The History of Metroland: Europe's Extinct Largest Indoor Amusement Park - The End of Retail Leisure
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- čas přidán 20. 03. 2021
- Join us on a new Expedition as we look at the Extinct History of Metroland. Once Europe's largest indoor amusement park located at the MetroCentre, A Mall that has slowly declined from being one of the premier tourist attractions in the UK and lost much of its uniqueness.
Metroland was designed to offer a family outing at a shopping centre, complete with roller coasters, arcades and multiple rides. A highlight of the northeast of England. After 20 years of operation, the amusement park was closed and replaced.
Metroland was a place many kids of England spent time and even rode their first roller coaster. Sadly it was closed and is now just a memory.
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Credits -
Martin Hannett - • Bull Ring Shopping Cen...
Time Train - • 1950s Shopping in the ...
celestrialrailroad - • London (1994) - 'At th...
Andrew Mitchell - • Dunston, Gateshead - 1...
Richard Smith - • KINGDOM OF FUN
Newcastle Upon Tyne & UK - Video from the past - • Gateshead MetroCentre ...
VHS Bits - • 1989 Gateshead MetroCe...
FoundVintage8mm - • 🇨🇦[super8] 1983 Eaton ...
Ken Eckert - • Walking Around West Ed...
Marcin Wiśniewski - • Trafford Centre Manche...
citytransportinfo - • Metroland Funfair at G...
Niall C - • Metroland
Ladventure - • METROLAND GATESHEAD - ...
Informerdude - • Metroland ; The End Of...
GregstersUK - • Metroland RIP
Wandering - • Second Largest Shoppin...
Diary of a RollerCoaster Girl - • The Big One/Rampage - ...
Mark Forrest - • Metroland Memories
Dead Mall Walking - Dying Retail and Malls - • UK Dead Malls : EMPTY ... - Zábava
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I want to see videos on attractions from the west Edmonton mall in Alberta, Canada
I’m sure I sound like a broken record, but The Haunted Shack at Knott’s 🙂
Toyland Tours, Wicked Witches Haunt, or Mr. Rabbit's Tropical Travels
Awesome episode. Now do one about the short-lived Space Center Bremen, Germany. Btw...i worked there as Supervisior Operations if you need any info ;)
@@MrMeatHook Yes! I loved The Haunted Shack! Classic.
It's kind of funny how malls slowly stripped out their amusements and added more shopping while people shopped less in person. I could see this being flipped in the next couple years where more amusements are added to malls that are trying to survive.
I hope.so!
This has already happened in the case of the American Dream Mall in New Jersey, the plan of which was changed during construction to include Nickelodeon Universe and a water park
Yeh, I have very fond memories of the themed areas and Metroland in the MetroCentre as a kid in the very early 90s. Shame it stripped that away and became a generic shopping centre. Hopefully this trend can be reversed.
@@aledandrian hopefully it will survive as the pandemic hit right when it opened
@@Eaglescout217 lol I want that mall to burn to the ground (but not before saving the coasters)
Demolishing this for a 17-screen IMAX monstrosity too far out of the city to bother going when there are like three other cinemas in walking distance, was a CRIME. Damn, I miss this place.
Right!
it's not even a proper IMAX, it's just a little one.
(It's actually quite nice and the restaurant area is alright, but it's so soulless compared to the old metroland)
Ikr, me and my freinds go to the Vue in Gateshead because it's closer and cheaper
Exactly! I'm in Newcastle and the metrocentre is now just too awkward to get to compared with the city centre, which offers all the same shops already, but with a little extra historical buildings to look at. Public transport is also very annoying for getting there, I feel like it should have been connected to the metro line, given the name.
@@jewelledlacertacare2712 :( I live in Newcastle and I feel offended. I LOVE the metrocentre
The guy in the interviews sounds so passionate about this mall, that's really wholesome.. glad the mall was a success, he was probably very proud
yeah!
john hall a great creative force which is what retail isnt now intu turned it into a morgue like dull enviroment
This is the metro centre. I go here everyday because it is in newcastle which is where I live.
@@scoldedegg11yearsago17 it's actually in Gateshead, not Newcastle.
