Ride Profile
www.parkworld-online.com
Group fit such an exciting ride in our limited space," adds Anderson. “It’s definitely become our signature attraction."
“Since we announced a few years ago that we would be constructing the ride, the park immediately drew international attention from coaster and park enthusiasts. Interest started building locally since ground was broken last summer and now the ride is open, it’s the positive buzz of the community and topic of conversation everywhere I go."
The last wooden rollercoaster to operate in the area was located at Westbury’s Lakewood Park. Built in 1930, the coaster lasted only a few years before being dismantled and moved to Canobie Lake Park in Salem, New Hampshire, for the 1936 season. The ride continues to operate in New Hampshire today. But now it’s Quassy’s time to shine. Standing in
the Wooden Warrior loading station, you can see the joy in the riders' faces. “The ride exceeded our expectations in all departments,” Anderson confesses.”We knew it would be a good ride, but it has turned out to be a fantastic attraction – no doubt. The steady stream of positive comments continues to pour in.”
“I’ve ridden the coaster numerous times,” he continues. “Every seat offers a fantastic and different experience, with a lot of that attributed to the Timberliner train. I’ve never experienced a woodie that corners this smoothly. Granted, it’s new, but the Timberliner is delivering as promised in all aspects. Everyone raves about the incredible amount of airtime on the ride – something that is rare on a coaster of this size.”
Attendance Driver Fallout from the coaster's success has been immediate. “The publicity surrounding the new coaster has been incredible,” Anderson reveals. “The Associated Press ran a national story recently that has been in newspapers everywhere and we’ve been getting television coverage from the network affiliates. We are getting correspondence from all over – including Europe – that people are coming to Quassy this year to experience the ride. Yes, it will be an attendance driver, we are confident of that. The Wooden Warrior now puts Quassy – a traditional family park – in the limelight.”
Building a new ride in New England is never straightforward, and the coaster's construction was not easy. “We broke ground last August,” Anderson recalls, “actually a little ahead of our anticipated schedule. New England just came off its worst winter in history with record snowfall. The construction crew kept on schedule despite the horrible weather and the many challenges it presented. We also had to deal with some soil and unforeseen drainage issues onsite.” Anderson has high praise for The Gravity Group. "Their team has such passion for what they do you can’t help but get excited when you talk to these guys about any project they are involved in. That really drove us to them when decision time came to choosing a vendor. They presented an initial project and had to submit and entirely new plan when we realised the first coaster would not work in the area we had chosen. Did they deliver? Yes, on time and under budget.” Wooden Warrior’s a great ride that packs a lot into a small package. Who says size matters?
www.quassy.com
Quassy’s $5
million plan Wooden Warrior fulfils phase two and the largest single part of Quassy Amusement Park’s multi-year reinvestment plan, following the introduction last season on an SBF Drop Tower. As the next stage of the $5 million (€3.5m) plan, Quassy's waterpark will be expanded in the near future. Read Ron Gustafson’s first- hand account of how the family park, now in its 103rd year, is forging ahead in uncertain economic times at
www.parkworld-online.com
JUNE 2011
39
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48