I am doing my part and have gone back to my local dead mall to shop in person for clothes and electronics. No lines, few people to deal with, in and out shopping lots of parking, can walk the mall two or three times for exercise, no paying for shipping and waiting for USPS to "maybe" deliver a package correctly within two weeks of order. I've even ate at the food court on occasion. Those who have dead malls located near you I'd suggest you patronage them to help out and keep the dead malls alive.
The closest thing California has to a Daiso is their products sold at Asian grocers, Oto's Marketplace of Sacramento has a good variety of Daiso items (with the usual return policy waived, mind).
Californians moved to TX and brought Daiso along with them. Theirs a bunch in the Dallas area and they opened up one in San Antonio and there was a line to get in!
I love when you cover this mall. It's a location dear to my heart. I worked at that GameStop (EB Games back then) for 5 years. I also worked at the now closed Suncoast and FYE. My husband and I met at that FYE. There are so many memories for me there. It's nice to see it still open & serving the Mesa community
I grew up retail. From my Grandmother working at Sears, my Dad working and meeting my mom at Montgomery Wards, Dad working at Wards till they closed then working for Dillard's till he retired about 10 years ago. I was a retail kid bounced around town to town transfer to transfer as my Dad moved up the ranks in the company. Three grade schools, two Jr high highs, three high schools..3 states we saw it all with no regrets.
American malls needs to reinvent how it views malls. Retail will always be there but it needs to be reinvented to a more lifestyle/third place model to bring in people like the malls in East/South East Asia
The Quailty of the Sony Mavaica is amazing but their something about the low Quailty grainingness of the AOL Digi camera that gives a kind of mid 2000s digital camera Quailty nostalgia too me, gives me a throwback to looking up Mall and dead mall photos interior on Google back in the mid to late 00s
I lived a mile west from this mall from 1999 to 2012 and my kids grew up going there. I remember going to the dollar theater all the time cuz it was cheaper for a family of 7. Is the carousel still there? I still go here just for the Cheese Factory now. My kids are grown now but two of them worked at the CF. It was great getting leftover cheesecakes lol. “Weird sordid knife shop” 😂 Yes that describes it!
what a treat it is to see a vid from you - missed your content! glad you are still uploading and this was very interesting to see the differences in the 2 cameras
Hearing that a mall is doing better than it was before is great news. We need to keep the American mall alive. It's kind of annoying seeing a Mini So in your mail, though. I have two malls near me and both basically have the exact same stores now, Hot Topic, Box Lunch, Fundom, Mini So, etc... very little variety.
I just want one more day of shopping at Sears with my Mom, getting an Orange Julius and heading home to watch an unproblematic Cosby show with my Dad. It just feels like the bizarro alternate 1986 happened and everything has changed for the worse.
Hey man, I moved to Shanghai from Phoenix last month. You would go wild over the malls here, they are insane labyrinths. Rock climbing gyms, burger kings, food courts, ice skating rinks, furniture stores, so so much. Malls are totally alive and well here, it's interesting. Would love to see your reaction. Thanks for the AZ nostalgia!!
Yeaaaa!! Love your mall videos!! I get an oddly cozy sense of nostalgia watching these, even though I’ve never been to any of these malls. Enjoyed the photography too! Keep it up! :D
I talked to security about the giant hobby store suddenly closing. From what he told me is that there was some sort of accident at the RC car track inside the store. Apparently there was some kind of lawsuit or something and it forced the store to close
Pocket Change was the best arcade ever. I've noticed the mall slowly started dying ever since it got rid of it. Smh it needs more entertainment tbh it's already bad enough living in Mesa already
As someone who didn't grow up in the 80s or 90s I couldn't say why but videos like these are so interesting. There's an odd sense of nosaligia, missing out on the past, a past I never even experienced or saw with my own eyes. I wounder why this happens...
My wife and I took a trip down to the city and hit Superstition Springs a week before Christmas last year. It was packed! With very few vacancies. Happy to see because I'd hate for that mall to go.
It always amazes me that any Dillards stores are open. I used to go to them often, and I literally never saw a single soul ever buy anything in any of them! They were usually nearly empty, even! Very strange phenomenon.
@@tylerwilliams3207 The only time I see people in them is indeed during the clearance sales. That's the only time I go, also. Better merch and prices at Nordstrom Rack and TJ Maxx, also.
