Wooden Warrior

Wooden Warrior
Quassy Amusement Park
Location	Quassy Amusement Park
Coordinates	41°31′35″N 73°9′3″W
Status	Operating
Opening date	April 23, 2011
General statistics
Type	Wood
Manufacturer	The Gravity Group
Lift/launch system	Chain Lift Hill
Height	35 ft (11 m)
Drop	45 ft (14 m)
Length	1,200 ft (370 m)
Speed	35 mph (56 km/h)
Inversions	0
Max vertical angle	48.5°
Height restriction	40 in (102 cm)
Trains	6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in a single row for a total of 12 riders per train.
Wooden Warrior at RCDB

Wooden Warrior is a wooden roller coaster located at Quassy Amusement Park in Middlebury, Connecticut, United States. The coaster was designed and built by American wooden coaster designer The Gravity Group. Wooden Warrior features a 45-foot (14 m) drop, with a maximum speed of 35 miles per hour (56 km/h) and a total track length of 1,239 feet (378 m). The coaster features Gravitykraft's Timberliner trains, and was the first wooden coaster in the United States to use such trains. Despite the coaster's small size, it has been well received by enthusiasts for its air time and thrilling experience.

History

Announcement

On January 8, 2009, Quassy Amusement Park announced the proposal of a wooden roller coaster built by The Gravity Group, after considering proposals from various manfucaturers.^[1] It was announced that the proposal would be submitted at the February meeting of the Town of Middlebury Planning & Zoning Commission.^[2] The ride was announced to be replacing Mad Mouse,^[3] the park's wild mouse roller coaster built by the Allan Herschell Company.^[4] The proposal was met with concern by residents at the meeting, with concerns centering around noise pollution due to the new ride and depreciation of property value.^[3] A nearby homeowner filed an appeal for the park to add more buffering to the park's proposals, but the appeal was eventually dismissed.^[5] In May 2009, the park announced that the ride would be constructed alongside a 35-foot drop tower built by the SBF Visa Group and "Bullet Bowl", a water slide built by ProSlide Technology.^[6] The park also announced that the first rides on the roller coaster would be auctioned off for charity and that the name of the ride would be decided by students of local schools.^[6]

Construction and opening

Construction on the ride began in August 2010, and continued through the Winter.^[1] In September 2010, it was announced that the ride would be named Wooden Warrior. The name was nominated by elementary school students from Middlebury and Bethel, Connecticut, and selected by the park in order to reflect the Native American history of Lake Quassapaug.^[7] Wooden Warrior opened on April 23, 2011, the park's opening day for the 2011 season. The ride opened despite heavy rain, with the first riders being the winners of the charity auction.^[8]

Ride experience and characteristics

Wooden Warrior's Timberliner train

The ride's station is located on top of the park's former entrance, near the Big Flush water slide. After leaving the station, the ride climbs a 35-foot (11 m) tall lift hill. The ride then turns around and drops 45 feet (14 m) through the 48.5-degree first drop, reaching a top speed of 35 miles per hour (56 km/h). It then goes through a small airtime hill before crossing over the park's narrow gauge Chance Rides railroad. The ride then goes through a turnaround through an artificial tunnel. The ride then crosses back over the railroad through a double up before going through a few final airtime hills and into the final break run.^[1] According to the manufacturer, there are nine moments of air time over the course of the ride.^[9]

The ride runs one train, with twelve riders arranged in six rows of two across.^[10] The train is a Timberliner manufactured by Gravitykraft, and the ride was the first in the United States to use the Timberliner.^[9] The Timberliner train features hydraulic restraints,^[11] accommodating more guests and allowing it to have a 40-inch (100 cm) height limit.^[12] The ride has 1,239 feet (378 m) of wooden track. In total, the ride was constructed with around 140,000 board feet of pressure treated Southern pine,^[13] alongside more than 200,000 nails, and more than 35,000 nuts and bolts.^[1]

Reception

The ride received praise from enthusiasts for its air time and thrilling ride experience.^[14][15] According to Jim Winslett of ElloCoaster, the ride features "crazy airtime all over the layout" and "speed that shouldn't even be possible".^[16] Robb Alvey of Theme Park Review praised the ride's exciting experience, noting that the ride "packs a punch" and described it as "one wild ride", despite its small size.^[17] He also described Wooden Warrior as "the best small coaster in the world", and ranked it as his 15th favorite wooden roller coaster, out of over 200.^[17] In the Golden Ticket Awards, Wooden Warrior placed third among the best new roller coasters of 2011.^[18]

Awards

Golden Ticket Awards: Top wood Roller Coasters

Year	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2024
Ranking	40[19]	32[20]	36[21]	28[22]	38[23]	46[24]	45[25]	49[26]	50[27]

References

1. Gustafson, Ron. "Year Of The 'Wooden Warrior' As Quassy Preps For 103rd Season". YourStory. Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
2. "Quassy announces proposal for new wooden roller coaster". Amusement Today. Archived from the original on 2009-02-01. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
3. Gattani, Anju (18 February 2009). "At Middlebury Public Hearing Plans for New Rides at Quassy Draw Concerns About Noise". VoicesNews. Prime Publishers. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
4. Marden, Duane. "Mad Mouse  (Quassy Amusement Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
5. "Wooden Roller Coaster Back On Track At Quassy Amusement Park". Hartfourd Courrait. February 18, 2010. Archived from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
6. "Quassy Plans Its First All-Wooden Roller Coaster". VoicesNews. Prime Publishers. 3 June 2009. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
7. "Kids Pick A Name For Quassy Roller Coaster". The Hartford Courant. 29 September 2010. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
8. "Quassy coaster debuts despite rain". Republican American Archives. Republican American. 24 April 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
9. "The Gravity Group Portfolio: Wooden Warrior". The Gravity Group. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
10. Marden, Duane. "Wooden Warrior  (Quassy Amusement Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
11. "Meet the Timberliner" (PDF). The Gravity Group. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
12. "Amusement Park Rides at Quassy". Quassy Amusement Park. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
13. O'Rourke, Thew (April 23, 2011). "Wooden Warrior New wooden rollercoaster opening in Connecticut". The Hour. Archived from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
14. "Quassy's 'Wooden Warrior' Roller Coaster Rides High In National Awards". Hartford Courant. September 22, 2011. Archived from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
15. Cura, Jaimie (21 September 2011). "Wooden Warrior Generates Global Interest". Patch. Patch Media. Archived from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
16. Winslett, Jim. "coasters make life better". ElloCoaster. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
17. "'Wooden Warrior' Gets High Marks In Poll Of Experts" (PDF). Quassy Amusement Park. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
18. "Amusement Today September 2011" (PDF). Amusement Today. Arlington, Texas. September 2011. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
19. "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 15 (6.2): 46–47. September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
20. "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 16 (6.2): 46–47. September 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
21. "2013 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 17 (6.2): 40–41. September 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
22. "2014 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 18 (6.2): 38–39. September 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
23. "2015 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 19 (6.2): 45–46. September 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
24. "2016 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
25. "2017 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
26. "2018 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
27. "2024 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2024. Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 24, 2015.