On April 24th, 2019, Canada's Wonderland invited a group of thrill-seekers who raised money to support Sick Kids Hospital, along with their guests (myself included) and the media to be among the first to ride the all-new for 2019 Yukon Striker before the park opened for the general public!
For those who don't know, Yukon Striker was manufactured by Bolliger and Mabillard and opened as the world's fastest, longest, and tallest Dive Coaster in the World with a maximum speed of 130 km/h (80 mph), a track length 3,625 feet, and a maximum height of 245 feet, respectively. In addition to those breathtaking records, Yukon Striker is the first and currently only Dive Coaster to feature a vertical loop inversion among its collection of inversions found throughout its layout!
While being among the first to ride Yukon Striker was the main feature of the First Rider/Media Day Event, this event also allowed me to meet and chat with fellow amusement park enthusiasts as well as some who work within the amusement park industry! While the air was cool and the skies were cloudy, it did not deter anyone from enjoying Yukon Striker, a roller coaster packed with a ton of airtime and strong g-forces! Be sure to enjoy the photos below from such a great event!
I had arrived a bit early before the event began, but the wait sure would be worth it! My good amusement park friend Aldo who invited me to the event would arrive shortly after.
Canada's Wonderland's General Manager, Norm Pirtovshek gave a small speech before the opening of Yukon Striker. The park's Director of Communications, Grace Peacock and the Sick Kids Ambassador also addressed the audience.
Here is the first of three trains heading out! After the first riders got to ride Yukon Striker, their friends and the media were able to do so!
Here is the first train of the day about to drop!
Here's the first train of riders, diving into the tunnel below!
The train then entered the first of four inversions, the Immelmann!
After that, the train then enters into the zero-g winder inversion before making its way through a vertical loop and another Immelmann inversion. From there, the train enters the mid-course break run before plunging down a significantly smaller, but rather steep drop, leading the train through a downward helix and back to the station where the thrill of the ride all began!
After taking my first ride on Yukon Striker, I took a photo of the new bin system, which wasn't quite completed at the time. As passengers enter the line to board the trains, they will but their loose articles in a bin that then follows a track that goes over the station and eventually ends up at the exit. It's quite unique! During the day, I had the chance to ride Yukon Striker a total of 10 times, allowing me to ride in different rows and seats! It was quite the experience! Also during the course of the event, attendees were treated to a wonderful buffet lunch at the Backlot Cafe! Later in the day, I was invited by some newly made friends to ride Yukon Striker with them as they filmed a reverse on-ride POV. It can be viewed below!
The Yukon Striker water tower which holds the sign is a nice touch as you approach the coaster in the newly transformed Frontier Canada section at the park!
As a guest at the Yukon Striker First Rider/Media Day event, I had received this nice lanyard to commemorate the event.
Here is the backside of the lanyard which displays the statistics of Yukon Striker.
As 4pm neared, I managed to finish my day by taking in my 10th ride on the final train of the day before the First Rider event wrapped up. It was a great way to end such an amazing day! I would like to thank my friend Aldo for inviting me as a guest to the Yukon Striker First Rider Event as it would not have been possible without him doing so! I would also like to thank the staff at Canada's Wonderland for planning such an amazing event! It was a day I greatly enjoyed and one that I will never forget!
Thank you for taking the time to look at my post of photos from the Yukon Striker First Rider Event held on April 24th, 2019! Luckily there are only a few months remaining until you can visit Canada's Wonderland and ride Yukon Striker once again, along with the other amazing attractions at the park. Stay tuned until then! :-)
Below is a continuation of photos from the premiere night of Winterfest at Canada's Wonderland! If you had not seen the photos from the first part of the night, be sure to check them out here!
Throughout the remainder of the night, my friend Brandon and I continued to look at the spectacular light displays throughout the rest of the park. Candy Cane Lane and Charlie Brown's Christmas Town were quite the sights to see! So, don't just take my word for it! Continue on and view the photos below!
Klockwerks and Christmas lights is a magical combination!
Here we have the Mistletones singing some festive songs.
There were a few piles of over-sized ornaments around the park. They looked quite nice. Too bad the snow melted away within the days leading up to Winterfest as I am sure these ornaments would sparkle with the snow.