Yay! A new RA video, and it's a mall video too! Loved those old digital pictures, the AOL pics remind me of old malls pics of the 80's and 90's, especially the front of the department stores. The fountain cam looked refreshing too, thank you!
this video was the thing that informed me of how Cutting Edge is doing, and i'm so glad to know they're apparently thriving after the pandemic! i was worried it was gone! i used to go there all the time, almost applied to work there but couldnt make the drive that often. got my first taser there for when i started working in the city, but really wished i had the money to get the replica Blades of Chaos from GoW. I was sooo impressed by all the cool shit there, I've GOT to go back!!
Been going to this mall since it opened… (OGs know about the lizard slide) It’s a dying mall… I wouldn’t be surprised if it either shuts down, or turned into a swap meet.
It's been a while since I've seen a mall exploration video. I'm glad that there's at least some malls that haven't been turned into Amazon Warehouses or parking lots, but actual indoor malls like this one are getting exceedingly rarer these days. So thanks for archiving this small point in time of what a mall in Arizona was like earlier in 2024.
Oh I love that Neo Geo reference on the intro, so badass. I used to live next to that area back in the late 90s until about 2005. I loved that arcade that used to be next to the carnival ride thing. I believe it's an AT&T now, so lame 😂
PLEASE tell me you remember the dinosaurs that used to be in that courtyard. It was a kind of Jurassic area with cliff walls, caves, dinosaur prints in the pavement and dino statues around. Superstition Springs has always been such a cool mall.
I managed a chain of stores in most of Arizona's malls back in the 90's. We had 1-2 stores in most malls. Superstition Springs was the weirdest. Old men sleeping on every bench, except when the mall had Kids Club which was was a riot, with crazy mascots getting kids hopped up on sugar and screaming their heads off.
My wife and I visited this Mall many times over the summer of 2024. We had just welcomed our son into the world, and there wasn't much to do other than enjoy the air-conditioned Mall.
One of my favourite photos I took this year was in an 80s shopping centre in Northern England (The Ridings - the first shopping centre in the UK!), taken with a 2005 Sony P200. The morning light streaming in. Looks a bit liminal spacey. Lovely stuff!
A big contributor to why it feels so empty is the owner of the property recently raised rent for stores *and* started requiring all businesses to be open 7 days a week and open from start to close of mall hours. It's why the Gem and Bead Mall moved locations, according to one of the operators.
My mom used to work at this mall while she going to school she used to work at this old Sears and the formally owned Robinson May I used to have alot of fond memories going to this mall as a kid in the late 90s and early 2000s
It's the only form of entertainment we have in this boring, miserable hellscape. Lol Although I am dissapointed they removed the dinosaur playplaces they had in the courtyard. It's so unappealing going to the mall until it gets cooler.... Right now it's a no-go since we are still experiencing 110+ degree days. smh
@@krabgrassi’m sorry but if you think mesa/phoenix is boring then that’s a You problem, cause there’s a lot of fun stuff to do. i know it’s a crazy idea, but you HAVE to go outside your house to do those things. i know, wild. also, take a shower.
@@lainsechoes You clowns are so in denial about this garbage town it's hilarious. 🤡 I shouldn't even explain myself more tbh I can tell you've never worked a day in your life. You should probably lay off that mathpipe like all you degenerates here.
@@lainsechoes -tells me to take a shower yet pfp looks like a tweaker you'd find at Circle K who hasn't showered in 3 weeks. You locals are all the same, garbagte just like the town you live in.🤡
@@lainsechoes -tells me to take a shower yet pfp looks like a tweeker you'd find at Circle K who hasn't showered in 3 weeks. 🤡 You locals are all the same, garbage just like the town you live in.
The great thing about old digital cameras is you get some pretty unique/interesting choices as far as color and white balance baked in that can make for some fun shots in weird lighting conditions. It's why I still keep my functionally useless Sony point and shoot and an old Kodak Superzoom around.
Just picked up a Mavica complete in box. Now have to go through my floppys and reformat them to test it out. Used one when I started working at Chrysler dealership in 99.
No lie, my wife wanted to go here last weekend and I tolder her it was probably dead since the last time we visited six/seven years ago. Crazy how it still has some life to it.
