It’s especially frigid in Edmonton in January. The kind where breath clouds linger in the air for longer than seems sensible, your car door takes a second to open, and the space between your hat and scarf turns into a pressing engineering issue. On some days, the temperature can reach minus 30 degrees Celsius, and it frequently falls below minus 25. That’s more than six months of the year spent in circumstances that don’t particularly encourage outdoor recreation for a city with a population of little over a million.
This is precisely the setting in which the World Waterpark, located on 170 Street inside the West Edmonton Mall, makes perfect sense. When it first debuted in 1986, it was one of the most daring concepts in Canadian entertainment and retail: a five-acre tropical water park that was completely indoors and kept the temperature at a constant 31 degrees Celsius all year round. There’s snow outside. Wave pools are within. The idea wasn’t nuanced. It also proved to be quite well-liked.
The experience is still anchored by the Blue Thunder wave pool. It has a capacity of 12.5 million liters and produces waves as high as 1.5 meters, which is high enough for body surfing, high enough to topple a tiny child who strays into the wrong area, and high enough to feel like something more than a hotel pool. When the pool is at its full capacity, it is noisy, packed, and dynamic in a way that is only possible with a lot of water moving in a small area. Standing in artificial waves while snow builds up someplace above you on the mall’s roof is a strange feeling. However, it is effective.
A broad spectrum of risk tolerance is covered by the slide lineup. Before sending riders into a 360-degree loop, the AquaLoop drops them via a nearly vertical confined tube. This type of ride causes most riders to pause significantly at the top before committing to it. Another type of vertical experience is provided by the Sky Screamer bungee jump. Caribbean Cove offers softer slides and splash features that don’t necessitate a discussion about fear management for families with younger kids. In the middle is the FlowRider indoor surfing attraction, which is both accessible enough for novices to experience it without feeling ashamed and technically challenging enough to be engaging for older children and adults.
The indoor water park sector has been expanding on the early realization made by the World Waterpark that climate-controlled aquatic entertainment is more than just a way to compensate for inclement weather. It’s a truly unique product. You don’t need to make any seasonal arrangements to visit on a Tuesday in February. Checking the forecast is not necessary. Because the environment is regulated, the experience is consistent, and controlled spaces are frequently more commercially durable than outdoor seasonal attractions. Four months are the busiest for waterparks in warmer climates. The West Edmonton Mall is open all year round.
The demographic mix is impacted by the admission price, which is $67 CAD for basic adult entry, which presents this as a planned adventure rather than an impulsive visit. Families prepare for it. It is the focal point of birthday celebrations. There are noticeable spikes during school breaks. Observing the flow of people through the door on a winter Saturday gives the impression that this is a site that people specifically come to, rather than one that they stumble into after engaging in other mall activities. The attraction has remained relevant for almost 40 years since it originally opened its doors to Edmonton’s cold-season throng because it fosters a different kind of devotion than a shop anchor.
