'Worldwide Buzz' About New Quassy Roller Coaster

It’s been called the “pint-sized major league thrill machine,” and “a real winner.”

Roller coaster connoisseurs from as far away as Europe have been converging on Quassy Amusement Park in recent weeks, and for one reason: the “Wooden Warrior.”

The new marquee attraction at the lakeside park has been the buzz of the local community for nearly a year now as Quassy started construction of the manmade marvel last August.

After more than eight weeks of site preparation and concrete work, the first part of the mammoth structure was lifted into the air and secured in early October.

Word started spreading throughout the coaster and theme park enthusiasts’ circles that Quassy’s new wooden coaster would indeed be a reality in 2011.

And since its opening on April 23, the 1,250-foot-long thrill machine has been drawing the attention of coaster lovers across the globe.

“The ride has certainly exceeded all of our expectations,” park owners George Frantzis II and Eric Anderson are quick to admit.

“We knew by the preliminary drawings and a virtual ride provided by the engineers that it would be a good family ride, but it’s better – much better than that,” Frantzis added.

The “Wooden Warrior” has been tagged as an “airtime” bonanza by numerous members of the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE), a national organization of coaster buffs who thrive on riding as many roller coasters as possible across the United States and abroad.

“You’ve got a real winner here!” shouted Mike Thompson, a news editor for ACE as he came into the “Warrior’s” brake run during the first official public ride back in April.

From there, the positive comments have been flowing in continually to the family-owned park, which is now in its 103rd season of operation.

“It’s not only the coaster experts generating these fantastic reviews, but also our season pass holders and daily guests,” Anderson asserted. “People are ecstatic about the ride, and certainly we are as well.”

Small In Comparison

Quassy Amusement Park caters to mainly young families with children aged 2-12, so building a coaster to fit that demographic was what park owners had in mind all along.

The Gravity Group, a Cincinnati, Ohio firm that designs wooden roller coasters, was charged with creating the ride and masterfully fitting the exciting package into a compact space.

"There are a lot of thrills packed into this ride,” Anderson added. “From the time the train leaves the lift chain until it returns to the station, there really isn’t a dull moment. “

That’s what you would expect on a roller coaster – say – twice as big as the ride at Quassy.

But bigger isn’t always better.

Paul Ruben, the North American editor for Park World magazine, which is published in Great Britain, labeled the ride the “pint-sized major league thrill machine” after taking several spins on the “Wooden Warrior” back in May. And Ruben is no slouch when it comes to riding coasters as he has logged nearly a thousand different roller coasters to his riding credit.

While chatting with the park owners in May, he said he has ridden many coasters much larger than Quassy’s that don’t pack nearly the punch.

A two-page color spread by Ruben in the June edition of the magazine fortified what he told Quassy during his visit – the “Wooden Warrior is a great ride.”

Another Expert In Town

A few weeks later, Justin Garvanovic, editor of First Drop, the official publication of the European Coaster Club, also paid Quassy a visit.

He quickly became addicted to the “Warrior.”

Garvanovic sat in virtually every seat on the 12-passenger train, raving about how different and exciting each was.

With the assistance of Quassy’s staff he was also afforded the opportunity to photograph the ride top to bottomfrom a photojournalist’s perspective.  An accomplished amusement industry photographer, Garvanovic will likely find placement for some of his outstanding “Wooden Warrior” shots in an upcoming issue of First Drop.  He is also the founder of the European club and a welcome guest at parks worldwide.

Numerous television shows and news broadcasts have also featured the new coaster. WFSB, the CBS affiliate in Hartford, Conn., recently sent its “Better Connecticut” personalities – Kara Sundlun and Scot Haney – down to conquer the “Warrior.”

In tow were winners of a contest to ride the coaster with Kara and Scot.

It was an afternoon filled with fun and excitement for all involved as they rode the coaster a number of times.

“SimplyLiving,” a news magazine aired on ABC and FOX in Springfield, Mass., also filmed a segment focusing on the new coaster and placed a cameraman in the front seat to film it from that exciting perspective.

“Connecticut Style,” another local staple on the ABC affiliate WTNH in New Haven, had Quassy officials on this week as special guests to talk about the new ride.

Summer Is Here

An extremely wet spring and late dismissal from school due to the harsh winter put somewhat of a damper on the early season at Quassy Amusement Park.

With warmer, dryer weather settling in and all of the publicity about the coaster, the park is optimistic that the new marquee attraction will also be an attendance driver.

“We’ve already had people coming from great distances to ride the coaster, so we know the word is out,” Frantzis said of the attraction. “We have yet to hear anyone say they were disappointed, and one day we had a local youngster ride the ‘Warrior’ nearly 50 times.”

“Coaster enthusiasts show up almost daily now,” Anderson noted. “They’re easy to recognize as they generally have roller coaster shirts on. It’s always fun to talk with them about their experiences at other parks and then hear what they have to say about our new ride. Frankly, everyone loves and appreciates it, especially knowing that we are a small park and made a profound statement by building this attraction.”

There’s no doubt that Quassy has put itself on the map - or should we say the globe – with its “Wooden Warrior.”