I loved that mall as a kid! Pocket change arcade has been gone for a while, but had a great selection of arcade games. We actually rode our bikes there 1 time from Gilbert when my friends and i were like 12
I love the camera shots from the AOL camera! It reminds me of the kind of photos I used to get when taking them with an old Fuji Film or Kodak disposable camera, then going to CVS for that 1-hour photo development. Oh man, those were the good old days!
Interesting that the old AOL camera still works. Back in the 80's, I remember seeing a monochrome video camera for sale in Toys R Us which used a standard audio cassette to record video. No idea what it was called, anymore.
Hey my local mall! I am always surprised how busy it is whenever I go there. The best place to eat at the food court is Sarku. I remember when I was a kid the big gila monster slide and fun little maze-like trail walkthrough with a giant bronze sculpture of a prospector and a donkey. Good times.
We moved to Gilbert in 1993 and Superstition Springs is only about 3 miles from our house. We used to come quite a bit in its hayday and took in qu;ite a few of the shows in the courtyard on Saterdays. It was a lively, great place and I often miss going there like we used to.
Same here really depends on the mall and how big their space is for example at Vaughan mills or eaton centre fairly busy, the one at my local mall not so busy (it’s funny when I buy a ramune soda there and the people ask “do you know how to open that”)
My childhood mall! Had no idea you were an AZ resident! Superstition is my nearest mall and I still will drive further to either San Tan Village or Scottsdale Fashion Square, as there's just no reason to goto anything around Superstition anymore unless you're getting some mediocre food or going to the Harkins. I also miss Pocket Change :(
From 1993-94 I worked at the Pocket Change arcade next to the carosel in the food court. Back then the mall was packed. On the weekends the food court was standing room only. I stopped in two weeks ago on a Saturday while I was waiting for my car to get serviced across the street and the place was a ghost town.
Hey, I bought the AOL camera in 2000. It was super easy to share pictures through email or instant messenger. The alternatives required you download software or use a floppy disc drive (who had one of those in 2000?).
I went there back in September 20th, 2024 when i went with my auntie to shop around, went to a store Toy Temple and i got some Gundam model kits in there like Blue Destiny Unit 3 and Burning Gundam both High Grades and 1 Master Grade Jesta
I worked at Fiesta mall 30 years ago, but most of my family worked at Superstition Springs mall at one time or another. I think the last time I was in Superstition Springs mall, there was still a Mervyns there.
Independent shops moving in can go different ways. For example, Irving Mall in southern Irving, TX, has a Macy's, Dilliards, Burlington, AMC, and a few interior mall staples (Hot Topic, Claire's, Bath & Body Works, etc), but then there's a fitness center, doctors offices, salons, a *legitimate* massage clinic, a bunch of "one and only" clothing boutiques, a food court full of local restaurants, and Firestone has taken over the old Sears Automotive building - basically, it's become an over glorified bazaar. But for that part of Irving, it works and it's always busy.
Pocket Change was a great arcade when the mall first opened, but it took a dive when they put the LAN computers in. I think it shut down in 2003 or there a bouts. The current state of the mall reminds me of the VF factory outlet mall which was just down Power Rd. from this mall. It too looked about the same prior to loosing most of its shops and eventually being sold.
The flooring in this mall is beautiful. I’m not crazy about the grated ceilings though. They need to do something with that. They also need some green vegetation to offset all the brown. Something like a rain forest cafe or Medieval Times would help the aesthetics of this mall a lot. And neon. It needs a lot more neon. The architecture and flooring is great, but all the brown coloring with nothing to break it up gives it kind of blah personality. Strategically placed neon lighting along with lush green vegetation and fountains would give this mall the aesthetic appeal that it lacks.
In Edmonton, AB, the Miniso stores are okay. I really wish for a proper Daiso shop tho. From what I've seen, those shops are packed with all the things. Edmonton used to have a store called Oomomo. It was like a Daiso but cost more. Thanks for the vidoe, RA. Have a good one.
I wish I had a Diaso close by as well. I’m surprised Chicago (the closest major city to me) doesn’t have one or even in the suburb of Chicago, Arlington Heights.
