last right a few years ago. My Dad and I were in the mall for thanks giving and we were wondering why they took it down. RIP Mindbender. You will forever be appart of Canada's history

What I've always found to be weird is that, despite living in Edmonton and spending a lot of time at WEM as a kid and teen, I've only seen the ride operate a few times. Almost every time I went to or passed through Galaxyland, the ride wasn't in operation. This is also long past the incident, so it's almost like the ride was cursed or something.

I loved going on this rollercoaster as someone from Calgary on my weekend trips to West Edmonton Mall. Though it makes sense why it closed.

I remember being in that same mall that had this traction when I was on a school trip to Edmonton back in 2017, and I was scared to go to rollercoasters. I knew about the dangers of this ride but thank you for making this video for adding information I did not know too!! You're the best

Love that West Edmonton Mall jingle! Catchy as hell!

I've been going to the mall since the mid-90s so getting to see the footage of how I remember it back when I was a kid was incredibly nostalgic. I never rode on the Mindbender itself but have many memories of standing on the walkway underneath the loops and watching the ride in action, so it was sad when they announced it was closed for good. Thanks for the video!

This was the first roller coaster I ever went on, and at a very young age. It was a long time before I learnt that it was not a beginner roller coaster. Definitely set high standards for any future roller coasters I got the chance to ride. I always went in expecting to be terrified.

Yes! Favorite KZfaq content creator uploading a video about one of the coolest rides ever built!

I'm from Calgary (about 300 kms south of Edmonton) and used to go up there all the time. I rode it shortly after it re-opened in 1987, and was a fun ride. As I got older, and it got older, its actually started to become uncomfortable. Last time I rode it was in 2019, and the wear and tear on ot made it very jarring and the push down holders hurt my shoulders. I ended up with a really sore back, and I know people who have blacked out on it. In a way I'm sad to see it go, and I'm also glad, since 30 years is a long time for a metal roller coaster.

I've never really thought about all those rides that closed during covid and then never re-opened until this video, but it makes me sad to think about it. So many people loved the coaster and were probably like "Oh, I'll go on it again next time I'm here" only for it to never return, for there to be no last ride. It's different than a ride that closes before you have a chance to get on it again because you can't travel in in time because at least then you know you tried. With this, it's just like it never came back. It's tragic.

Mindbender was one of my foundational coasters to get me into coasters. I'm so sad the mall closed it but I will never forget the impact the ride had on me.

This is why we need to support our smaller parks and make our coaster trips. You never know when your going to lose something forever.

I went there to ride this back in 1987 was the only time I went on it but breaks my heart see it shut down. National treasure now gone forever.

I'm canadian and we only have one good theme park I became a thoosie durning covid and would ask my mom to go to the mall and she said "someday" I heard it closed and was sad because I could never ride it, I'm going out to Canada's wonderland this summer and I hope thats amazing! I love your content and Alton towers is now my number one bucket list park.

What many people don't know, is that before the accident the only safety restraint the Mindbender had was a skinny lap bar. No shoulder restraints, no seatbelts. It was a lot more scary before the added safety features. That first drop with just the lap bar holding you in was crazy.

Such a legend this ride is. I remember travelling from Saskatchewan every summer break to come to the park. Then moving to edmonton for awhile and working there. Had so much fun. Anyone who never got to ride this surely missed out. That steep climb to the top, you think your gonna touch the ceiling then you drop face down. Anytime you heard the famous horn everyone would gather as it’s about to start a run. This rollercoaster will definitely be missed. Glad I got to go on it! Especially backwards.

This is by far the best video I have ever seen on Mindbender's history. I'd like to add some details to it that I found in a German book about Werner Stengel: When they learned about the accident, both Werner Stengel and Anton Schwarzkopf flew to Edmonton to support the investigation (and likely to check for themselves if they did anything wrong). One thing they found was that the pieces of track that had been fabricated after Anton Schwarzkopf was fired and denied access to the production facility (if you ask me, you must be pretty stupid when you have no experience in manufacturing a roller coaster, need to finish a half-built one and then turn down the offer of someone who undoubtedly was one of the most experienced steel coaster manufacturers at that time). Mindbender's trains used different wheel assemblies than Schwarzkopf coasters used before. Before, the left and right wheel assemblies were mounted on a sub frame which had a central pivot point with the car's frames. Therefore, the distance between the guide wheels remained constant. Mindbender's trains were to use a new design, where each the left and right wheel assembly would have their own pivot points - much like you car's front wheels, they only pivot but you don't have one wheel move forward while the other one moves backwards when turning your steering wheel. However, that means that curved sections of track must be slightly narrower than straight sections, as the distance between the guide wheels changes with the curve radius. Schwarzkopf hat even built a test jig to inspect each section of track that it is built correctly. The people who took over didn't want to listen to him, built a constant-width track and didn't use the test jig. While the difference was not enough to get the train stuck, this put extra stress on the wheel assemblies, causing the bolts to start cracking. Now, proper maintenance should have caught this - but that didn't happen, leading to the accident.