@@angemartindale144 well yea but gateshead is only 20 mins away from where I live in Newcastle.
If you were a kid of the 90’s this was a special visit, magic even. I’m tearing up actually. Thanks for doing this. Big up the north!
Thank you for watching!
+ a kid of the 80's.
Me too. I'm getting soppy in my old age. Good memories
Literally got a lump in my throat watching this
I was gutted when it close.. :( what I'd give to go back for a day..
Used to visit Metroland all the time as a kid! As a Geordie this video makes me so happy :) Thanks for the vid!
Thank you for watching!
Geordie squad
Geordie squad
Geordie Squad
Geordie squad
I miss metroland so much. I spent so much time there as a child. As a Geordie this was the fastest click on a video ever
Same!
I cannot explain to you being under 10 years old an experiencing Metroland, Ive been to so many themed parks around the world and I know from the Video Metroland might not look that impressive but my god experiencing this place at such a young age it was a true fantasy park, the way the rollercoasters lift hills hid in the walls at the start and you dropped out right over the main entrance, all the giant cloth clouds hanging from the roof, the huge fantasy mountain murals painting on all the walls, The Wave Swings had you flying over everything in the park. Metroland was the only place ive ever know to do 80/90s fantasy so well you just had to have experienced it, it was truly the biggest loss I was in 4th grade and we were giving out flyers across all the schools in the North East trying to save it!
If you REALLY went to Metroland, what is the mall it's in called and where is it located. Because I live there.
@@scoldedegg11yearsago17 .... not really sure what you'd prove by asking a question like that? Seemed like a pointless quest?
I am loving this description - thanks for the mental walk down memory lane
Good read.
absolutely spot on was amazing place especially with the bad weather I've got a daughter now and I tell her about it the kids would of loved it these days why destroy the only place like this in England for more shops when ppl shop less now this is what would of made the metrocenter money
Your story telling is on levels that only war torn grandparents can reach. The level of detail and vivid descriptions made me shed a tear this place was gone then another when the rollercoaster was rebuilt. Absolute legend
Thanks 🤣
@Brandon Y Stay put, I have people headed to your location.
The metrocentre car park - the true test of any relationship 😂
The amount of times me and my boyfriend have lost his car 😂
I wouldn’t be shocked if most off those chain restaurants are now permanently closed. To get people to stop shopping people online they need experiences that they can’t get online.
Exactly
I feel like I’ve found my spiritual home.. beyond the theme park (I regret that I never had an opportunity to visit, but was aware of it and rather wanted to) Intu - and Westfield to be honest - stripped their malls of anything that didn’t present retail space. Here In Nottingham, where we had one of each, social space was ripped out in favour of cheap ‘market’ stalls and the Emmett sculpture (I have heard that there are only two of his works on public display and the other, also in a shopping centre, is half way to ruin but I hope I’ve heard wrong there), was once the centrepiece of entrance but is now tucked away at the back where it can now only be admired from ground level and there are probably a fair few younger folk who don’t even know of its existence. Why do I bother going into a city centre with sky high parking charges when I have an Asda supermarket at the end of my street that has pretty much all the stuff I might buy? I went for the atmosphere.. but it feels like the shopping centres are determined to get rid of that. Sorry.. rant over :-)
Half the shops in the Metrocentre are closed and boarded up, even when they expanded the number of shops, the spare ones they had weren't used. Absolutely idiotic management by Intu.
@Mark Zinsmeyer Because there is nothing else available. No theme parks except in certain areas and the outdoor areas are usually full of people doing stuff. People are looking at their phones because all the entertainment is going away...
A lot of the stores are being closed now. It's also a pain to get to if you don't have a car so most people now go to Eldon Square, a mall in the city centre that's easier to get to.
The only reason why I still go to The metrocentre is for Build a Bear....I'm not even joking :/
The mall is now so..empty. It needs a HUGE makeover that isn't half assed .Most of the people who go there now are elderly or mothers n fathers with their bored screaming kids.
Oh my god the nostalgia hit off this video, not just metroland but the images of how the whole centre used to look. As a child of the 80s from Northumberland, the Metro Centre was a big treat.
