Oakwood Theme Park

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Oakwood park entrance

Oakwood Theme Park (formerly Oakwood Leisure Park or Oakwood Coaster Country) is a theme park in Pembrokeshire, Wales which attracts 400,000 visitors each year.

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 has done well to reach its current position, consistently rated in the top 10 UK theme parks, given that it is in a quiet, rural part of southwest Wales. The park is well-suited to both thrill-seekers and families; it now incorporates 5 large thrill rides: Megafobia (1996), Vertigo (1997), The Bounce (1999), Hydro (2002) and Speed (2006). A new family ride can be expected in 2007/2008, with a major ride probably being installed in 2009/2010.

Oakwood has opened its latest ride to the public: "Speed", a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter roller coaster with a 97-degree drop. This ride has the steepest drop in the UK and is the tallest of its type in the world.

The 85ft-tall CCI-built wooden roller coaster "Megafobia" is consistently rated among the best in Europe by enthusiasts.

1 The Early Beginnings
2 The Removal of Previous Attractions
3 List of Previous Attractions
4 The Recent Development of Oakwood (1996 - )
5 Park Development since 1988
6 Future Development
7 Theming
8 Seasonal and holiday operation
9 Hydro Accident
10 Ride Statistics
11 External links

[edit] The Early Beginnings

Oakwood Leisure Ltd. is owned by the McNamara family, Pembrokeshire farmland owners who took the brave move to diversify into the leisure industry in 1987 after the introduction of Milk Quota. The park took twelve months to research and great care was taken when the work began to integrate all it's facilities into the existing valley and to complement the natural vegetation. Not a single mature tree was disturbed and many have been used to enhance, screen and provide natural avenues to various rides. The first stage, completed in 1987, cost approximately £1 Million to build and invest in new rides, infrastructure and staff training has continued each season. As a result, Oakwood is now classed as one of Wales' top tourist attractions and one of the Top Ten Theme Park in the UK.

[edit] The Removal of Previous Attractions

Since the park's beginnings a number of its original attractions have been closed and removed, frequently to make way for larger and more impressive rides. The need to renew and sustain public interest as well as the aged and primitive nature of some of the original attractions has been the main rationale behind this.

Oakwood has been accused by some of depleting its own unique character by removing some of its more individual and authentic attractions to make way for the park's development into a white-knuckle theme park. As Oakwood's current day success owes a great deal to this legacy critics argue that the park has failed to show sufficient respect to this inheritance.

Whilst the park's development has been welcomed it is sometimes argued that original attractions should have remained in place so as not to forsake Oakwood's heritage as a family leisure park. A particularly regrettable move for some was the scrapping of Jake's Town, with its unique narrative theming based around the gold mine character of Nutty Jake. Critics point to the alleged inferiority of the poorly themed "New Orleans" as evidence to substantiate this viewpoint.

An alternative viewpoint is to say that the park's removal of previous attractions is standard practice in the theme park industry particularly with respect to developing parks who will naturally seek to gradually upgrade their portfolio of attractions.

[edit] List of Previous Attractions

- Nutty Jakes' Gold mine: Riders were taken through a gold-mine themed tunnel in the then themed area of the park "Jake's Town". Since then the ride has become "Brer Rabbit's Burrow".
- Jake's Music Hall: an animatronic puppet show which opened in Jake's Town in the early 1990s.
- Also self-operated Go Karts ("The senior go-karts) were removed for the 2002 season. A rumour at the time alleged that this was originally planned to make way for Hydro which was then moved to its current location for reasons unknown. One theory for this change of location is that the park deliberately sought to build Hydro in an imposing and exposed position at the front of the park to test the waters with regard to planning regulations and what the park would be "allowed to get away with". If this was indeed the reason then it would appear the policy has been successful as Hydro has received no complaints despite dominating the skyline at the entrance to the park and in the surrounding countryside. There has been some indication that the go-karts were becoming problematic for the park with fraudulent claims of personal injury from guests and also from individuals abusing the timing restraints on the ride. Since then the go-kart area has been used to house the Gerstlauer Euro-fighter Speed (2006).
- A smaller junior go-kart track was also removed for the 2002 season. The land vacated was used to house the Plane-crazy family ride which opened at the start of the 2004 season.
- An assault course originally existed in the mini-valley which is now the site of the Bounce tower coaster. The assault course was cleared to make way for the Bounce in 1999.
- A somewhat primitive 3D Cinema experience, the "Cinema 180" was one of the original park attractions which eventually faced the axe after an unsucceful attempt at moving the attraction from the front of the park (where Hydro currently sits) to a green space between the Pirate Ship and Snake River Falls water ride.

