originally posted on 5/10/2019
On May 3, Canada’s Wonderland (Vaughan, Ontario) opened the world’s newest Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) dive coaster — Yukon Striker.
Canada’s Wonderland has a signature ride like no other. Yukon Striker comes with records for a B&M dive machine: the world’s tallest drop (245 feet), fastest speed (80 mph) and greatest length (3,625 feet). Yukon Striker casts an imposing silhouette on the skyline of Wonderland with an impressive lift hill of 223 feet. It looks like it’s always been there.
Photo: Rus Ozana. View full-sized image.
Each B&M coaster at Canada’s Wonderland (Yukon Striker, Behemoth and Leviathan) faces a different direction, offering contrasting views of the park and surrounding area. Sitting on much of the land once occupied by the rare (to North America) TOGO stand-up coaster, Skyrider (closed in 2014 and sold, now operating as Freestyle at Cavalino Matto in Italy), it sets a new standard for B&M dive coasters.
Photo: Ken Jones. View full-sized image.
Yukon Striker boasts a custom layout. Hanging over the edge of the drop for what seems like an eternity (but is only three seconds), riders look down and see a tunnel — a tunnel that looks far too small for the train to fit through. The 90-degree drop plunges riders through the middle of the helix of Vortex (1991 Arrow suspended coaster) at 80 mph, through the underwater tunnel and up into an Immelmann before entering a zero-G roll. Riders bank into a right-hand turn into the first-of-its-kind (on a dive coaster, anyway) element, the 360-degree loop. Exiting the loop, riders are already into the forest near White Water Canyon as they enter into another Immelmann and start heading back for the station. The trains enter a small brake run and into the helix before the ride ends after just over three minutes. Yukon Striker interacts with two different rides in the park, Vortex and Timberwolf Falls shoot-the-chute. Once the trees fill in for the season, the back half of this ride will be lost from sight, adding to the excitement.
Photo: Rus Ozana. View full-sized image.
Photo: Rus Ozana. View full-sized image.
Photo: Joe Radomile. View full-sized image.
Yukon Striker features four inversions, an underwater tunnel and fantastic theming. Each train holds 24 passengers (eight across, three rows). Have loose articles? Not a problem, but there are no regular bins on this ride. Noooo. Instead, an overhead track system moves the bins from the loading side up and over the track to the exit. The trains all have different colors, red with bronze, silver or gold (one sort of resembling Iron Man).
Photo: Peggy Ulrich. View full-sized image.
Photo: Mark Davidson. View full-sized image.
Photo: Mark Davidson. View full-sized image.
Yukon Striker is the centerpiece of the new Frontier Canada area, which was part of the original plan for the park but never realized until now, so it has been 38 years in the making. Elsewhere in the new Frontier Canada area, guests can experience new food and gift shop outlets. Vortex, which started its transformation last year with the trains being painted to match the theme, received an all-new logo, replacing the one it had since it opened. The station for Yukon Striker sits at the edge of the waterpark and the entrance to the Mighty Canadian Minebuster, also part of the original plan for Frontier Canada. A new trail was created as a short cut from the Behemoth area over to the Frontier Canada. This necessitated the removal of the Huss Skylab (one of the park’s original rides).
Photo: Mark Davidson. View full-sized image.
Photo: Peggy Ulrich. View full-sized image.
All in all, Yukon Striker is another great addition to the park’s complement of rides and attractions. Canada’s Wonderland and B&M have once again created a world-class roller coaster that sets new records and will definitely be the star attraction for the park and the new Frontier Canada for 2019.
— Ken Jones
ACE Canada assistant regional representative
Photo: Ken Jones. View full-sized image.
@#$%&!
#ACENews