Benin Posted July 31, 2014 Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 Drenched apparently had a lift-chain issue (I.e. it snapped)... Think that's a sufficient excuse for it to be closed imo... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC! Posted July 31, 2014 Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 From Oakwood's facebook: Tourism chiefs from VisitWales spent the day at Oakwood Theme Park as part of a campaign to promote the Pembrokeshire attraction.VisitWales’ Head of Marketing Mari Stevens and Head of Partnerships and Policy Jane Richardson met Park Director Dominic Jones and Oakwood Head of Marketing Clare Stansfield as well as Sue Elaiho, Director of Aspro UK.The visit is the first step in a new initiative which aims to raise awareness of the theme park further afield.Among potential projects under discussion were a possible story-telling festival at the park as well as a summer music festival and a new trail.VisitWales are also providing a special Welsh-inspired video which will be broadcast on to a curtain of water as part of the park’s ‘After Dark’ late-night opening events which take place on Wednesdays and Saturdays in August.Marketing bosses from Oakwood will also travel to Cardiff to meet VisitWales’ marketing team to discuss other ways to help promote the park to a wider audience.Oakwood Theme Park’s Dominic Jones said: “It was fantastic to welcome two such senior members of the VisitWales team to the park and get the opportunity to discuss ways of us working together in the future.“Their help, support and enthusiasm was very much appreciated and we are extremely excited by the potential of what was discussed,” he added.In the past two years Oakwood Theme Park has invested in excess of £5m in a series of new attractions and additions to the park. Last year they opened the new £4m family-themed Neverland attraction.Among the new attractions which have opened this year are the indoor soft-play adventure zone ‘Hook’s House of Havoc’, ‘Circusland’, a new themed restaurant, bar and grill and an extended family entertainment zone. While I think a summer music festival would be good, I feel they should spend more time in improving the line up of a park which has been criticised in the past for not offering enough rides to chose from. dragon2000 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 I think they need to spend more money on maintenance before they even look at anything else so that their rides actually work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted August 4, 2014 Report Share Posted August 4, 2014 Glad I haven't been this year. I was gonna make my yearly trip however TripAdvisor reviews have completely put me off going - no point when nothings working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFarmerDean Posted August 8, 2014 Report Share Posted August 8, 2014 From Oakwood's Facebook... GUESS WHO'S BACK!! That's right! Bounce is back with a brand new 'shot' of adrenaline! Come on down to Oakwood to experience a chance of a lifetime to be flown upwards a grand total of 150ft towards the skies with spectacular views! why what was wrong with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted August 8, 2014 Report Share Posted August 8, 2014 From Oakwood's Facebook... GUESS WHO'S BACK!! That's right! Bounce is back with a brand new 'shot' of adrenaline! Come on down to Oakwood to experience a chance of a lifetime to be flown upwards a grand total of 150ft towards the skies with spectacular views! why what was wrong with it? It was closing halfway through the day and could only do the second half of the ride (going up slowly).Just TYPICAL of my luck. As soon as I have visited things start working properly! If I find out that Drenched has reopened I might actually cry... OldFarmerDean 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFarmerDean Posted August 8, 2014 Report Share Posted August 8, 2014 oh right, thanks for clearing that up... as the video to go with it is what I experienced on my visit last summer, so lucky it was working properly I guess - feel sorry for you mate... it's still not a bad drop tower though, with the bounce back up. I do hope I get to visit this month with after dark again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFarmerDean Posted August 8, 2014 Report Share Posted August 8, 2014 Also (Sorry for double post) does anybody know if you can go on snake river falls by yourself... as I might be visiting in a group of 3, and obviously on some rides we're gonna be split up, so was just wondering - also if any other rides would mean a group of 3 is split up, many thanks?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted August 8, 2014 Report Share Posted August 8, 2014 Love how Bounce has been fixed.. almost 2 years after it broke. Their maintenance budgets are impressive. TPJames, Coaster and StealthRider 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 Also (Sorry for double post) does anybody know if you can go on snake river falls by yourself... as I might be visiting in a group of 3, and obviously on some rides we're gonna be split up, so was just wondering - also if any other rides would mean a group of 3 is split up, many thanks?. Yep, I rode it on my own. Nearly stopped though OldFarmerDean 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altitude Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 Megafobia is rows of two, as is the Treetop coaster thing! Megafobia slays though <3 StealthRider and OldFarmerDean 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planenut Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 Went on Saturday; still the same items closed, no problems caused by fast tracking. It has that "run down" appearance and with plans put on hold some areas are just fenced off. Megaphobia seemed fairly slow in the morning but later that evening, she was really flying, though it was raining. Fireworks mixed with lasers, water fountains and projections were impressive. Coaster and Whiteknuckle 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJames Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 At least something in the whole of the park is decent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altitude Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 ^ Speed is good (well the airtime hill is...) Megafobia is sex. Drenched has a nice drop. The park is actually quite decent, especially when you compare it to other parks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJames Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 ^ Speed is good (well the airtime hill is...) Megafobia is sex. Drenched has a nice drop. The park is actually quite decent, especially