[edit] The Recent Development of Oakwood (1996 - )

Since the introduction of Megafobia in 1996 Oakwood has pursued an a obvious and deliberate policy of extending the range of thrill rides available to its visitors in an attempt to increase its popularity and appeal. This policy has been hugely successful and the park has increased in fame and notability, particularly amongst theme park enthusiasts who generally rate it highly. Since its inception (1987) Oakwood has gradually developed from a small family leisure park to a prototype theme park in the early 1990s to a small but conventional theme park today. Due to its location and comparatively limited financial resources the park is unlikely to develop into a major competitor on the same level as such parks as Alton Towers and Thorpe Park. However by retaining its authentic character whilst adding unique (comparatively inexpensive) signature rides (such as Megafobia, Hydro and Speed) the park is favoured amongst connoisseurs of the industry and the public alike. It is a matter of much interest as to how the park will now develop in the future and whether it will be able to sustain its until now rapid rise to prominence in the UK theme park industry (see future development).

[edit] Park Development since 1988

1988: Nutty Jake's Gold Mine (Family Dark Ride).

1989: Treetops Family Roller Coaster.

1991: Jake's Music Hall animatronic stage show (Jake's Town).

1994: Snake River Falls Family Water Ride. At a time this was a rather substantial addition to the small leisure park. Arguably, the addition of Snake River Falls in 1994 marked the real beginning of the park's current expansion into a major attraction. Of some amusement is the fact that at the time of the ride's opening it was billed as "Europe's largest water coaster", a title which was subsequently also used to publicise Hydro. The difference in both the type and scale of the two rides could hardly be greater.

1995: Play Town Farm for children including tractor ride.

1996: Megafobia, at the time this was Europe's largest Wooden Roller Coaster and transformed the park's status as well as its fortunes. It remains the park's foremost attraction.

1997: Vertigo Sky Coaster. Kiddie Coaster (now Clown Coaster) in Play Town. General park face-lift.

1999: Assault Course is first of Oakwood's original attractions to face the axe as part of the park's expansion. This makes way for the Bounce Tower Coaster, the park's third white-knucle attraction.

2000: Jake's Town is axed. Voodoo Mansion now occupies the site of Jake's Music Hall. Play Town is revamped with the launch of Kidz World and the addition of a number of new children's attractions such as the Wacky Factory.

2001: Jake's Gold Mine, already closed since 2000, is now transformed into Brer Rabbit's Burrow.

2002: Hydro becomes the biggest ride to arrive since Megafobia 6 years earlier. Both Senior and Junior go-karts are axed.

2003: Voodoo Mansion is revamped into "Spooky 3D" for Whitsun.

2004: Plane Crazy, the most substantial new family attraction for several years, is opened on the site of the old Junior go-karts.

2005: Speed does not arrive as intended due to the Hydro tragedy of the previous Easter. Hydro itself is re-opened following closure through almost all of the 2004 season. It re-opens with a new boat interior with improved restraints and some degree of re-branding (primarily a new colour: red). The Magic Factory is the new children's attraction for this year. Oakwoods after-dark show loses its famous laser-water screen; it is replaced by "dancing" fountains, a series of illuminated water-jets choreographed to music.

2006: Speed Euro-fighter is opened on the site of the old Senior Go-Karts.

[edit] Future Development

Though Oakwood tends to refrain from disclosing future development information until the future attractions are nearing construction there is some speculation as to what lies in Oakwoods future.

2007: Though nothing official has been released; it is highly likely the park will focus on improving its family attractions; a white nuckle ride is extremely unlikely due to the construction of "Speed" in 2006. With no official leads on the mater, rumours are speculating including another refurbishment of "Brer rabbits burrow" or "Spooky 3D".

