April 5, 20187 yr comment_257204 Sod it, I’m off to Kaatsheuvel! Strangely there’s been a consecutive chain with the Dahl family detesting attractions based on their IP’s. First it happened to COTCF at Towers and now looks like it’s happened again here. Apparently they also disliked the 1971 Willy Wonka film too. Fingers crosses this new attraction can add something to a park which has been badly struggling for years.
April 6, 20187 yr comment_257207 Dahl was extremely strict with adaptions of his novels. He had the name of the 1971 CATCF changed to 'Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory' instead as he was disappointed with the adaption. He actively told fans not to watch The Witches and I dare say he'd be turning in his grave at what they did to Fantastic Mr Fox. It's not surprising that his estate have withdrawn the rights to these Oakwood rides. I doubt that he himself would have been a fan.
April 6, 20187 yr comment_257208 Partly surprised that he didn't like the Witches adaptation, beyond the Hollywood ending I think it's quite akin to the book... Can't blame them for hating these attractions, they've all been pretty crap...
July 28, 20187 yr comment_259130 Oakwood was amazing last Wednesday, the park was on a 10pm close yet was very quiet, and there were no fireworks meaning the rides stayed open until (nearly) 10pm. Megafobia was belting round all day, securing its place well above Wicker Man (but still below the National and Mouse) in terms of my favourite wooden coasters. Speed and Drenched are both very good rides and still some of my favourite in the UK. Staff were very friendly and professional throughout the day, many of which I recognised from previous years. Bounce looks sad left there SBNO, seems to be a common theme across UK theme parks unfortunately. Spooky 3D was spookier than last year but still needs work. Creepy Crawler has a nice new anamatronic in the queue. The park and grounds were looking nice, it appears that a few areas have had some TLC/general aesthetic work which was good to see. Oakwood is genuinely one of my favourite parks; the setting is lovely, rides fantastic and it's amazing to visit on a quiet day. On a busy day however, it falls apart and I suspect the After Dark events will most likely be plagued with the same capacity issues as previous years. My advice is pick one of the 10pm closes before After Dark starts if you're looking for a decent ridecount. My ridecount for the day; Megafobia x28 Speed x10 Drenched x7 Creepy Crawler x3 Bobsleigh x2 Spooky 3D x2 Snake River Falls x2 Waterfall x1 Treetops x1 Tinkerbell's Flying School x1 Skull Rock x1 Pirate Ship x1 Moon Landing x1 Taxi x1 Boating Lake x1 Witch Hunt (horror maze) x2 TOTAL: 64 This is sad But this is AMAZING After possibly the best day at Oakwood since 2006/7, I'd highly recommend visiting.
July 28, 20187 yr comment_259131 Such a shame that the park is so quiet especially in the summer holidays perhaps significant investment would help bring in the crowds ??♀️ @Coaster haven’t had a chance to experience Witch Hunt yet,was it any good?
July 29, 20187 yr comment_259138 10 hours ago, Nathanevans1010 said: Such a shame that the park is so quiet especially in the summer holidays perhaps significant investment would help bring in the crowds ??♀️ @Coaster haven’t had a chance to experience Witch Hunt yet,was it any good? Yeah it was good fun, nothing groundbreaking but it had a narrative at the start, some good strobe effects etc.
March 18, 20196 yr comment_263647 Two good pieces of news from Oakwood; 1. The park will open a Zamperla Disk-O (named Dizzy Disk) for 2019, which I believe is replacing the Clown Coaster. 2. Bounce has been re-added onto the park's website and park map, with the following text; Quote Please be aware that Bounce is currently undergoing a major refurbishment and is closed to all guests. Works on Bounce are scheduled for completion this summer, however you can follow progress on the completion of works on both our website and social media channels. https://www.oakwoodthemepark.co.uk/at-the-park/thrill-rides/ The park map also shows the ride as "returning in 2019". Excellent news! ?
March 18, 20196 yr comment_263655 Good to see some ‘potentially’ more optimistic outlooks on this park. Diskos On May be simple attractions, but it should prove a worthwhile staple to them amongst another flat ride as well. If Bounce comes back, that will be a nice move too, especially considering it was going to be ripped out!