As you head up towards Planet Snoopy, you enter the World of Candy Cane Lane. This path was decorated with sweet treats as well as the traditional Christmas sweet treat, the candy cane.
The trees sported red and white lights while towering candy cane decorations lined the path.
Snoopy and Woodstock were tobogganing the Planet Snoopy rainbow that appeared to be covered with icing and candies.
More candy canes and red and white lit trees lined the path before entering into Charlie Brown's Christmas Town.
Charlie Brown's Christmas Town was strung with an array of colourful lights.
Peppermint Patty was greeting guests into Charlie Brown's Christmas Town.
The colourful wonder of Christmas lights continued into the second half of Planet Snoopy.
The park sure went in to great detail with the lights.
The Character Carousel in Planet Snoopy had cheerful penguins on display around it!
The Kidzville area was also decked out in colourful Christmas lights. It was the second half of the Charlie Brown's Christmas Town.
There were many beautiful Christmas Trees set up along the path as we headed towards Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree Lot.
At the end of the path we were greeted by Charlie Brown and Linus!
They were quite proud to show off the tree that they found! It was looking pretty good, possibly even a bit better than the one in the cartoon.
While walking back through Charlie Brown's Christmas Town, a walking band playing some holly jolly tunes passed by.
Viking's Rage was surrounded by many lights! This photo looks postcard worthy! It was one of the other four larger rides that were open. Despite wearing gloves, my hands unfortunately felt too cold to ride.
Wilde Knight Mares also looked stunning with the Christmas lights strung in the trees and shrubs in front of the ride.
Off to the side of Elf Village is the Winterfest Christmas Market. Along our way there, I happened to notice a large toy truck and plane. Here is the truck.
As the sign states, the Christmas Market is home to many vendors selling artisan crafts and festive foods.
We were glad to feel some heat once we entered the market. It was very festive inside with a nice variety of vendors.
After purchasing a souvenir Winterfest mug filled with hot chocolate, I decided to capture some more photos since I gained feeling in my hands again. Here are some people dancing to the music at the silent disco "Polar Party" in the Elf Village section.
Here is a photo of the Cool Yule Show underway! Despite some technical difficulties, the performers did very well!
More buildings around the park were transformed to fit in with the Winterfest theme. Here is the Festive Funnel Cakes shop near The Bat.
The lights on Wonder Mountain were trickling down just like the water for Victoria Falls does during a summer's day.
After warming up with a souvenir mug full of hot chocolate and getting a ride on Krachenwagen (bumper cars) I was starting to feel hungry, so we went over to the Marketplace Festive Feast. There I ordered a Pulled Roast Turkey Flatbread. It was definitely different. While it tasted good, the cranberry sauce was a bit too tangy for my liking.
Here are some more people skating on Snowflake Lake.
Here I am in front of the Winterfest sign and Snowflake Lake after a great evening of fun!
This is what looking up a 50 foot Christmas Tree looks like.
I just loved looking down International Street with all the Christmas lights strung in the trees!
The Mistletoe shop definitely was sporting some appealing Christmas cheer!
After an amazing evening of looking at the lights and other attractions featured at Canada's Wonderland's Winterfest, we decided it was time to head out for the evening. Overall, I thought the staff of Canada's Wonderland did an amazing job with transforming the park in to Winterfest as there was tons to see and do! It definitely got me into the Christmas spirit! Thank you for taking a look at my photos from the premiere night of Winterfest at Canada's Wonderland! :-)
Winterfest at Canada's Wonderland runs select dates through December 31st. Be sure to visit Canada's Wonderland's website for more details!
Friday, November 22nd, 2019 marked the premiere of Winterfest at Canada's Wonderland!
My good friend Brandon met up with me to take in the sights and sounds of this all-new Christmastime event. The park was like a Canada's Wonderland we had never seen before! It was decked out with wonderful Christmas light displays, musical performances, and other holiday activities for visitors to enjoy! An event you do not want to miss is the Tree Lighting Ceremony at 5:30pm on International Street! It was truly spectacular!
In addition to the wonderful light displays and shows, the park also had some festive food options available only during Winterfest. Also, although not the main focus of Winterfest, they even had a few rides open for guests who were willing to brave the windchill (I was one of them).
