Wooden Warrior
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Wooden Warrior | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Quassy Amusement Park | |
| Location | Quassy Amusement Park |
| Coordinates | 41°31′35″N 73°9′3″W / 41.52639°N 73.15083°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.
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]
