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Mindbender at Galaxyland to be retired

TPoseOnTantrum

TPoseOnTantrum

Giga Poster
Terrible news out of Edmonton today, as they've declared that the iconic Mindbender - which has been left collecting dust since at least July 2021 - will not reopen and indeed be removed;
https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/mindben...fter-37-years-at-west-edmonton-mall-1.6252033

I'm extremely saddened by this, as I was unable to ride the coaster when I visited the park in 2016 due to the adult-only restraints and my very diminutive size at the time... this is a huge loss for the park.
6A3733AB-4BBE-4E83-9964-56A0836C4802.jpeg
 
That thing is built into the structure, right? Not sure if it'll be easy to pick up and move like similar Schwarzkopf loopers...
 
Back in late 2017, I had caught wind that its closure might be imminent so I made a rash decision to fly to Edmonton in February 2018. It was some of the coldest temps I've ever experienced, but 100% worth the trip. Obviously, its demise proved to not be too imminent fortunately, but this news is still brutal. The ride is such an absolute monster. I love it immensely.

cookie said:
That thing is built into the structure, right? Not sure if it'll be easy to pick up and move like similar Schwarzkopf loopers...
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Nah, it has its own structure. The bigger question is what condition is the track in after so many years of constant use. It rode great five years ago, but that doesn't mean there aren't underlying issues.
 
Such a shame. This is one of the best coasters I've ever ridden. A backwards ride on Mindbender was something incredible.

This along with the loss of The Ultimate, means that 2 of my favourite rides in very quick succession (oddly both having been SBNO for several years) 🫤
 
Pretty sad.

The bigger question is will the coaster be relocated or scrapped altogether? I mean while the coaster did have some rocky history especially the accident back in 1986 it did last over 37 years. I hope it gets relocated but I can see it also getting scrapped. It’s still a shamed that the world is losing another Schwarzkopf.

Inverting_Thrills said:
Wow, to think I didn't even know it was SBNO. It's definitely a shame to see such an iconic ride go but I at least hope it'll be replaced with something cool.
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From what I heard from news articles the ride is supposed to get replaced with family thrills attractions.

With Mindbender closing for good did you get a chance to ride it and what were your thoughts on the attraction? Personally I never got a chance to ride it unfortunately and it’s sad that I never will unless it gets removed.
 
I would love to see new life - definitely a behemoth of the peak 80s, and a shame if we are to lose it indeed.
 
Ah, ****.

To be fair, it wasn't going to have long anyway once Hasbro hit the scene. The "family thrills" replacement most likely means that they're shifting away from adult thrills, which is actually fitting with the Hasbro theme.

Also the reason it was SBNO seems to have been due to parts issues. I'm guessing they weren't able to get that part then.
 
AAhhhhhhhhh....

I meant to ride this in 2020 - but we all know what then happened. And now I go this year - with the main attraction for Edmonton now vanished. I still hope the city has some good craft beer. Cannot change the trip as I still have all the vouchers from when airlines and hotels cancelled in 2020 - and those are only valid for the original destination.

So its mainly only Canada's Wonderland for this trip with maybe one or two alpine coasters.... 🥺
 
Really sad to hear, this is one of the top 5 most intense coasters I’ve ever done.

Can’t imagine it was cheap to maintain, and parts aren’t gonna be in abundance. But if you were lucky enough to ride it then you’ll know what a bonkers ride it was.
 
I think blaming it on parts is just an excuse. They might not be cheap but there are multiple companies to service Schwarzkopf coasters and Gerstlauer could have upgraded it like SooperDooperLooper or Pyske Underground. The more I read about it a high thrill coaster doesn't fit the new owners - Hasbro - and their "family friendly fun" agenda.

Most likely I won't visit Galaxyland when in Edmonton to ride some mid-range family coasters while staring disappointed at the former place of Mindbender....
 
Salt time but I was reading the comments to this video and someone in the comments allegedly heard that the reason Mindbender is closing isn't related to Hasbro, but instead that it is closing because a maintenance check discovered several cracks in the track that would have sent maintenance costs through the roof. If that's the case don't count on a relocation.

EDIT: Another comment later from someone who actually worked at Galaxyland alleged that the closure has been planned for a while because the coaster was soon to hit its 40 year end of life.
 
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All of this speculation trying to find a specific cause for the closure feels somewhat pointless.

The ride is old, which means it's likely starting to show serious signs of age (especially if previous maintenance wasn't top notch - though not accusing anyone of that being the case), which means the repair bill is high, which means Hasbro have to work out if they want to fork out the cash, which they aren't as it's not really within their target market.

One could take any of those to be the 'cause', but in practice it's all just part of the big web of things that lead to decisions being made. The main point of all of it, though, is age. Hasbro are probably making the right business decision - however disappointing that is for us.

If the ride was nearly new, or the repair bill was small, I'd wager Hasbro would keep it going (not least, as it will cost a fair amount to remove it), even if it didn't necessarily fit within their target market - they wouldn't be the first, and I'm sure they wouldn't be the last.

I don't think anyone really thought relocation was likely, did they? Can't really see that ever being much more than a pipe-dream. Stranger things have happened, I suppose...
 
Hixee said:
I don't think anyone really thought relocation was likely, did they? Can't really see that ever being much more than a pipe-dream. Stranger things have happened, I suppose...
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I'd thought this about Quimera and I think we're all surprised how well that turned out. Until I see it getting cut into pieces I'll continue to hope it gets bought and installed at my local shopping centre 😅.

Seriously though, I expect the easiest way to remove it would involve cutting it up, so we should see from the way that it's removed whether or not they plan/hope to sell it.
 
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