Great video! I'm also into photography and like malls. My one mall in the area is active enough I don't think photography would fly there, but they have a few photos of the mall's history in some of the unused storefronts. Love those historic mall photos. Classic cameras are a good use case for them. 📷👍 Funny enough the mall got a Minisou last week. Pretty cool store.
I remember the RC car/hobby store from an earlier video! It's too bad they left, but I remember wondering how viable the store would be - the rent on a giant former anchor store had to cost a fortune, even in a declining mall. I liked the Mavica shots - that was a surprisingly good camera for the day.
Good 'ol Superstition Springs, that and Fiesta Mall were favorites of ours for a while. It was sad seeing Fiesta Mall die but it is nice to see Superstition Springs is still hanging on to life. You know what's funny? I have a Mavica but I just acquired a brand new in box AOL camera! Lol, from the closet of my Great Aunt but this is from 2002-ish and takes 640x480 interpolated to 1.3 megapixels, Lol. And it has a CF slot so mercifully I can hopefully retrieve picture that way. But I have plenty of old computers if I need the software. To me, there is a definite charm to CCD cameras like that, I have Samsung and Sony CCD cameras and with the flash on, it is a vibe for sure. Nowadays if I go to the Mall it is usually the Chandler Mall (Fashion Center but we always called it the Chandler Mall) and AZ Mills if we want to see something in IMAX.
Are you going to do a video at spirit halloween again? As someone who lives in phoenix I love when spirit starts to open because it means the end of summer is in sight
I also have a slightly newer Mavica with a resolution of 1024x768. That one takes really cool pictures. I had intended to bring it as well, but it started acting up at the last minute.
Hobby shops with a RC track are great, but their overhead is always a hard part for them. Big hobby shops like that are hard to keep ooen since more and more people keep buying online instead. Local bike shops sort of have this same problem, but make up for it with their service department since many people can't do the work or just don't want to do the work.
I go to the mall every week the mall gets busy on thursday friday sat and sunday in the after noon especially towards dinner weekends are packed somtimes.
Always a good day when you upload a new video
I second this
I am doing my part and have gone back to my local dead mall to shop in person for clothes and electronics. No lines, few people to deal with, in and out shopping lots of parking, can walk the mall two or three times for exercise, no paying for shipping and waiting for USPS to "maybe" deliver a package correctly within two weeks of order. I've even ate at the food court on occasion. Those who have dead malls located near you I'd suggest you patronage them to help out and keep the dead malls alive.
I live close to this mall and had no idea they added a mini daiso! This is gonna be perfect for my weekend fun days
The closest thing California has to a Daiso is their products sold at Asian grocers, Oto's Marketplace of Sacramento has a good variety of Daiso items (with the usual return policy waived, mind).
There are plenty of Daisos in California. When I lived in the SF Bay area there were at least 3-4. There was a fairly large one in Union City.
Californians moved to TX and brought Daiso along with them. Theirs a bunch in the Dallas area and they opened up one in San Antonio and there was a line to get in!
I love when you cover this mall. It's a location dear to my heart. I worked at that GameStop (EB Games back then) for 5 years. I also worked at the now closed Suncoast and FYE. My husband and I met at that FYE. There are so many memories for me there. It's nice to see it still open & serving the Mesa community
neat to see the photos from the old cameras! also fun to see the return of fountain-cam. excellent videos as always!
I grew up retail. From my Grandmother working at Sears, my Dad working and meeting my mom at Montgomery Wards, Dad working at Wards till they closed then working for Dillard's till he retired about 10 years ago. I was a retail kid bounced around town to town transfer to transfer as my Dad moved up the ranks in the company. Three grade schools, two Jr high highs, three high schools..3 states we saw it all with no regrets.
8:30 - can confirm that I've been to that mall dozens of times and never knew there was an outside elevator 😂😂
American malls needs to reinvent how it views malls. Retail will always be there but it needs to be reinvented to a more lifestyle/third place model to bring in people like the malls in East/South East Asia
I love footage of these old school malls…takes me back to the 80s and 90s. A simpler and better time.
The Quailty of the Sony Mavaica is amazing but their something about the low Quailty grainingness of the AOL Digi camera that gives a kind of mid 2000s digital camera Quailty nostalgia too me, gives me a throwback to looking up Mall and dead mall photos interior on Google back in the mid to late 00s
Finding new floppies, however, might be a problem eventually. New floppy disks these days are old stock, and that may run out.