April 15, 20196 yr comment_264133 So how busy would you expect Oakwood to get during the May half term? Yes all the schools will be on holiday but I’m hoping it’s not to busy, thanks
May 26, 20196 yr comment_264720 Oakwood was very quiet today, we visited and I don't think there can have been more than 100 people on park. Staff were amazing and friendly throughout the day and the reride policy on Megafobia is awesome, allowing us to get the following ridecount; Megafobia x25 Speed x5 Drenched x2 Bobsleigh x2 Creepy Crawler x2 Snake River Falls x2 Skull Rock x1 Treetops x1 Spooky 3D x1 Flying School x1 Neverland Chase x1 Pirate Ship x1 Witch Hunt (scare maze) x1 Megafobia was as good as ever, some amazing airtime in the back row and I'd say it felt smoother in places where it had been retracked/had wood replaced. Speed wasn't so good (lifthill was terrifyingly slow and I'm sure it never used to be trimmed as much before the barrel roll) but the second hill is still brilliant. Witch Hunt is pretty decent. Spooky 3D was awful, the music loop was broken so there was hardly any audio whatsoever and quite a few effects broken. Drenched was good but I miss the force on the drop in the back row Parkwide audio has been changed to themed music for this year instead of the song loop, made for a very different atmosphere I found. Speed's new soundtrack is cool and suits it well. Didn't brave Waterfall today as the water level looked quite low and saw a few people get soaked. Very pleased to see that work has started on Bounce with signage explaining what they're doing, am looking forward to getting back on this. The Disko looks pretty good with the bright (but tasteful) colour scheme and I like the logo designs. Overall a very good day with amazing staff and service. It was a shame to see the park so quiet but the awful weather in the morning may have contributed a lot to this.
August 15, 20196 yr comment_265883 I too managed to catch a quiet day at Oakwood last Saturday; due to the weather, and it's forecast, evening fireworks had been cancelled and the park was to close at 6p.m., Speed and some other items were closed due to high winds. Megaphobia is the biggie and in the damp she was flying, and lack of customers meant a run of 9 rides without getting off during the afternoon. Bobsleigh I think is an entertaining ride when with each turn one tries to get that bit faster, without falling off, and there was a spell when me and colleague were able to ride again without going round the queueline as there was nobody there. People do add to the atmosphere of a park but sometimes, lack of them is a bonus.
August 16, 20223 yr comment_278815 Clearly not many posts on this park but I was there last Saturday when the temperature was around the thirty degree mark, and Drenched was so, so welcome. Four times on the ride, and four times on the bridge - I don't get that wet in a bath.
August 16, 20223 yr comment_278823 Is the Blair Rabbit’s Burrow ride that closed almost a decade ago SBNO? If it is retaining it is an utter waste. The ride could be rethemed or replaced with a large scale attraction. In other news Theme Park Worldwide posted a photo on Instagram of Bounce operational. This photograph was great to see the rides been SBNO for many years.
August 17, 20223 yr comment_278864 9 hours ago, Theme Park Fanatic said: Is the Blair Rabbit’s Burrow ride that closed almost a decade ago SBNO? If it is retaining it is an utter waste. The ride could be rethemed or replaced with a large scale attraction. In other news Theme Park Worldwide posted a photo on Instagram of Bounce operational. This photograph was great to see the rides been SBNO for many years. That burrow stuff seemed to disappear a few years ago, and that corner of the park always appears run down. The small coaster in there, Witches Brew is a manically rough ride. Bounce was going through all sorts of weird cycles but worth it. Speed was good though oddly no queue late morning and really hot weather. As always with Oakwood some areas seem neglected and the pedal boat ponds are almost covered in algae. The waters of drenched though were very clean and welcome.
October 23, 20222 yr comment_282312 I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Oakwood was evacuated at 1pm today due to a “serious” (as per a BBC Wales source) incident on Treetops. The incident happened this afternoon, the air ambulance were called, and one person has been taken to hospital. The HSE have already started an investigation. There are eyewitness reports saying that someone was “ejected” from the ride, but these should be taken with a pinch of salt as there has been no official confirmation. Live updates can be found here: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/live-updates-air-ambulance-called-25335338?utm_source=wales_online_newsletter&utm_campaign=breaking_daily_newsletter2&utm_medium=email&pure360.trackingid={~TrackingId~} My thoughts go out to those affected.
