Yukon Striker is a steel dive coaster at Canada’s Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario, built by Bolliger & Mabillard and opened on May 3, 2019. Standing 223 feet tall with a 245-foot drop and a top speed of 81 mph, it debuted as the world’s tallest, longest, and fastest dive coaster — a trio of records that immediately established it as a landmark thrill ride.
The ride’s layout packs four inversions into its 3,625-foot course, including a 360-degree vertical loop — a first for the dive coaster model anywhere in the world. One of its most dramatic moments is an underground tunnel that burrows beneath an adjacent pond, plunging riders into darkness before they surface into open air to complete the circuit.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Canada’s Wonderland
- Location: Vaughan, Ontario, Canada
- Manufacturer: Bolliger & Mabillard
- Type: Dive Coaster
- Opened: May 3, 2019
- Height: 223 ft (68 m)
- Drop: 245 ft (74.7 m) at 90°
- Top Speed: 81 mph (130 km/h)
- Length: 3,625 ft (1,105 m)
- Inversions: 4
The Ride Experience
Yukon Striker’s defining moment comes before the drop even begins: the train stops at the crest and holds riders suspended over a straight-down 90-degree precipice for a full three seconds. When the brake releases, the train plunges 245 feet at a true vertical angle, accelerating to 81 mph before sweeping into a towering Immelmann loop and a 360-degree vertical loop — the first of its kind ever installed on a dive coaster.
The inversion sequence continues underground, where the track threads through a tunnel carved beneath the park’s Thunder Run pond. Riders emerge into daylight for a Zero-G Winder and a final Immelmann before the ride brakes to a stop. The total experience lasts around three and a half minutes, an unusually long runtime that gives each of the four inversions room to breathe.
World Records and Legacy
When Yukon Striker opened in 2019, it claimed four records in the dive coaster category: world’s longest, world’s fastest, world’s most inversions, and world’s tallest (tied with Valravn at Cedar Point in Ohio). The 360-degree vertical loop was a genuine engineering first for the model, and the underground tunnel added a theatrical element rarely seen on a coaster of this scale.
As the first dive coaster ever constructed in Canada, Yukon Striker gave Canada’s Wonderland a flagship attraction capable of competing with the best coasters in North America. Its combination of vertical hang time, record-setting statistics, and a subterranean plunge beneath a pond makes it one of the most technically ambitious dive coasters Bolliger & Mabillard has ever produced.
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Yukon Striker FAQs
Where is Yukon Striker located?
Yukon Striker is located at Canada’s Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, approximately 30 kilometres north of Toronto.
What world records does Yukon Striker hold?
When it opened on May 3, 2019, Yukon Striker set world records as the longest, fastest, and (tied) tallest dive coaster, and became the first dive coaster ever to feature a 360-degree vertical loop.
How steep is the main drop on Yukon Striker?
The main drop measures 245 feet at a 90-degree angle — a true straight-down vertical plunge — and riders are held suspended at the top for about three seconds before the train releases.
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Photo: Mrleafsnation / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.