The West Edmonton Mall was opened in 1981 by the Ghermezian brothers, who emigrated from Iran. It was a large, regional mall when it opened, and successive expansions in 1983, 1985 and 1998 turned the shopping/amusement/recreation/lodging complex into the world's fifth-largest mall.
Galaxyland Amusement Park is the world's largest indoor amusement park. Next door the World Waterpark features the world's largest indoor wave pool. Originally named Fantasyland, the park changed its name to Galaxyland in 1995 after a lawsuit by The Walt Disney Co.
In the more than 30 years that the West Edmonton Mall has been open, anchor stores have come and gone. Ikea moved to a larger space in southern Edmonton in the 1990s, and a large Canadian Tire store shut down. The former Canadian Tire and Ikea stores are now a "Chinatown" theme area.