Yes!
The Wave Swinger is now operating at Butlin’s Minehead and I operate it! It’s an amazing ride to operate especially when using the foot brake to slow it down it as it comes down!
Yeah really cool it still exists!
Amusement rides generally seem to hold their value and even used ones tend to be a big investment especially for smaller parks and attractions. Unless they're too big / complex to dismantle and relocate, I tend to find that they really do have to be used up, worn out and totally beyond repair before they're scrappe, and even then, they have value as a source of parts for others of their type (especially if the original manufacturer is no longer around.)
@@rich_edwards79 most definitely, I believe the Wave Swinger was built in the late 80’s and then it travelled with Brandon Bishton for a few years and then Butlin’s bought it for £250,000 and still in great working order.
I have been on this Ride at Butlins Minehead. I loved how old it looks. Is The Chair'OPlane (Waveswinger) from the 1940,a or even pre 1940,s? I would like to know if it is an old ride, or decorated to look this way & authentic. My Grandma who is in her 80's used to ride the Chair'OPlane when she was a child.
@@georgekoshti_richman1392 it’s a late 80’s ride, 1988 to be specific
It was the only place you could win a 20 pack of Regals and a tin of corned beef in an arcade
20 regal with a fiver cellotaped to the box
Hahahahaha yes, I worked at the arcade section and had to do the bingo a few times and would laugh at the prizes hahahaha, but the oldies loved it!
Similar setup at hull fair in those days.
Amazing video man, really captured what it was like! The escalators when you arrived at the yellowmall doors were like a gateway to another realm too haha
Never did I expect of all creators philza Minecraft to comment on a expedition theme park video
And the smell of the water fountains with the big fish. Actually all the water fountains in general around the metro centre. It was nice to just sit on a ledge and dip your hands in while you stopped for a rest.
This looked like so much fun! Now it looks 100% identical to basically every other shopping mall in existence.
Trust me. It isn't. I love the metrocentre
It was so much fun! Now it's just another dull generic shopping centre. Lost all of it's unique charm
It was the best
Metroland made the Metrocenter unique, plus i think the whole style of the Metrocentre looked way better in the past, especially with all the fountains and places like the Mediterranean village made it look awesome, it gave it a unique vibe and feel but sadly there's none of that now, its just a dull, generic shopping centre as many have said.
I gasped when I saw this video come up in my subscriptions.
As someone who lived 30 minutes from Metro Centre I visited a lot as a kid and still do to this day. I have so many memories of Metro Land as a kid and I still miss it as a 36 year old adult. I remember going in the morning and driving home in the dark after having so many great days.
It's unfortunate now that the Metro Centre has been stripped of anything that made it unique and gave it character. You got it spot one, now it's nothing more than just a duplicate of every other shopping centre around.
Thank you so much for this trip down memory lane.
Thank you so much for watching
I remember I suggested this quite a while ago. So glad to finally see it. Was a massive loss in the North East. Will never forget the last day as I was there and still have the wrist band for the last day.
Thank you for watching !
I live near the Metro Center and can actually say it was shocking when INTU confirmed they were closing it. This would have been a good way for kids to be entertained whilst their parents went shopping.
Agreed!
*Centre (sorry, can't help myself)
Yeah its a sorry shell of its former self now, it's been sad seeing its long painful demise
We used to deliberately work ourselves so our Ma's would get sick of us and send us to Metroland, it also used to take them several hours to find us, we spot them and just spend the time sneaking on rides and keeping out of their sight, those were fun days...
So many memories of this place growing up, used to think it was so cool to have an indoor roller coaster, and a waltzers with a smoke machine!
it is cool!
Little fun fact for you about the rollercoaster:
All the staff members had to ride it every morning as a wake up call!
This fact comes from my Mum, who used to work there in 1989.