I have to be honest, im still really not over this news, as a Canadian coaster enthusiast this coaster was on my bucket list for about 10 years now. knowing that I will never be able to ride it is even more heartbreaking and im still not pleased about it

I've lived in Edmonton my entire life and never rode the Mindbender. And now I never will. RIP.

This ride always makes me think of the show 6teen

Only ride I've been on to make my vision go out a bit on those loops lol.. Thing was intense

Are you sure you want to completely demolish Looping Coaster 1?

I never even realised it was closed already. Thanks for another brilliant video Sam, fabulous as always.

I never expected I'd have the opportunity to ride Mindbender because of how far away it is from me, but I was still sad to see it go. Also, I have to say that you always pick great music for the videos.

i was lucky enough to ride this once, it was legit the most intense rollercoaster ive ever been on. I'm so sad and mad that this is closed....

Best theme song on youtube! Always a good day when I hear the trumpets !

The origin of this coaster has more twists and turns than the ride itself

I rode it once, didn't ride it again. It was thrilling but suuuper rough and bumpy, my neck was sore for days. Most people I know sadly got the same experience, I wonder if it had something to do with which car was ridden? I got to ride one of the backwards ones

It's always a good day when there's a new expedition to go on!

I hope they get a new coaster

I went on this before they pulled the third train, in 86 and when the mall was built it wasn't the largest in Canada, it was the largest in the world! even still bigger then mall of America.

Niagara Falls NY was considered a place for one of these massive indoor mall / amusement parks by the Triple 5 group, but it never came to fruition

Yes! A new video to start my morning off right

My dad rode the mindbender two days before the accident. I have since ridden it and it is a good ride. However, the headbanging is very real. The building was actually built around the coaster. I go to the mall about once a year, except for the pandemic years. Its really sad to see it close but it is an older coaster so I am not surprised. I hope they replace it with another one.

I’d love to see the Disney Parks and Resorts create a “Disney’s Fantasyland” indoor theme park that’s similar to the Nickelodeon Universe theme parks, but themed to various Disney movies such as Frozen!

Such an under rated channel!!! I appreciate all the uploads. You should have millions of followers. Keep up the great work.

🔥 🔥🔥 glad you did more, thank you

I absolutely love these videos, they're so interesting!

An absolute local legend, really sad that it never got to have a proper send-off :( Walking near galaxyland became oddly quiet without the roar of the mindbender going around a loop.

Been to Edmonton a few times, and on one occasion, rode Mindbender 6 times _(NOT_ in a row!). Blacked out a bit on the sixth ride, so that was it for the day. A guy I worked with for a while went there with some friends for a weekend, and had trouble riding, simply because they couldn't find any ride operators! Turns out, one guy was running the Mindbender, Looping Starship, and Freefall rides. (Obviously, it wasn't very busy at that time.) So this gang just went from one ride to the next, taking their operator with them. Now, if you know the park, you know the Freefall (Drop of Doom?) is all but completely hidden from sight from the walkways, and the Starship was just sitting there with no-one else riding it, so they never saw either ride in operation before they got on. Imagine riding a Looping Starship, having only seen swings like a Pirate ride before? Or riding a Freefall having absolutely no idea what it looks like, even when you're already on it? Gotta admit, I was kind of envious.

As someone born and raised in Edmonton, I was very upset about the news of it's closing. Gonna definitely miss it.

THESE COASTERS ARE SO GIANT!

Yes! Someone's finally covering this!

Another awesome video Sam!! Thank you!

Love watching these. Ty!

I learn a lot on KZfaq, but I learn about things and places on Your channel that I didn’t even know had existed. Thank you for your work preserving history.

Glad you’re back regularly with new videos!

Sam! So very glad to see something new from you!

Yay Sam! Always love to see you post videos. 🥰

Your vids are always awesome fella, great stuff right here 👍🙏

I live in Alberta! I would travel over 2 and a half hours just to go to West Edmonton Mall!

