Quick trip to Quassy and Lake Compounce

First, thanks to Fun and TommytheDuck for offering guidance re Quassy. I found that Quassy could indeed be done in an hour. I should probably have titled this post Misadventures with Uber b/c that is largely what happened. After taking a 5-hour train ride from Philly to Hartford I had to drop off my luggage at my hotel and the 1st Uber driver got lost, taking me miles out of my way. As a result I didn't get to Quassy until 4:30 pm. In any case, after a quick walk around the park - lovely park - I headed for Wooden Warrior, which was smaller than it had appeared in the video I watched. And with a one-train operation plus low rider capacity (12 per train), it was a 2 to 3 train wait to get on. In any case, despite its modest size I adored this coaster for the airtime and was just sorry that the ride is so short. I rode it several more times but didn't ride anything else due to time constraints. As it happened, getting an Uber driver to pick me up at Quassy proved to be a challenge and when I finally got one, he got lost on the way to Lake Compounce. Not his fault; the GPS was directing him to the service entrance, which is nowhere near the main entrance. He finally drove into the service entrance and a staff member gave him printed directions to the main entrance but after circling around several times, it was after 7 by the time I actually got into Lake Compounce. Plus the Uber driver had changed all the settings on my phone, in an attempt to preserve the life of the battery, making it impossible to take decent photographs. Guest Relations at LC was great and managed to sort out the problem with the phone so all was good although by this time there were only a couple of hours before closing time. Wildcat, recently retracked, was unfortunately not operating so my 1st stop was Phobia Phear. This is the same ride as Tempesto at BGW so nothing new but at least it was a coaster credit. I like this ride and especially liked the fact that the restraint on Phobia is only a lap bar as opposed to the OTS restraint on Tempesto.

Time for dinner and again Guest Relations had given me good advice. I'd asked about vegetarian options and they suggested Croc Pot, telling me that they served a good mac and cheese. They were right.

On to Boulder Dash. I was fortunate enough to pair up with another single rider for several rides. He was wearing an Outlaw Run tee and I was wearing an Iron Rattler tee so I knew that we were on the same page. The first ride was during daylight but the next 5 were in darkness and I don't think I've ever experienced anything as thrilling and exhilarating as riding Boulder Dash in the dark! What suspense and glorious airtime! By 9:30 there were a number of empty rows so we just hopped into the 1st available seats without having to get back in line. Alas, my 6th and final ride on Boulder Dash did me in. Whereas I had been sitting on the right side until then, I hopped into a seat on the left side for the final ride and somewhere between the 1st drop and 2nd got slammed against the side of the car. After this I was in so much pain that I called it quits. My riding buddy said that he'd always avoided injury b/c he knew "every inch and nuance of the track" but I sure as hell didn't, not having ridden this coaster since 2013. Still in excruciating pain (badly bruised ribs but no fractures according to x-rays taken after I got back to Philly) and on prescription painkillers. But I don't regret a moment of it and still think that Boulder Dash is one of the best coasters ever built. Am just praying that my injuries will heal within the next 2 1/2 weeks b/c I booked a flight to Knoxville for Labor Day weekend in order to ride Lightning Rod.

Sounds like you had fun. (Also sounds like you should have listened to me, re: trying to cram 2 parks into such a small timeframe. Hahaha, winkeyface, and all that.)

I loved Wooden Warrior so much. If I thought that guy in the other thread was serious, I'd tell him that is what he should build as his backyard coaster. Seriously, it's what I'd do.

I love Boulder Dash too. Haven't ridden the most recent incarnation, but... "I don't rank coasters, but this would be a top 10 ride for sure."

Boulder Dash is one of the few coasters I give a pass for being mediocre in the day, because what a night ride. Front row at night on BD is one of the greatest coastering experiences I've had and it's great to hear that the ride is still holding strong.

Definitely holding strong. Partially retracked last year but still some rough spots. Rode in the back all 6 times, which in hindsight may not have been the brightest idea. As to riding at night, it's the only coaster I can think of on which absolutely nothing is visible for most of the ride. You can see more on The Beast at night than on Boulder Dash. And yes, Wooden Warrior would be a great coaster to have in one's backyard. I was surprised to discover that it's only 6 years old and the 1st coaster to feature Timberliner trains. It's kind of cool that wooden family coasters like this and InvadR have been built in recent years when most parks seem to be in a game of oneupmanship in terms of building a coaster that's the fastest, steepest or whatever of its type.

I almost corrected you, Bobbie, but I was wrong. I see Twister at Tivoli Gröna Lund in Stockholm opened that same month with Timberliner trains, just some days after Wooden Warrior.

I see the quest for the biggest, tallest, etc wooden ride is finally being put to the side in favor of smaller, affordable, and easier to maintain rides. The giants of the nineties have proven to be problematic. Now they are the ones being converted while Prowler, Mystic Timbers, and InvadR have come along in the meantime as much better offerings for wood coaster fans.