Oh I loved this place Sam, I spent so much time here and we all took it for granted that it would be here forever. Metro Centre has never been the same again since, it’s now just a generic boring shopping centre. Thank you for bringing back the memories and thank you so much for adding my photos at the end, it’s an honour to appear in one of your videos. 🥰
Thank you so much Mark! After I saw your video I knew it had to go in at the end :)
@@ExpeditionThemePark Thanks again 😊
Metrocentre/metroland back then was such a nice place to go to. Metroland was so good. Shame they got rid of it, place is so different now/quiet/etc.
And now the only way I can see big shopping centres surviving is to incorporate leisure with shopping, big mistake closing it
Exactly
Ironic isn't it
This is the metrocentre. It is still in Newcastle, I go everyday.
@@scoldedegg11yearsago17 I been there last week and most of the stores are closed and borded up, I used to go there many times but there is nothing there I want to do, so I rarely go anymore.
@@megazero952 I know, ive been over alot. its been getting better though. Luckily the village area is still open (it sells really good boba there)
Oh man I'm so happy you did this! I live in Newcastle and I LOVED this place when I was younger. I used to go to the MetroCentre just for this. I'm still so sad it's closed and it's been over 10 years. Thank you for this. The nostalgia.
Thank you for watching!
@@ExpeditionThemePark So much footage, I got excited and commented like five minutes into it but I'm really enjoying :)
Same man.
I remember being at the Mall of America when it still had Camp Snoopy! We rode the log flume with my great-grandfather and in the ride photo he looks like he’s about to scream “oh shit” as we reached the final drop!
Lol
I love that ride
This is your best video to date, never even visited metroland I'm sad it's gone
Thank you so much!
As someone who grew up going to this place, I know it looks like a bit of a dive. But, as a kid it was magical. The airplane ride, the trolley, the roller coaster, the soft play. It sucks that it closed, because now it's a really bad IMAX cinema and loads of chain restaurants which half of them are closed now. Also, fun fact, it was called the Metrocentre because when it was built, it was meant to have a metro line to it... but it's still never been built.
I actually always wondered why it was called that.
the first time i was offered to go, s a young kid i thought it would some kind of metro themed amusement park where you just at on the metro. i was like whats special about that, lol.
11:51 The New Rollarcoaster? With painted supports!? Hot dang! It’s like a new ride!
Exactly!
@@ExpeditionThemePark it also had sound effects and smoke machines added to the tunnel. The sound effects were taken from first alien film when Ripley is setting self destruct on ship. You could hear Sigourney Weever heavy breathing in background.
"YOU NOW HAVE ONE MINUTE TO ABANDON SHIP!"
I was a 90s kids living up north at the time! Great memories of Metroland and had my 8th birthday party here, McDonalds package and all!!
The best kind of party!
@@ExpeditionThemePark it really was!!
What's this about the m Donald's train? I have no memory of this
@@beckynik-nik721 I don't remember this either! Just the Toad stool seating area
I'm an American who has never had the pleasure of experiencing Metroland or any part of the UK (yet), but even I teared up during this video. Hearing the pride in Sir John Hall's voice as he talked about what he envisioned for this place, what it meant to him, and how much he wanted to create a place for the whole family to enjoy -- and he succeeded in doing it -- is something we don't often find today. I've been so fortunate to grow up with many trips to Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Universal Studios, and the occasional County Fair offerings while I lived in California, and I can at least relate to that feeling of being a small child walking into a place of bright colors, lights, music, screams, and laughter. It is magical.
It saddens me to see that Metroland closed, but I sincerely hope that England will someday be given another chance at an indoor amusement park. They really are something special even if they're small.
Omg I miss metroland so much. This was my childhood, I would be put in the play area as a small child then when old enough would take meself here every weekend with friends. Good times 😔
Yeah!
my mom went to this park when she was a kid and I asked for this video and I love you
Ha thanks !
@@ExpeditionThemePark How many people requested this video? I see a few comments on here trying to take attribution :P
This video hit me right in the nostalgic feelings. I can still smell that indescribable smell when you first walked in and hearing the whistle from the train. Such a massive miss as I wish I could have shared this with my kids!