I lived a mile west from this mall from 1999 to 2012 and my kids grew up going there. I remember going to the dollar theater all the time cuz it was cheaper for a family of 7. Is the carousel still there? I still go here just for the Cheese Factory now. My kids are grown now but two of them worked at the CF. It was great getting leftover cheesecakes lol. “Weird sordid knife shop” 😂 Yes that describes it!
I go to that mall whenever I make a trip to Half Price Books. I was last there a month ago and I ended up buying stuff from Hot Topic!
Wow, that Sony Mavica did really well!
FINALLY! Another full Dead Mall video! It feels like it’s been forever. Would love to see you expand your region of coverage…
what a treat it is to see a vid from you - missed your content! glad you are still uploading and this was very interesting to see the differences in the 2 cameras
Hearing that a mall is doing better than it was before is great news. We need to keep the American mall alive.
It's kind of annoying seeing a Mini So in your mail, though. I have two malls near me and both basically have the exact same stores now, Hot Topic, Box Lunch, Fundom, Mini So, etc... very little variety.
Mall* lol
Mall are getting destory by blm
my local mall seems to be doing a bit better these days as well. I try to go walking there after work at least 3 or 4 times a week
I just want one more day of shopping at Sears with my Mom, getting an Orange Julius and heading home to watch an unproblematic Cosby show with my Dad. It just feels like the bizarro alternate 1986 happened and everything has changed for the worse.
Hey man, I moved to Shanghai from Phoenix last month. You would go wild over the malls here, they are insane labyrinths. Rock climbing gyms, burger kings, food courts, ice skating rinks, furniture stores, so so much. Malls are totally alive and well here, it's interesting. Would love to see your reaction. Thanks for the AZ nostalgia!!
Yeaaaa!! Love your mall videos!! I get an oddly cozy sense of nostalgia watching these, even though I’ve never been to any of these malls. Enjoyed the photography too! Keep it up! :D
I talked to security about the giant hobby store suddenly closing. From what he told me is that there was some sort of accident at the RC car track inside the store. Apparently there was some kind of lawsuit or something and it forced the store to close
I remember going there when it first opened. It was so packed. Also was the first and last time I had a Crystal Pepsi around 1992.
My first time trying Crystal Pepsi was also my last, haha.
Pocket Change was the best arcade ever. I've noticed the mall slowly started dying ever since it got rid of it. Smh it needs more entertainment tbh it's already bad enough living in Mesa already
@@krabgrass yeah, I miss that place. I used to play Daytona USA up front everytime I went there.
As someone who didn't grow up in the 80s or 90s I couldn't say why but videos like these are so interesting. There's an odd sense of nosaligia, missing out on the past, a past I never even experienced or saw with my own eyes. I wounder why this happens...
I'm from Pennsylvania. Parents live in Mesa. I was just there back in July 2024. Spent most of my day there
I grew up in this mall, My first job was here at the McDonalds. Thanks for the nostalgia trip!
Damn I use to work at the AT&T store on the 2nd floor there 12-15 and that mall was ALWAYS packed. This is wild.
My wife and I took a trip down to the city and hit Superstition Springs a week before Christmas last year. It was packed! With very few vacancies. Happy to see because I'd hate for that mall to go.
It always amazes me that any Dillards stores are open. I used to go to them often, and I literally never saw a single soul ever buy anything in any of them! They were usually nearly empty, even! Very strange phenomenon.
That's interesting! In Oklahoma City, the ones we have are always busy, especially during the 65% off sales at the beginning of the year.
@@tylerwilliams3207 The only time I see people in them is indeed during the clearance sales. That's the only time I go, also. Better merch and prices at Nordstrom Rack and TJ Maxx, also.
Yup, that’s where you’ll find me every year, Dillards after Christmas sales! I went to this SSprings mall Dillards for 13 years back in the day.
Yay! A new RA video, and it's a mall video too! Loved those old digital pictures, the AOL pics remind me of old malls pics of the 80's and 90's, especially the front of the department stores. The fountain cam looked refreshing too, thank you!
I have DISTINCT memories of that elevator being a million degrees when I was kid too. We used to go see movies there all the time.
I hadn't been in this mall since 2005, before I moved to Tucson.
