Oakwood Theme Park-Cedar Herald Index

Oakwood Theme Park (formerly Oakwood Leisure Park, Oakwood Coaster Country & Oakwood Park) is a theme park in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Oakwood opened in the late 1980s as a very small family park with BMXs, a wooden fort, a 3D-style cinema experience show, go-karts and a water chute ride. The park later incorporated four large thrill rides: Megafobia (1996), Vertigo (1997), Drenched (2002, as Hydro) and Speed (2006) which was a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter roller coaster with a 97-degree drop. It was the first Euro-Fighter in the United Kingdom and was at that time the steepest roller coaster in the UK. The CCI-built wooden roller coaster Megafobia was rated by enthusiasts soon after its installation as amongst the best in Europe. In 2016, it celebrated 20 years at Oakwood.

Oakwood Theme Park

History

Until March 2008, Oakwood Leisure Ltd. was owned and developed by the McNamara family, Pembrokeshire farmland owners who diversified into the leisure industry in 1987 after the introduction of milk quotas. The park took twelve months to research.

Oakwood Theme Park

Oakwood Park Railway

A gauge narrow gauge railway operates on site at Oakwood. The railway, which is well established, is not listed amongst the park's rides and attractions, but forms part of the operational infrastructure, providing a transport link between the theme park and the car park. Travelling on the railway is included in the cost of the park admission ticket. Until 2016, the railway was operated by four diesel locomotives; two were American-style (though British-built) steam outline engines, and the others were a standard diesel outline locomotive and a diesel railcar. Since 2016, only one non-themed diesel locomotive is being used, the other three locomotives having been retired. Open 20-seater "Severn Lamb" type toast rack carriages are used in warm weather, with enclosed 20-seater former Liverpool Garden Festival coaches used year-round.

Oakwood Theme Park

Development into Theme Park (1996–2008) Following an increase in visitor numbers after the arrival of the Snake River Falls water slide in 1994, the management decided to pursue the development of the park into a more 'thrilling' theme park. In 1996, the park received a wooden roller coaster from the American firm of Custom Coasters International. Built at a cost of £1.7m, Megafobia allowed the park to reach 500,000 visitors in one season for the first time. In 1996, Oakwood also began an annual After Dark event, with late-night opening, fireworks, entertainment and discounted evening entry. Several major additions would follow in the coming years: Vertigo, a sky swing, in 1997, Bounce, a shoot and drop tower, in 1999, Hydro (later Drenched) in 2002 and Speed: No Limits in 2006.

New era for Oakwood (2009– ) Following the change of hands to Aspro Ocio S.A in March 2008, Oakwood Theme Park has seen a range of changes, in particular to staffing, with restructuring of both seasonal and permanent staff levels in line with market conditions.

In February 2010, a new logo was premiered on the front page of Oakwood's new leaflet and Facebook page. The new image was the first logo for the park to change the initial 'train stop' shape around the name (a shape that was used on the original Megafobia logo). There is now a blue corkscrew section of a coaster with the words Oakwood and Theme Park in a box underneath.

In late 2012, the park announced that it was starting a five-year investment plan.

In 2013, Kidz World was redeveloped into Neverland. The park added a number of rides, including Skull Rock, Crocodile Coaster, Neverland Chase, Jolly Roger, Aerodrome, London Taxi Ride, Tink's Flying School (Formally Plane Crazy), Journey to Neverland and the Lost Boy Adventure. The park also relocated some of the children's rides to the old Plane Crazy site and created Circus Land.

Soundtrack

Oakwood's soundtrack was composed by Nick Hutson who created the soundtrack for the park itself, the park's signature After Dark event, and Megafobia as a part of the park's rebrand in 2018. Oakwood previously didn't have a soundtrack for the park and often used relevant pop songs around the park. The soundtrack for the park is based on Suo Gân, a traditional Welsh lullaby, which is played at the park's entrance, stage area and gift shop.