The usual pattern adopted by the park is to introduce a new white knuckle ride every third year: Megafobia (1996), The Bounce (1999), Hydro (2002). Speed broke this pattern when its opening was postponed to 2006. However it was originally planned to open a year earlier in 2005 which would have conformed to the usual pattern for park development. Vertigo (1997) can also be considered a one-off bonus attraction funded through the additional charge made on riders.

Based on the pattern adopted for Park development in the past it is safe to expect a new thrill ride addition in 2009, although there is no indication that the park will necessarily conform to its traditional rate of expansion in the future. There is rumoured talk of another Wooden Roller Coaster being installed in the park, but so far this has not been confirmed by the park and is only a rumour.

[edit] Theming

Although the park claims to be a "theme park" the only themed area is the small section of the park which now houses "Brer Rabbit's Burrow" and "Spooky 3D". (It is arguable that the park's section for young children, Kidz World, formerly known as Play Town, is also themed.) This section of the park was formerly known as "Jake's Town" and featured a "wild-west" type theme. After the closure of "Nutty Jake's Goldmine", the areas main attraction, and the closure of an animatronic stage-show also set to the "wild-west" theme, the area became known as "New Orleans". New Orleans featured a "ghost train" called Voodoo Mansion (2000) set in the original showbuilding for the animatronic stage show, and a children's "dark ride" known as "Brer Rabbit's Burrow" (2001). Both the voodoo religion and the children's character Brer Rabbit are associated with the deep south of America, the locality of the actual real life New Orleans. However it is likely that the themed connection (particularly that of Brer Rabbit) would have been lost on most members of the public due to its obscure nature.

Shortly after the construction of voodoo mansion the ride was unexpectedly rebranded as "Spooky 3D" (2003). While some argue that the ride was closed due to lack of interest from the public this is unlikely as the ride essentially remains in place under the re-branding of Spooky 3D. Others argue that the ride was closed for ulterior reasons; namely the ride's politically incorrect portrayal of the voodoo religion. It is to be noted that even aside from political correctness the voodoo religion remains a controversial subject-matter. Since the ride's rebranding New Orleans seems to have lost its own distinctive deep south theme. The area in general now arguably suffers from a miss-match of theming with only a few western and New Orleans style buildings left.

[edit] Seasonal and holiday operation

The face and atmosphere of Oakwood changes throughout the year marking holidays and summer operation.

- Summer: In 1996, the same year as Megafobia was opened, Oakwood also launched its "after-dark" late summer openings. The tradition has continued ever since with slight modification. "After-dark" involves Oakwood remaining open until 10pm during peak season (the school summer holidays) and features indoor entertainment in the "Premier Theatre", an outdoor dancing fountains display and nightly musical entertainment with a fireworks finale.
- Halloween: Oakwood launched annual Halloween celebrations (or “eerie evenings) subsequent to the opening of Voodoo mansion but has since decided to discontinue this.
- Christmas: Since 1995 Oakwood made a practice of opening the small children's area of the park known as Play Town (now Kid’s World) themed in the style of a Winter Wonderland. The park held an annual Christmas pantomime in conjunction with this in which minor celebrities would often undertake parts. Despite the relative popularity and success of Christmas opening the park decided to discontinue with this venture and has now not held a Christmas opening season for several years.

[edit] Hydro Accident

In April 2004, 16-year-old Hayley Williams was killed after falling approximately 100 ft from the top of the Hydro ride. The accident was attributed to Intamin AG's lap bar system. The ride was closed until the next season, when it reopened with more secure over-the-shoulder restraints instead of lap bars. The incident was similar to an accident in 2001 involving the death of a guest on another Intamin River Plunge ride, Perilous Plunge at Knotts Berry Farm in California. A 10-year-old boy was also injured after being hit by Hayley as she fell, he was treated for head injuries.

At the time of the accident Oakwood attracted media criticism after controversially deciding to open the park for business the next day as usual. This was despite the Hydro ride being sealed off and there being a highly visible police presence in the park. Some felt Oakwood showed insufficient remorse in taking this decision and in also refusing to comment at the time of the event, even to express condolence.