As an 80’s kid, I would’ve LOVED this place! I grew up near a similar looking mall in upstate New York (although no actual formal amusement park, just one of those balloon Ferris wheel rides, mini Golf and a carousel)...and sadly, it died a slow death until it was essentially a dead mall by 2009
My dad used to bring me to metro centre as a kid and it’s what started our love for roller coasters. It’s a shame how depressing the metro centre is now , after seeing the old videos and pictures of what it used to look like for the first time. It’s lost all it’s character. Brilliant video though!
thank you so much!
They shut it down because of the amount of chavs in the area
Oh this was such a huge part of my childhood 💔 I think I was about 16 when me and my sister went to the final rides day and we still had just as much fun as ever ☺️ Honestly was devastated to lose it. I remember the first lift hill used to have chasing lights as you went up (if they were working) and mist was released as you left the tunnel into the drop. It’s so clinical and generic now in the shopping centre, no themeing left these days :(
Yeah so boring now
So the story here is don’t let the Beancounters from London and the so-called experts from the Southeast of the UK turn your mall into just another cookie cutter mall. That probably goes for most places and things. What works in New York City probably doesn’t work in London, Utah.
Malls originally opened to be a full entertainment experience and as retail shopping declined these genius investors took out the entertainment and just added more retail space to the malls. In todays world of online shopping they need to reverse the change and put back in crazy things like Metroland to bring life back to them, there's so many abandoned malls in the US today just slowly deteriorating where there could instead be entertainment opportunities.
This is so crazy to see, all this footage. I live half an hour away from Metro Centre and used to go to Metroland all the time as a child; and now as an adult spend countless days shopping in metro (when everything is normal and not in the middle of a pandemic.)
Thank you for watching!
Live 5 mins away.
Metro centre is just dying all the shops are going one by one.
Absolutely brilliant documentary, thank you!! I am from London but spent many happy hours in metroland as my grandma lived in Gateshead. Without it, as you say, the MetroCentre is generic and has nothing to make it stand out
That Nic Cage section at 11:04 made me think I had just watched the shortest YT ad ever
Honestly, the rock work in the yellow mall when it still existed put some ‘theme park’ theming to shame. I miss metro land and the greenery and character of the metro centre in the 90s.
So many memories of Metroland and the center as it used to be when I was a kid/teen. Memories that I will cherish. The place was so unique at the time but now....as you said at the end of the video, it's just another bland shopping mall. Fun fact about the roller coaster: in the tunnel as you're going up the ramp, sound samples from Alien are played on the speakers. I didn't realise it at the time when I was a kid but when I was older and watched Alien and heard those exact alert sounds. I was like. "Hold on! So that's where metrolands coaster sounds came from!"
Love how you represent North East England! Massive fan of your videos, thank you for making them
I was 15 when Metroland opened and, as the commentary said, it made the Metro Centre far more than just a shopping mall. I have many happy memories of it, especially as it was the only theme park I could get to on public transport from where I lived at the time. The Metro Centre is all the poorer for having closed it.
Yes! The metroland rollercoaster was the first roller rollercoaster I had been on at a young age, screamed like a baby on it but wanted to go again, love rollercoasters ever since! Use to go often as a kid and hit the amusements, bowing and the 9 ball tables! Use to be a great day out
So many happy memories , literally went on that rollercoaster for 6 hours straight.
I'm from South America and I hadn't heard of this place before, but you had me at Boyzone and Postman Pat launched a balloon race for charity. Iconic 90s vibe.
The good old days. I remember my secondary school doing school trips to the metro. I didn't buy anything. I always remember just going here & trying out all the arcade games and getting fast food. Good times. It just isn't the same going in there anymore. Damm i miss the late 90's early 2000's more & more with each passing day.
What a belta! Thanks for doing this one, it's such a shame that it went, absolutely total lack of ambition by Intu and the drab that's there now is depressing, the whole place is depressing and even more so as they struggle to fill shops as the majority of them are boarded up. I absolutely agree with what you've said about the identity of these shopping centres and I've said it for so long, Intu focused on themselves as a brand, but no one is saying, 'let's go to the Intu Metrocentre, or the Intu Trafford centre', they should have kept the identities and made them unique to each other instead of what they've became, soulless empty centres. Only the Metro Gnomes kept some part of the identity going.
