As from next season, the skyline of Canada’s Wonderland outside Toronto will be forever transformed by the longest, fastest and tallest dive coaster in the world.

Situated in the newly themed area Frontier Canada, Yukon Striker will in fact be the nation’s first dive coaster. Taking the park’s coaster count to 17, it will will place Canada’s Wonderland among the world’s top three amusement parks with the most rollercoasters, in joint second place with sister park Cedar Point in Ohio.

Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard, Yukon Striker promises an exhilarating journey along 3,625 feet (1.1km) of track. That’s about three times the length of Oblivion, the world’s first B&M dive coaster, which opened in 1998.

Guests sampling the record-breaking new attraction will be treated to a spectacular view stretching to the Toronto skyline. As with other dive coasters, the ride will feature a ‘hold and dive’ element where riders will literally be hanging on the edge of their seats on one of three wide, floorless trains. Once released, they will plunge 90-degrees into the 245ft drop, going from 0-130 kilometres per hour straight down into an underwater tunnel. The rest of the track features four dynamic inversions and gravity-defying moments of weightlessness.

Yukon Striker will anchor a new look area of the park that has been more than 37 years in the making. Frontier Canada was originally planned and designed as one of five themed sections to be developed for the opening of Canada’s Wonderland back in 1981. Finally, in 2019, it will represent the rugged Yukon backcountry during the Klondike Gold Rush era of the late 1890s. Yukon Striker will join rides Lumberjack, Flying Canoes, Mighty Canadian Minebuster, Soaring Timbers, Timberwolf Falls and White Water Canyon as the signature attractions in this newly (re)themed section of the park.

In addition, Canada’s Wonderland will welcome a seasonal event called WinterFest. During late November and December, the park will be transformed into an enchanted winter wonderland complete with themed areas, dozens of Christmas trees, millions of spectacular lights, ice-skating, live entertainment, savoury treats, crafts and hands-on family activities.
“This is the largest capital investment we’ve made in our park since opening,” notes Canada’s Wonderland general manager, Norm Pirtovshek.