Allen Beavers Jr., 81, couldn't stop beaming as he waited in a rain coat to ride the new wooden roller coaster at Quassy Amusement Park on Saturday morning.

Even the steady, cold rain couldn't wipe off his smile after he rode the Wooden Warrior for the first time with 11 others.

"Great ride," he summed up once disembarking from the 12-seat, six-car train. "Very smooth. Families are going to love this."

Beavers, of West Hartford, was the first official rider of Quassy's new centerpiece. He was joined by about 100 others for the inaugural run of the coaster.