When the updated the signs , think I spent more time getting lost then actual shopping.
I will never be able to get them singing about Charles Dickens out of my head
Great video 👍I'm from Gateshead and this brought back lots of happy memories. I wish this was still open to take my kids.
The Metrocenter was struggling to fill retail units even before COVID, in the long term I think Metroland would have attracted far more visitors and revenue than the cinema which replaced it, given it's unique and there are 5 cinemas within 10 miles. There's nothing like Metroland up here.
Great video. I have fond memories of this place, my first coaster. It was amazing as a child! Still sad its gone 😭
When I heard "expansion of shopping center in 2010" I knew immediately what was coming next...
"England, a place known of having bad weather"
Me: Yep, that sounds right
Yep aha
God I miss Metroland so much. One of my earliest memories was getting lost in the mirror maze in the original, and then the new one was just so much fun. I was once invited to go by a friend whose dad worked for Nissan, and the company had booked the whole place for their annual family/friends night, so we had it to ourselves.
I’m so tired, I totally misread the title of the video as...
“UK Death Mall” 😂🤣😂
That would be a fun video.ha
sounds better
To be fair any Mall is a "Death Mall"
@@ApolloVIIIYouAreGoForTLI I don't know about *any* mall, but there used to be a dying mall near me that I visited exactly once. It didn't simply feel empty, but actively dangerous, like "no one would hear you if you screamed".
This is such a blast from the past - thank you so much for highlighting something from the North East!!
So many happy memories from Metroland. I used to be such an exciting trip to the metro centre with my grandparents every summer holidays and at Christmas - spending the whole time shopping harassing them to go to metroland. Highlight of the trip! Absolutely gutted when it closed
As someone from the north east I truly appreciate this episode. I used to visit metro land all the time it was a blast especially with friends film rides McDonald’s was a great day throwing pennies in the pond that used to be there too great memories
Oh wow how did I miss this upload? As someone who lives local, Metroland was my weekly theme park trip every Sunday as a kid. Thank you for making this vid, I haven't watched it yet so will leave another comment afterwards.
I would have loved to be able to take my daughter there.. let her experience the same magic I did as a kid.. it actually makes me feel really sad!
Loved this place, it actually looks like the metro centre have been adding more and more entertainment attractions recently, there's an arcade (with a decently large dodgems inside), recently they added an "angry birds" themed mini golf course, and a "clip 'n' climb" (a kids climbing centre). Looks like they could do with a new Metroland!
I had many a birthday party at Metroland! It was honestly such a great time and holds a lot of special memories for me (except the burns I got from those slides!) I miss it a lot.
I also remember seeing on the news one day that the rollercoaster got stuck and people had to be helped off it on a cherry picker lol. I was kind of jealous of them at the time.
haha yeah, they did!
Rule No.1: Never put your hands down when going down the slides. Ooooow those friction burns stung a bit!
You make such grande shows. I’m an American who never even heard of Metroland. But you made me feel the nostalgia just by getting to know its history.
Thank you for your amazing work, ETP!
Yeeeesss!! I'm glad to have found a channel that talks about former retail and entertainment spaces outside the US! Most videos about topics like this are always very American centric, and it's interesting to hear about the UK/Europe side of things.
I loved Metroland growing up! It used to be part of our treat at the end of a shopping day. If we'd been good we could get an ice cream coated in sherbet and some time in Metroland. And we always entered the MetroCentre through the arcade in the Yellow Mall, now we only park in the Yellow Mall if we are going the the cinema.
I used to go to Metroland and Metrocentre with my nana and grandad when I was younger, thank you for the wave of happy memories. I used to love the rollercoaster, the pirate ship and flying round on the dodgems. There used to have a huge dragon hanging from the roof in front of the other enterance, the sound of the rollercoaster made it sound like the dragon was roaring to my young ears. I now work in the centre and the word that I see coming up the most in describing the centre is soulless. This is so true, Intu have murdered the centre and everything Sir John created. They've chased all the shops away with ever increasing rent demands (surely having full shop units all pay a little less is better business sense then having over half empty and pay a lot more) It's so bad if you look on the website for what stores are there, they have actually listed the post office, amazon collection lockers and the police station as shops.
