Guests have asked me what I think the best seat is or what the best coaster in the park is. For the best coaster I tell them that Leviathan, Behemoth, and Yukon striker are unique in what they offer and it depends on what they are looking for. If you want a massive drop or raw speed and power then Leviathan is what they want. If they are looking for lots of air time then Behemoth is the clear choice. If they want inversions then it was Yukon Striker hands down.

The best seat on Yukon Striker is not an easy question to answer. The seat layout makes it unique compared to Leviathan and Behemoth. The seats on those are usually grouped into front middle and back. Yukon striker has only three rows so the difference in ride experience between them is minimal except for the drop. The seats for each row are set at different heights, lowest in row one and highest row three. This allows for most riders a clear view ahead of the train. In the drop, row one has the best view during the hang while row three gives a good lift off the seat that row one and two don’t experience. Row one tends to bring out the biggest reaction from guests as it creeps over the brink and then hangs. The highest fall after the release is in row three because row one and two are already below the top of the drop.

The biggest difference in ride experience after the drop comes from what seat you sit in left to right. The smoothest ride is in seat three in any row. The seats are number from left to right. It sits on the left rail of the track and experiences almost no lateral, side to side, G forces. Seat three also visually tracks the straightest through all the elements and gives the most float through the negative G roll. Lateral forces increase the further away seats are from seat three. Seat one will vertically stall in the negative G roll creating a hanging upside down sensation. Seat one creates a sensation of high speed as it travels between the negative G roll and the vertical loop and passes low to the ground along the foot path to the left. The last inversion has a bit of a hop to it depending on what seat number you are sitting in as well.

Coming out of the MCBR can provide a shock for some in row three. Quite a few times I have ridden in the back row with a first time rider. They are easy to recognize because they are usually relieved to be going back into the station. That relief is quickly shaking from them when they get snapped forward similar to whip effect the third row experiences at the first drop. They thought they we in the final break run only to be thrust down another steep hill will know warning.

When I first started riding Yukon Striker, I primarily used the single rider queue so I didn’t have much choice about where I would be sitting. I wanted to ride and after a while started to enjoy experiencing the different seats. A few crew members commented to me that I never complain about where I sit. I told them I just wanted to ride. I did surprise one of the groupers when I was in the single rider queue late in the evening and they told me to go to row three. I said no and they look back at me surprised. I told them it was my 300th dive and I wanted to ride the milestone in the front row. I was the only one in the single rider queue. They smiled and let me wait until the next train when there was a front row seat available.

Another night when again I was the only one using the single rider queue, I managed to get the front row two times in a row. On the third time around the grouper said the front row was not available. Then the row one grouper came over and said they had an empty seat in the front row if I went immediately. This repeated for a total eight times in row one in a row. The groupers were smiling more and more each time around. I think they were enjoying what was happening as much as I was.

I generally find the guests will go to whatever row or seat they are instructed to go to. Being told where to sit, it becomes natural and easier to go with the flow. One of the groupers messed me up on a run. I was at the front of the line and when they started grouping us she told me to put my items in the bins and pick a row. Pick a row? I stood there for a moment confused. I didn’t know which row to pick. Other than a milestone I have never picked a row myself. It was such a strange sensation. Later that day when it happened again, I was fine and then started laughing at the instructions given to the couple behind me in line. I was still putting my bag in the bins and I heard her tell them to put their items in the bins and follow him, referring to me. I was now the pied piper of Yukon Striker.