Be sure to check out part one of photos I had captured of Winterfest in all its glory!
As we arrived at the parking lot parking lot, we were greeted by large nutcrackers there were set up in front of each toll booth in the parking lot.
From the parking lot toll lanes, you could see lights dangling down from where the waterfalls normally flow on Wonder Mountain.
Once 4:30pm rolled around, the parking lot opened. After finding a place to park, we ventured towards the front gates. It was a spectacular sight and a preview of what was yet to come.
Here is the view of International Street as we walked through the front gates.
Here is a close up of the Snowflake Lake (Royal Fountains) on International Street. The lights on all the trees and Wonder Mountain all looked great!
Here is one of the two 50 foot tall Christmas trees on International Street. They weren't quite fully lit up at this point as there was a tree lighting ceremony at 5:30pm.
Many of the shops found throughout the park were transformed to suit the Christmas theming of Winterfest. Pictured is The Mistletoe gift shop.
Here is a close-up view of Santa's Reindeer, which were parked on top of the front gate while Santa makes his stay at Canada's Wonderland for the next month.
Snoopy was making his way through when I captured this photo.
While many of the lamp posts featured shooting star lights, all of them had received oil lamp looking bulbs which looked really neat as they flickered just like the real thing!
Here is Snoopy in his Santa outfit before the Tree Lighting Ceremony took place!
International Street was just dazzling with lights!
Everything within sight received a festive transformation.
Displays such a this one were sure to get visitors in to the Christmas spirit!
The Victoria Falls on Wonder Mountain were replaced with a dazzling display of lights.
Here are more lights and decorations found on International Street.
Once rope drop occurred at 5pm, Brandon and I took a spin on Klockwerks, one of the four larger flat rides open during Winterfest. It was a chilly experience! As you can see, International Festival was transformed into Tinsel Town for the duration of Winterfest.
These decorative snowmen sure appeared to be in the Christmas spirit!
After taking a frigid ride on the Wilde Knight Mares (another of the four large flat rides open), I captured some photos of Elf Village (Medieval Faire). Many lights were strung in the shrubs and trees.
The diving structure on Arthur's Baye even got in on the festivities with strings of lights cascading down towards the water. As I would later discover, these lights were programmed with the Cool Yule Christmas performance on the stage located nearby.
Here is the third 50 foot Christmas tree to be seen at Winterfest. It was placed on the stage in Elf Village, next to Arthur's Baye.
As 5:30pm was approaching, we made our way over to where the tree lighting ceremony takes place.
As we were walking along, we passed by the What the Dickens?! sideshow outside the Canterbury Theatre.
Here is the opening scene of the Tree Lighting Ceremony! Below is a video I had recorded of the event.
After a few minutes of singing and dancing, a large countdown took place and the trees and the plethora of lights on International Street came alive!
It was an amazing performance and one that you need to see in person!
Once the tree lighting ceremony concluded, guests started to venture out on to Snowflake Lake, the skating rink at Winterfest.
Here we have the Season of Lights, a section dedicated to the various holidays celebrated throughout the months of December and January.
In the back half of the Grande World Exposition of 1890 section that was open was the North Pole, home to Santa and many of his deer and elves.
At St. Nick's Pics, visitors of Winterfest could get their photos taken with Santa.
Artificial topiary reindeer were set up in the North Pole section.
Also on display were some animatronic reindeer housed at the Reindeer Round-Up display.
Some of the topiary deer appeared to be signing some Christmas carols.
While in the North Pole, you could pick up some festive treats.
The lights on International Street looked spectacular against the night sky!
The back half of Tinsel Town was shimmering bright with all the lights.
The path behind Wonder Mountain was home to a display of lights that moved to music.
It was quite interesting to watch the lights flicker to the music that was being played.
There were even small houses set up along the path which looked very festive!
Down near the exit of Vortex, guests could take a photo at this giant light-up Christmas present.
Tinsel Town looked quite beautiful with its tinsel and lights all strung overhead the pathways!
Be sure to continue onto Part 2 for more photos from the premiere night of Winterfest at Canada's Wonderland!