I have family members who live in Newcastle, so I used to come here a lot in the year of and the year before its closure when I was just 3 years old, good times!
That's awesome !!
❤Over the past few years now I have had so much for feedback from people telling me how much they miss it now.I worked there for fifteen years and I miss Metroland too
Walter
I remember visiting for my birthday after the “new” metro land opened. They’d added in these giant probably 30/40 ft wacky waving tube men all over and while myself and my cousin were on the pirate ship the one next to it caught fire. Everyone got evacuated and I don’t think they kept the tube men much longer after that 🤣
I love the creator of this place, he has the correct ideas on family and using what was good about the past.
I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and spent my time inside Metrocenter Mall which is where they filmed the first Bill and Ted movie. No thene park in there but there was an ice rink and eventually they removed the ice rink and turned it into a giant arcade with a few very small rides. Sadly, the Phoenix Metrocenter closed last year. So its a real trip for me learning about the existence of a British Metro Centre.
I grew up going to the British Metro Centre but have also long been a fan of the Phoenix one (due to the B&T filmings) and was sad to see that it finally closed down last year. Luckily there's some good coverage on CZcams of its final days!
Interesting
When I was a child I lived not far from the West Edmonton mall, it's been a long time since I was there. I've never been to Metroland, but I can certainly see the similarities between it and it's Fantasyland inspiration.
I visited Metroland a few times between 1988-90. I remember the theme park very well, although I never went on the rollercoaster. I also remember the rest of the mall having themed shopping areas. One area was made to look like a Roman forum.
Spent many happy days there as a child 😍 Miss it and the unique feeling of the Metro Centre. Now just another shopping mall
Spent a lot of time at the metro centre as a kid. The place was an integral part of my youth and Metroland & Mr B’s arcade were my life! phenomenal memories, feel so lucky to have experienced it during the early 90’s at its peak.
As someone who only lives about 15 minutes from the MetroCentre, this really makes me wish I was alive in the 90s. I was only 4 when it closed so I had no idea it even existed until my Dad brought it up a few years back. Would've loved to visit. It's really disappointing how the MetroCentre has fallen. Even the Model village has lost its most interesting qualities (it used to have model people and a car crashing through a wall) now it's more of a ghost town than a village. Thanks for making this video. Great to see some love for the North East.
i totally agree about the village being more of a ghost town, i used to love the village when i was little but now it seems like more of an ally way to the other shops.
Also, how amazing was that book, about the king and how he created Metroland!! What detail! Even down to a story of the park’s magical creation! I wonder if anyone has one of those books still, in their loft somewhere. Would be amazing to see!
I have been looking to try get one but not found anything!
Oh I hope you find one! 🤞😄
Thank you for sharing this. I have great memories of the park, including my first roller coaster ride. The Metrocentre is honestly now a shadow of its former self. The whole place was magic as a kid but now all themeing is gone and it's just a standard mall. Such a shame really.
Very nice tribute lad. That was the first rollercoaster I ever went on. When I was a kid I wanted to go to Disney Land. My parents said they would take me somewhere just like it. Ummm. Not quite. "Where's Mickey Mouse", I asked. My Mum pointed out the purple dragon, "Look there's a dragon." I did enjoy it though, even if it wasn't Disney Land. This video brought back some good memories. I'm so glad you found footage of that blasted dragon. It's just how I remembered it.
I remember this place in the mid 90s loved it thanks for bringing back the great memories of this wonderful indoor theme park 😀
I remember my parents taking my siblings and I to Metroland when we were visiting our family in England (we live in America) and all of those memories were all so fun. I was so sad to see this go.
Damn, if Cheryl from Girls Aloud performed there, then it must've been a wicked good park!
exactly
That was really cool, I haven't heard of this one. Any kids growing up going to it must have really enjoyed it
went to sooo many birthday parties here! Thank you so much for covering this, the nostalgia is real!
Thank you!