This channel gets better and better!

Was weer gezellig Suus. Dankje wel

Driar Looping is now at Indiana Beach in Monticello, Indiana. Should open this season after a deadly derailment it had in Mexico. It's new name is American Driar Looping.

Best roller coaster I have ever ridden, hands down.

Awesome Sam! My first big coaster before getting to go to the USA

Hi Sam. I was at WEM the day of the accident, but left before it happened. I would watch the Mindbender anytime I went to the Mall. I am not a coaster person, so I never had the chance to ride the Mindbender. Keep up the Great Job on the stuff that you do.

Nice to see a video on the mindbender. I used to get a super summers attraction pass when I was 11 or 12 and would ride the mindbender all day long open to close. Probably ridden it 200 times, Personally I love that starting to black out sensation you get during the second loop.

Glad I got to spend some quality time with The old bender. Extra rush riding it, when you know what happened in it's past.

Nice that you're getting your great content out again - used to love your videos, and then they suddenly stopped for a long time

Another fantastic video!

one of the great canadian coasters i missed out on. RIP mind bender

Great documentary

I’d love to see the Disney Parks and Resorts create a “Disney’s Fantasyland” indoor theme park that’s similar to the Nickelodeon Universe theme parks, but themed to various Disney movies such as Frozen! List of Featured Rides and Attractions for Disney’s Fantasyland: - Magical Storybook Castle - Fantasyland Carousel - Dumbo the Flying Elephant - Seven Dwarfs Mine Train - Mad Tea Party - The Nightmare Before Christmas Halloweentown Carnival - Olaf’s Frozen Sleigh Ride - Elsa’s Ice Palace - Ariel’s Under the Sea Adventure - Be Our Guest (a Beauty and the Beast themed spinner ride) - Tiana’s Bayou Splash Mountain - Maleficent Dragon Coaster

This coaster was featured in episode 6 of 2016's 'The White Rabbit Project'. G-forces were the topic of the episode.

Haven't ridden it since just before the accident, and I still remember how that ride felt today

Thanks for the wonderful video! I've ridden this on 2 trips to Edmonton and loved it. Funny enough, neither of those were in the decade-plus of living here (and working at the mall for 2 long stretches). Yet I miss it already. ✌️🍍

I REMEMBER THIS RIDE!

Awesome video

Great video i love the series.

Very good video!

Another great video! This ride gives me Adventure Dome vibes, one day you will be doing a video about one of the rides there.

Oh darn, pretty upsetting to learn that it's been shut down. I've only been to Galaxyland once, but I was a child and was too afraid to ride Mindbender then. I'd always hoped to ride it when I was in Edmonton again. I guess that'll never happen now.

In 2007 they changed the control system by removing need for operator at main control panel so the whole coaster can be operated by one person and also removing all the block sections and also the final brake run was changed to magnetic braking, the last 2 former block sections had a couple magnet trims added

I rode this coaster in 2001. I'm from Texas. Sad to see it go!

Great video thank you from a Canadian!

Hell yeah been waiting for this

I live in Quebec and I got the "chance" of riding it one day.. although this didnt give me the fear of rollercoasters that one forever scarred me when I was about 1 inch to 2 inches away from slipping off my seat!!! I was still kinda young, I had the required height, but thankfully I had the reflex of holding on to dear life cause I knew if I was flying off of my seat it was over. It was all made harder with the triple loop and insane G force I had to deal with, being only 10 years old... Despite that extremely scary event, I'll admit it was super fun... ONCE I was off of it with both my feet safe on the ground! And I just remembered now that all rides had the second ride being free if you were "game" to go at it again right away, I DIDNT!

3:45 that commercial was glorious

Great Video! Got to visit Galaxyland summer of 2022 and only got to ride the parks two other coasters. The staff said they were waiting on a part for Mindbender because of the pandemic. Was shocked when the news came about this ride. Too bad :(

I don't know if it's possible with the structure, but I'd love to see Gene Staples save this ride using all the expertise they've gained from saving Drier Looping

When me and my best friends were in grade 9, we rode the mind binder 23 times in one day

I've lived in Edmonton my whole life and never knew about the Galaxyland Disney dispute! What a fun tidbit :D WEM is such a weird beast, but even as other malls are dying around North America it is still super busy. I often wonder how much the cold winters affect the success of indoor attractions like this 🤔