The world's tallest, longest and fastest dive roller coaster has opened and it's every bit as horrible/amazing as you'd imagine depending on your own attitude to being lashed around in what is essentially a shopping trolley on a track.
The Yukon Striker has just opened at Canada's Wonderland in and if you're keen to see what it'd be like on the coaster the theme park has released a video. The roller coaster goes at a top speed of 130 kmph (80mph), measures a distance of 1,105m (3,625ft) and is 75m (245ft) high. Riders will go through four inversions during the three minutes, 25-second ride as well as a 360-degree loop. Norm Pirtovshek, general manager of Canada's Wonderland, said: "At its summit, you'll experience three seconds of complete exhilaration as you stare directly down 245 feet at 90 degrees into an underwater tunnel."It's a massive nope from me. But for thrill-seekers, this is bound to pull in the big crowds. The newly open ride has its own little backstory, which reads: "It's 1897 and a flood of men and women are venturing into the untamed wilderness of northwestern Canada, fueled by little more than rumour of limitless gold."The headwaters of the Yukon spread beyond an unforgiving landscape, tempting newcomers with the promise of riches that lay buried in ice-cold riverbeds throughout the Klondike."Most prospectors are doomed to fail. The journey is treacherous along the Chilkoot Trail, a steep and punishing climb high into the coastal mountain range. The seasons are extreme and the back-country, for all its raw beauty, is unyielding."Among the lawless boom towns and outposts, only a few will succeed in this quest for glory. A Golden Eagle soars high on the winds watching the perilous hunt. Who will endure the longest journey? Who will conquer the tallest mountain pass, the treacherous terrain and rise worthy of the name YUKON STRIKER...."
Canada's Wonderland✔@WonderlandNews
Our first riders take on #YukonStriker’s 90-degree drop! This could be you starting May 3!
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While this is the longest, fastest and tallest dive roller coaster, it's not the outright longest, fastest or tallest roller coaster. A dive roller coaster differs from the traditional kind as it features steep drops that are almost completely vertical. If you fancy going to visit the longest traditional roller coaster, it's in Japan at the Nagashima Spa Land and is called the Steel Dragon 2000 it measures a whopping 2,479m (8,133ft). If it's the speed you're after, you'll need to head to the Formula Rossa at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi which has a top speed of 240kmph (150mph). Meanwhile, the tallest is the Kinga Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in the US, which is139m (456ft) tall.