October 24, 20222 yr comment_282373 22 hours ago, Matt N said: I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Oakwood was evacuated at 1pm today due to a “serious” (as per a BBC Wales source) incident on Treetops. The incident happened this afternoon, the air ambulance were called, and one person has been taken to hospital. The HSE have already started an investigation. There are eyewitness reports saying that someone was “ejected” from the ride, but these should be taken with a pinch of salt as there has been no official confirmation. Live updates can be found here: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/live-updates-air-ambulance-called-25335338?utm_source=wales_online_newsletter&utm_campaign=breaking_daily_newsletter2&utm_medium=email&pure360.trackingid={~TrackingId~} My thoughts go out to those affected. Fingers crossed for better news, hope the girl is uninjured though the stress will be bad enough.
February 6Feb 6 comment_323870 Drenched is no more. One of two Intamin shoot the chute water rides, the first left Knotts Berry Farm a long while back so it is kinda astounding Drenched made it this far. It's been closed for a while for 'restraint work' and has now being removed.
February 6Feb 6 comment_323879 Hydro/Drenched was a millstone around the neck of the park for years, it probably should've been removed far earlier post incident.
February 7Feb 7 comment_323920 Fond memories of Hydro as a kid. What a ride it was!! Unfortunately the accident was the end of it
March 4Mar 4 comment_324133 https://www.oakwoodthemepark.co.uk/blog/sin-categoria/oakwood-theme-park-to-close/ Closed for good. Had some great night rides on Megaphobia in my early enthusiast years.
March 4Mar 4 comment_324135 I've still never been. It's one of those parks which, for me, is far enough away that it was always a "I'll get there at some point", and Megafobia was never a big enough draw for me. Ultimately, for my location, I can get to parks which peak my interest much more - and are no doubt significantly better - in a similar time scale / more easily. Obviously very sad, especially for the staff who will be majorly impacted by the news. I hold out a slight glimmer of hope that it may hold a chance to reopen, by being sold to another company. A big thing to me though is the fact they mention £25m of investment since 2008 - 17 years ago. That really isn't that much money at all. If we believe Flamingo Land, they've spent that much in the last 3 and a bit years. Paultons similarly have probably spent that much since the turn of the decade.
March 4Mar 4 comment_324136 That’s a good point Josh - it’s not a lot of investment. Sadly I think that’s true of many of the Aspro attractions. I was at one of their aquariums last week and thought it seemed incredibly run down, clearly hadn’t had any money spent on it for many years. What a shame though about Oakwood. Not so long ago I’d have thought Merlin would be interested in buying it and push some accommodation, but now I’m not sure. My heart goes out to the staff. What a time to find this out, just before opening really. Awful. It feels to me like the publics expectations of a theme park has changed. It seems that, aside from family parks, the appeal of a small regional park is fading away. The idea of a smaller day out now is less attractive, whereas the likes of Disneyland Paris etc are thriving. I think a lot of people would rather save up and go on a bigger trip, rather than have lots of smaller days out like we all used to. It’s certainly true of me at least. Interesting times.
March 4Mar 4 comment_324140 Not gonna lie, I’m pretty gutted about this news and this closure hits hard. Even if the writing was on the wall. I only visited the park a few times, but each trip had significant memories. The first in 98, as part of a family trip to Wales. Though too small for Megafobia then, I remember rides like the long closed Nutty Jake’s Gold Mine. Then fifteen years later in 2013, an iconic trip in which I finally rode Megafobia, my first wooden coaster, amongst the then new Never Land and other additions. The TPM meet in 2015 was my third and final trip. Certainly an iconic one to end on I guess. Shame to see this happen, but unfortunately Aspro really did run this park into the ground. Another major loss for the uk industry.
March 5Mar 5 comment_324141 Realistically does anyone think there’s a chance it could be bought and reopened? I expect that’s the end of the road for it now. As beautiful as the location is, it’s not ideal for a theme park - it’s just too remote from most of the population. I also think Aspro have squeezed everything out of the place like a tube of toothpaste, and I imagine many of the rides need maintenance etc… not to mention the investment needed to bring in new things to draw people in. I worry for a few of the other smaller parks in the UK - but on that point, if we do lose a couple more, I expect any potential buyers would be more interested in those than poor Oakwood.
March 5Mar 5 comment_324142 Astro have pretty much killed the park, no investment at all. Was the last major ride Speed in 2006? Thats before Astro took over. Gutted I never made the effort to get a ride on Megafobia. Certainly is an interesting time for UK theme parks.
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