when you compare it to other parks. From what I've heard the attractions are good but the way the whole park is run is terrible and the customer service and operations are awful. If the park atmosphere and operations are dreadful, it makes the park bad value for money despite how good the attractions are.Been reading through trip advisor again and there are yet more poor reviews including the fact that the customer service team completely ignore trip advisor comments and only take in written complaints to them in person despite the fact that they don't even read or reply to the written complaints and emails... "Terrible - read reviews before going so did not book online as some of the main rides were closed. Visited Oakwood to discuss reviews and was told by two members of staff at the gate that they do not give consideration to Trip Advisor comments - they only give consideration to complaints received by them in writing. Do they not think we read Trip Advisor hence my not booking online - had tried to phone them many times before travelling and could not get to speak to anyone - their marketing line is still quoting details for 2013. They still expect us to pay full price for rides that are not open. I do appreciate fully health and safety but they did not know when the rides were going to be fixed - I go a shrug of the shoulders - VERY VERY POOR - still enjoyed our holiday at other attractions - Oakwood needs to wake up and listen !!!!!" "On arrival several of rides were closed and the ones that were open queues were long E mailed oakwood park several times to air complaints and so I have received no replies (bad show on their behalf) Wont be going there again in hurry" Poor show in my opinion from the park. I certainly wouldn't want to be visiting under these circumstances and also from what I have heard from other members on TPM like speed being on 1 car op. Absolutely dreadful in my opinion aspro need to sort themselves out ASAP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planenut Posted August 14, 2014 Report Share Posted August 14, 2014 Last Saturday the attendance was fairly low, hence no massive queues, but they'd probably seen the weather forecast. As with all parks, they "cover their backs" with the statement that rides "may not be available" but when it's been weeks that's not good. As for this comment "had tried to phone them many times before travelling and could not get to speak to anyone" I have often had that difficulty with TP, so that's not unusual. Oakwood do need to "pull their socks up", and that's my opinion, not another website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted August 14, 2014 Report Share Posted August 14, 2014 It's a shame as if anything, Oakwood relies on good reputation to survive. Pisses me off. Half of the stuff is really easy to resolve, just seems that Aspro is trying to make a cashcow out of something which obviously won't be one (it probably loses money, but acting crap like they are won't help). I hope they sell up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StealthRider Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 Just thought I would add to the topic of operations… When I was there a couple of weeks ago, the staff on Megafobia were excellent at what they did, despite only running one train. Even when there was the op and just 1 host there, they were quicker at getting trains in and out then a lot of Merlin staff, which was very good! (they were also very good with people, and were up for a laugh!) On Speed, the operations were godawful, 1 train service on a Eurofighter is just not right! Although the queue was never really that big, it hardly moved due to how slow the staff were that worked on it! (although again, they were friendly) A queue that should have been none existent became 15 minutes due to how badly run it was… All round, the staff are very friendly and the park was very nice, the thing that lets Oakwood down is some of the operations, and I am not sure what caused the bad operations, other than what I think is lack of training. In regards to the trip adviser reviews, on the 2 days I was at the park, the only thing I can agree with on them is the bad operations on half the rides, everything else was fine! (the only ride that was planned to be closed was the pirate ship, they couldn't really have opened Drenched with a broken chain ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 When exactly did Aspro take over? As I have been visiting Oakwood for years, and it used to be really well run (apart from Hydro but that's understandable - at least it was open before though!) It really is sad to see such a good park flop the way Oakwood has. Aspro need to get out ASAP, it is clear to me that they have no intention of running the park properly, and to be honest I don't think they want to. They have ruined the park, all investment stopped when they took over (until last year), rides closed all the time, no attempt to shift queues, some areas of park looking neglected, can't even keep simple effects in Spooky 3D, water slides with mould all over them, the list goes on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 2006 or so? It was pretty much after the Hydro incident which put the park into severe debt. (well, severe for a small park). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted August 16, 2014 Report Share Posted August 16, 2014 Maybe, although I'm sure it was the previous owners who bought Speed (which opened in 2006) rather than Aspro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt 236 Posted August 16, 2014 Report Share Posted August 16, 2014 Maybe, although I'm sure it was the previous owners who bought Speed (which opened in 2006) rather than Aspro. As far as I'm aware, the only additions Aspro added to the park have been Neverland and whatever was added this year, the restaurant, teacups, arcade etc. I just hope the park will receive some decent investment next year and they reconsider their operations, especially this new fastrack system they've brought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted August 16, 2014 Report Share Posted August 16, 2014 Yeah I googled, 2008 they bought it. Shame they never recovered from the hydro incident. Coaster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 2008 - exactly when the park started to take a major downturn... Coincidence? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whatever Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 I just found out that I am going to Oakwood later this month- googled it and looked good. Never been before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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