It’s true, the Metrocentre in its day was an “experience”... each corner unique with a theme, greenery, metroland, stuff going on... Intu slowly stripped it back to just nothingness, gone are all the small quirky shops .. replaced with either boarded up windows or cheap retail brands, gone are the fountains, the balloons, stylish lifts... it has so much potential, so sad.
I’m so glad this video exists. This place was out of this world in the 90s. I loved my days spent in there. Pure joy.
One of my enduring memories of Metroland was that Jungle Jeep ride which even as a kid I thought was so inappropriate, it was full of black mannequins dressed in animal print as the 'natives' and they were cooking and eating a white mannequin dressed as an explorer.
I’ve lived in Gateshead my whole life and used to go to metroland all of the time I have such amazing memories from this place!!
It always breaks my heart when I hear that rides/parks close down wish I could have gotten the chance to experience this
Went to metroland so many times with garments and school. Absolutely loved it. Such a shame we don't have anything like this anymore, especially when you go to the metro centre and see how many shops and restaurants are closed 😕
I live about a 50 minute drive from Gateshead. Me mum and dad used to take me and my sister here every couple of months, pay the fiver each then we’d run round it all day. Words can’t do justice how exciting it was ☺️ even just walking past the arcades and seeing Mortal Kombat or something… then getting in a 2 second queue to get on the swings again, then in the play area bit down the slides, it was wild. Mid 90s pop tunes playing all day. Having about 6 goes on the ship ride in a row hoping to the back seat for the seasick type feeling, so good. Such a shame they binned it, this place was a huge part of my childhood. Great documentary ☺️
I used to love this park as a child and had been soooo many times! Loved the rollercoaster! I live in Newcastle and I'm sure this place started my love of theme parks. I've since been to Cedar Point and am a true rollercoaster addict! Terrible shame to remove MetroLand 😪
Back to say I was in the Metro Centre yesterday...stood in my Expedition Theme Park hoodie gently weeping :')
Ahhhh 😂
King Whiz: “During the interview, do you want me to look engaged or awkward?”
Director: “Yes.”
ha
The guy is trying to give an interview and he has to stop to keep glancing at this huge imposing costumed character behind him
Great video! Are used to visit Metrocentre weekly as a child, and have fond memories of Metroland. It had a very relaxing, refreshing and fun vibe to it with all sorts of tiny attributes adding to its atmosphere. The cinema and area built within its place is incredible, however I miss the feel of the 90s. Eating a McDonald’s at the bottom of those escalators going into the grand Metroland entrance with screams of happy children on the rollercoaster in the background is now a distant memory. Metrocentre now lacks anything that makes it significant. Gone are the luscious green trees and plants, gone are the lovely sounding waterfalls and water features around the mall. It’s really sad, a place full of character and seeming has evolved into a plain empty place that offers nothing in comparison to the memories I have of the shopping centre.
I wish I could go back to these days, I remember as a kid loving the metrocentre both for metroland and for the simple things like the fountains and village they used to have, it used to have character, nowdays the metrocentre is just a soulless clone of every other shopping centre.
Sam: England has no indoor amusement parks.
Fantasy Island: Am I dead to you?
Cus the outside is bigger I ain't counting it! 😆
@@ExpeditionThemePark Does Pleasure Island near Liverpool that closed late 90s/00 count?
And adventure island
@@funfairs__uk That isn't indoors though lol
@@hawkedriot178 That would make a great video!
This video is breaking my heart, I visited the Metrocentre & Metroland *incredibly* frequently as a kid - my parents got the NHS discount so we got wristbands for super cheap and would hang out in metroland all day. I graduated Uni the same year that Metroland closed, pretty significant in cementing that as the end of an era to me. Very sad to hear that the centre in general is just a faceless set of shops now.
I had no idea that the themed zones was a deliberate choice to make the place feel like it wasn't just a for shopping, though it makes sense in retrospect. As a kid being able to go through the little countryside village area or the Mediterranean area felt like time travel, and it really sparked my imagination to slip through those shortcuts between the larger mall spaces, like an anti 'liminal space' liminal space that felt like a slice of an alternate world.
Thank you for manking this video. I used to love going to Metroland even if I was just walking through. Was so sad when it closed.