A 2006 coroner's tribunal into the accident returned a narrative verdict on the death with some indication that the accident was more the result of the restraints being improperly secured by staff as opposed to fundamentally inadequate in and of themselves. The inquest reported that CCTV footage taken at the ride before the boat left clearly showed that Hayley's lap bar was in an "open and unsafe position". Other CCTV footage showed both operators had failed to properly check that passengers were secure. Despite Oakwood previously having a good reputation and record for safety, concern was nevertheless expressed about the quality of staff training at the park. The Hydro operators raised the alleged inadequacy of their training as a defence at the inquest. Concern has also been raised regarding the young and inexperienced nature of the staff employed to operate the larger (and potentially more dangerous) attractions at the park.

In August 2005 it was reported that the parents of Hayley William's received an anonymous letter following the conclusion of the inquest (with which they were reported to be dissatisfied). The letter, purporting to be from an ex-employee of Oakwood alleged that the park had decided against installing over-the-shoulder restraints at the time of the ride's opening in 2002 on grounds of cost (despite the installation of new restraints on the perilous plunge ride in California). The letter has been delivered to the police and Oakwood have said they will themselves respond to the letter following the conclusion of the still ongoing investigation by the Health and safety executive.

The death was followed by a significant drop in visitor numbers and presented a major PR disaster for Oakwood from which it has yet to fully recover.

[edit] Ride Statistics

Speed - Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter (Custom) roller coaster

- Height (Total): 36 m (115 ft)
- Height (Drop): 35 m (110 ft)
- Drop Angle: 97 degrees
- Speed: 95 km/h (60 mph)
- Track length: 600 m (1970 ft)
- Ride time: 90 s
- Acceleration: −1.3 to +4.5 g (−13 to 44 m/s²)
- Elements: 97-degree drop, −1.3g camelback hill, 110-degree overbanked turn, vertical loop, heartline roll, helix
- Restraints: OTSR (Over-the-Shoulder Restraints)
- Trains: 4 x 2-section roll-articulated trains, 2 rows of 4 riders each
- Capacity: 800 riders per hour
- Opened: 13 April 2006

Megafobia - CCI wooden roller coaster
- Height (Total): 26 m (85 ft)
- Height (Drop): 25 m (82 ft)
- Drop Angle: 55 degrees
- Speed: quotes vary from 75 km/h (46 mph) to 88 km/h (55 mph); faster in wet weather
- Track length: 901 m (2956 ft)
- Ride time: 100 s
- Acceleration (max): +2.75g (27 m/s²)
- Trains: 2 x 6-car trains, Philadelphia Toboggan Co., 4 riders per car, total 24 riders per train
- Restraints: Lap bar and lap belt. NB: A little known fact is that Lap belts were retro-fitted around 1997/ 1998 and were not installed at the time of Megafobia's initial opening in 1996.
- Opened: 1996

The Bounce - HUSS shot-and-drop tower
- Height: 47 m (154 ft)
- Speed: 70 km/h (44 mph)
- Acceleration (max): +4g (39 m/s²)
- Restraints: OTSR
- Seats: 24
- Opened: 1999

Vertigo - skycoaster
- Height: 50 m (164 ft)
- Speed: 128 km/h (80 mph)
- Acceleration: 3g (30 m/s²)
- Opened: 1997

Hydro - Intamin River Plunge
- Height (total): 37 m (121 ft)
- Height (drop): 36 m (118 ft)
- Wave Height: 14 m (45 ft)
- Ride Length: 175 m (581 ft)
- Speed: 88 km/h (55 mph)
- Acceleration (max): 4g (40 m/s²)
- Restraints: OTSR (retrofitted; formerly lap-bar)
- Boats: 1
- Opened: 2002

Bobsleigh - toboggan ride
Treetops Roller coaster - Zierer Tivoli (Large) family roller coaster
- Height (total): 8 m (26 ft)
- Height (drop): 8 m (26 ft)
- Track length: 360 m (1181 ft)
- Speed: 35 km/h (22 mph)
- Ride time: 60 s
- Opened: 1989