Canada’s Wonderland invites Yukon officials to Yukon Striker opening

This week, our new dive coaster connected two distant Canadian provinces in a fun social media message swap, that amounted to my issuing a special invitation to front row seats on Yukon Striker this spring.

The Yukon’s Minister of Community Services, John Streicker and Minister of Tourism and Culture, Jeanie Dendys on Wednesday posted a video to Twitter and Facebook thanking Canada’s Wonderland for naming its new record-breaking dive coaster after Streicker (pronounced ’Striker’). The minister unzipped his sweater to show his Canada’s Wonderland ‘Yukon Striker’ T-shirt underneath, given to him by a friend. 

What a coincidence! 

They said they hoped to get an invite to Yukon Striker’s opening and helpfully suggested if we have any more rides that need naming, ‘Yukon Dendys’ is a good idea. 

I was too happy to oblige (on the invitation… future ride name taken into consideration).

Later that day we posted our video reply thanking them for the message and I explained our new coaster’s connection to the Yukon - in name, but also as part of our new themed area, Frontier Canada. Themed to represent the Klondike Gold Rush in the Yukon, the section was one of the original five planned for the park’s opening back in 1981. 

I said we’d be honoured to have them as guests for Yukon Striker’s debut and I’d save them front row seats for that 90-degree drop. 

Seeing the conversation on social, the Yukon’s Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, Ranj Pillai, commented that perhaps he too should attend since the coaster has ties to the Klondike Gold Rush. He had a good point! He’s been added to the guest list :)

We can’t wait to hear what they think of the ride!