Crap. I remember when this place kinda replaced fiesta mall back in the day.
Also this music! So perfect!!! 🤌🤌🤌
this video was the thing that informed me of how Cutting Edge is doing, and i'm so glad to know they're apparently thriving after the pandemic! i was worried it was gone! i used to go there all the time, almost applied to work there but couldnt make the drive that often. got my first taser there for when i started working in the city, but really wished i had the money to get the replica Blades of Chaos from GoW. I was sooo impressed by all the cool shit there, I've GOT to go back!!
Been going to this mall since it opened… (OGs know about the lizard slide)
It’s a dying mall… I wouldn’t be surprised if it either shuts down, or turned into a swap meet.
It's been a while since I've seen a mall exploration video. I'm glad that there's at least some malls that haven't been turned into Amazon Warehouses or parking lots, but actual indoor malls like this one are getting exceedingly rarer these days. So thanks for archiving this small point in time of what a mall in Arizona was like earlier in 2024.
Dude, I’m bound to run into you one of these days. I appreciate what you do!
This mall is still rocking. Nice place to stroll around
Oh I love that Neo Geo reference on the intro, so badass. I used to live next to that area back in the late 90s until about 2005. I loved that arcade that used to be next to the carnival ride thing. I believe it's an AT&T now, so lame 😂
PLEASE tell me you remember the dinosaurs that used to be in that courtyard. It was a kind of Jurassic area with cliff walls, caves, dinosaur prints in the pavement and dino statues around. Superstition Springs has always been such a cool mall.
I managed a chain of stores in most of Arizona's malls back in the 90's. We had 1-2 stores in most malls. Superstition Springs was the weirdest. Old men sleeping on every bench, except when the mall had Kids Club which was was a riot, with crazy mascots getting kids hopped up on sugar and screaming their heads off.
My wife and I visited this Mall many times over the summer of 2024. We had just welcomed our son into the world, and there wasn't much to do other than enjoy the air-conditioned Mall.
Great video! I didn't know you were still posting videos! I better go check and see what I have missed!
One of my favourite photos I took this year was in an 80s shopping centre in Northern England (The Ridings - the first shopping centre in the UK!), taken with a 2005 Sony P200. The morning light streaming in. Looks a bit liminal spacey. Lovely stuff!
You live in AZ? Grew up in Prescott and loved your mall videos of the tragic gateway mall. Haha
A big contributor to why it feels so empty is the owner of the property recently raised rent for stores *and* started requiring all businesses to be open 7 days a week and open from start to close of mall hours. It's why the Gem and Bead Mall moved locations, according to one of the operators.
My mom used to work at this mall while she going to school she used to work at this old Sears and the formally owned Robinson May I used to have alot of fond memories going to this mall as a kid in the late 90s and early 2000s
i'm so glad that superstition is still alive and well, makes me happy to see.
It's the only form of entertainment we have in this boring, miserable hellscape. Lol Although I am dissapointed they removed the dinosaur playplaces they had in the courtyard. It's so unappealing going to the mall until it gets cooler.... Right now it's a no-go since we are still experiencing 110+ degree days. smh
@@krabgrassi’m sorry but if you think mesa/phoenix is boring then that’s a You problem, cause there’s a lot of fun stuff to do. i know it’s a crazy idea, but you HAVE to go outside your house to do those things.
i know, wild. also, take a shower.
@@lainsechoes You clowns are so in denial about this garbage town it's hilarious. 🤡 I shouldn't even explain myself more tbh I can tell you've never worked a day in your life. You should probably lay off that mathpipe like all you degenerates here.
@@lainsechoes -tells me to take a shower yet pfp looks like a tweaker you'd find at Circle K who hasn't showered in 3 weeks. You locals are all the same, garbagte just like the town you live in.🤡
@@lainsechoes -tells me to take a shower yet pfp looks like a tweeker you'd find at Circle K who hasn't showered in 3 weeks. 🤡 You locals are all the same, garbage just like the town you live in.
RA is back at the mall and all is right with the world.
We had a Sony Mavica camera and we used it for years longer than we probably should. It was the camera we always took on vacations.
The great thing about old digital cameras is you get some pretty unique/interesting choices as far as color and white balance baked in that can make for some fun shots in weird lighting conditions. It's why I still keep my functionally useless Sony point and shoot and an old Kodak Superzoom around.
