I get the appeal of Cross Iron Mills. It's a huge, huge shopping complex with plenty of parking, play areas for kids, and even a Coach store. But I just don't see anything amazing beyond that.
I live near Southgate in Edmonton and I've walked through the food court more times than I can count. Cross Iron Mills' food court is almost identical to Southgate's, except for one or two businesses. It's almost freaky. It also makes me wonder what the big deal is about Cross Iron.
I have to give this place kudos for very creative and quite beautiful decoration all throughout the building. It's neat that it's split into "neighbourhoods," but not so neat that each neighbourhood is sponsored by a huge company!
Skip the lines, skip the hectic parking lot, skip the screaming children and take a stroll through downtown or along 17th instead!