Just picked up a Mavica complete in box. Now have to go through my floppys and reformat them to test it out. Used one when I started working at Chrysler dealership in 99.
As always great video 👍
Thanks!
Thank you so much!
That Kings Snacks 70s style tiered facade around the sign is awesome! It actually looks like one of the fake stores in Mallrats.
No lie, my wife wanted to go here last weekend and I tolder her it was probably dead since the last time we visited six/seven years ago. Crazy how it still has some life to it.
I loved that mall as a kid! Pocket change arcade has been gone for a while, but had a great selection of arcade games. We actually rode our bikes there 1 time from Gilbert when my friends and i were like 12
I love the camera shots from the AOL camera! It reminds me of the kind of photos I used to get when taking them with an old Fuji Film or Kodak disposable camera, then going to CVS for that 1-hour photo development. Oh man, those were the good old days!
Interesting that the old AOL camera still works. Back in the 80's, I remember seeing a monochrome video camera for sale in Toys R Us which used a standard audio cassette to record video. No idea what it was called, anymore.
Hey my local mall! I am always surprised how busy it is whenever I go there. The best place to eat at the food court is Sarku. I remember when I was a kid the big gila monster slide and fun little maze-like trail walkthrough with a giant bronze sculpture of a prospector and a donkey. Good times.
We moved to Gilbert in 1993 and Superstition Springs is only about 3 miles from our house. We used to come quite a bit in its hayday and took in qu;ite a few of the shows in the courtyard on Saterdays. It was a lively, great place and I often miss going there like we used to.
I really enjoyed this video, Thanks. I always look forward to your videos. 👍🏻😀 I liked the different pictures from each camera.
Have a great week.
Superstition Springs Center reminds me so much of The Shoppes at Solana that is located in El Paso, TX. The vibes feel about the same in both malls.
I've noticed Miniso is moving into some "mid" malls, and without much fanfare. Yet when they open, at least here, there are crowds.
Same here really depends on the mall and how big their space is for example at Vaughan mills or eaton centre fairly busy, the one at my local mall not so busy (it’s funny when I buy a ramune soda there and the people ask “do you know how to open that”)
My childhood mall! Had no idea you were an AZ resident!
Superstition is my nearest mall and I still will drive further to either San Tan Village or Scottsdale Fashion Square, as there's just no reason to goto anything around Superstition anymore unless you're getting some mediocre food or going to the Harkins.
I also miss Pocket Change :(
Great video, nice to see a mall that is not doing poorly
Man I love these videos plus the vaporwave
I live in the west valley but have been to superstition quite a few times starting in 1990 when we moved to AZ.
From 1993-94 I worked at the Pocket Change arcade next to the carosel in the food court. Back then the mall was packed. On the weekends the food court was standing room only. I stopped in two weeks ago on a Saturday while I was waiting for my car to get serviced across the street and the place was a ghost town.
Hey, I bought the AOL camera in 2000. It was super easy to share pictures through email or instant messenger. The alternatives required you download software or use a floppy disc drive (who had one of those in 2000?).
I went there back in September 20th, 2024 when i went with my auntie to shop around, went to a store Toy Temple and i got some Gundam model kits in there like Blue Destiny Unit 3 and Burning Gundam both High Grades and 1 Master Grade Jesta
I worked at Fiesta mall 30 years ago, but most of my family worked at Superstition Springs mall at one time or another. I think the last time I was in Superstition Springs mall, there was still a Mervyns there.
that mall is cool, love the stores they have and the fact that they still have some of the original anchors! idk seems like a thriving mall to me😊
My wife loves it when you show up in our feed. Typical shopaholic!
Independent shops moving in can go different ways. For example, Irving Mall in southern Irving, TX, has a Macy's, Dilliards, Burlington, AMC, and a few interior mall staples (Hot Topic, Claire's, Bath & Body Works, etc), but then there's a fitness center, doctors offices, salons, a *legitimate* massage clinic, a bunch of "one and only" clothing boutiques, a food court full of local restaurants, and Firestone has taken over the old Sears Automotive building - basically, it's become an over glorified bazaar. But for that part of Irving, it works and it's always busy.
Even in 2001 people were gobsmacked AOL was still a thing.
What a wild thing to behold in 2024!
Thanks for the video. I love the cameras.
Pocket Change was a great arcade when the mall first opened, but it took a dive when they put the LAN computers in. I think it shut down in 2003 or there a bouts. The current state of the mall reminds me of the VF factory outlet mall which was just down Power Rd. from this mall. It too looked about the same prior to loosing most of its shops and eventually being sold.
The flooring in this mall is beautiful. I’m not crazy about the grated ceilings though. They need to do something with that. They also need some green vegetation to offset all the brown. Something like a rain forest cafe or Medieval Times would help the aesthetics of this mall a lot. And neon. It needs a lot more neon. The architecture and flooring is great, but all the brown coloring with nothing to break it up gives it kind of blah personality. Strategically placed neon lighting along with lush green vegetation and fountains would give this mall the aesthetic appeal that it lacks.
In Edmonton, AB, the Miniso stores are okay. I really wish for a proper Daiso shop tho. From what I've seen, those shops are packed with all the things. Edmonton used to have a store called Oomomo. It was like a Daiso but cost more. Thanks for the vidoe, RA. Have a good one.
I wish I had a Diaso close by as well. I’m surprised Chicago (the closest major city to me) doesn’t have one or even in the suburb of Chicago, Arlington Heights.
went back here during the world series and it wasnt as dead as i expected it to be!!!
I LOVE THE CAMERA SHOTS!!!!!!!
WHEN IS THE POOL PARTY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
WTF CUTTING EDGE IS A CHAIN?
Great video! I'm also into photography and like malls. My one mall in the area is active enough I don't think photography would fly there, but they have a few photos of the mall's history in some of the unused storefronts. Love those historic mall photos. Classic cameras are a good use case for them. 📷👍 Funny enough the mall got a Minisou last week. Pretty cool store.
Awesome video 👍👍
Me and my friend used to walk here from his house all the time. Good times.
The Avenues Mall in Jacksonville, Fl has glass elevators too.
I remember the RC car/hobby store from an earlier video! It's too bad they left, but I remember wondering how viable the store would be - the rent on a giant former anchor store had to cost a fortune, even in a declining mall. I liked the Mavica shots - that was a surprisingly good camera for the day.
I had no idea that elevator was there and that's usually the door entrance we use.
Wow, I'm early!
Good 'ol Superstition Springs, that and Fiesta Mall were favorites of ours for a while. It was sad seeing Fiesta Mall die but it is nice to see Superstition Springs is still hanging on to life.
You know what's funny? I have a Mavica but I just acquired a brand new in box AOL camera! Lol, from the closet of my Great Aunt but this is from 2002-ish and takes 640x480 interpolated to 1.3 megapixels, Lol. And it has a CF slot so mercifully I can hopefully retrieve picture that way. But I have plenty of old computers if I need the software.
To me, there is a definite charm to CCD cameras like that, I have Samsung and Sony CCD cameras and with the flash on, it is a vibe for sure.
Nowadays if I go to the Mall it is usually the Chandler Mall (Fashion Center but we always called it the Chandler Mall) and AZ Mills if we want to see something in IMAX.
Awesome video I love those pictures
Are you going to do a video at spirit halloween again? As someone who lives in phoenix I love when spirit starts to open because it means the end of summer is in sight
thank you for the video, I like the inclusion of the photos
The Mavica’s photo quality actually holds up really well considering.
I also have a slightly newer Mavica with a resolution of 1024x768. That one takes really cool pictures. I had intended to bring it as well, but it started acting up at the last minute.
Thats a cool mall. Hope it stays open for you.
Hobby shops with a RC track are great, but their overhead is always a hard part for them. Big hobby shops like that are hard to keep ooen since more and more people keep buying online instead. Local bike shops sort of have this same problem, but make up for it with their service department since many people can't do the work or just don't want to do the work.
The mainplace mall in Orange County, where I live has a similar layout to this mall. It’s all curved out like that.
You should come back to Tucson! I would love to see what ya think of Park Place again now with mini so open!
I go to the mall every week the mall gets busy on thursday friday sat and sunday in the after noon especially towards dinner weekends are packed somtimes.
The backrooms community is going to have a new level as soon as those digicam pics get uploaded.