Recently (Yesterday) my Dad and I visited Oakwood Theme Park in Pembrokeshire, Wales. A fair few things to cover with this report, so apologies in advance if it becomes excessively long.
Started the day by arriving about 30 minutes before park opening to be the first car in the car park, which set the tone for the level of crowds. Weather had been atrocious in the days before and was unsuprising to see people staying home. 9:45ish a sign was put outside the main entrance indicating that Drenched, Bounce, Pirate Ship and Tink's flying school were due to be closed all day. Whilst this was noticed, it didn't dampen our spirits as having followed the situation beforehand, we were expecting a few closures.
We used Tesco vouchers for entry to the park, however in comparison to the Merlin parks, tickets were priced very reasonably.
The park offer a small train service to take you to and from the entrance, however being the first into the park and gathering that the train wouldn't leave until full, we chose to walk.
First thing we saw was the giant structure of Drenched. Didn't get a picture of the track front on, but I can't help but say it's looking very worse for the wear. Rust everywhere and it could definitely do with a repaint. It was also a very quiet area, with the ride being out of action for reasons unknown to me.
First up was Megafobia. A fantastic ride full of great moments and some viscous corners, but was easily my favourite coaster of the trip. I was expecting a good ride after hearing nothing put postive feedback from enthusiast groups and I can safely say the ride lived up to every one of those expectations. Got front row of the first train of the day and rode a total of 11 times over the day.
Naturally we headed for the next biggest thrill ride in Speed: No Limits. A great Gerstlauer Eurofighter, in my opinion better than SAW. The airtime over the hill is absolutely crazy and the whole ride was enjoyable. Had heard mixed reviews on Speed and I for one was personally very happy with my 15 rides across the day. The only slight issue I had was the operation, one train on a Eurofighter is never desirable. But queues were low enough that it didn't have a negative impact on the day.
A few more of the smaller rides were done during the period before lunch. This included the treetops coaster, the bobsleigh and the park's water slide, Snake River Falls. All of these were great fun and suited their respective target audiences perfectly. The attitude of staff was good, all very welcoming and polite. Park itself was clean and appeared to be in good condition. Had a brief look at the Sleepy Hollow site and progress is present but is very minimal. Overall the park was a good atmosphere which only added to the day.
NemesisNosh face reveal?
Lunch came so we grabbed a couple of hot dogs which were very well priced considering their size and headed back to ride some more rides. A few more Speed rides which included staying on 4 rides in a row due to 0 people in the queue made a highlight of the day. At this point we did something which we had been debating on beforehand due to a few conditions such as the recent storm making it very windy and cold. However we decided to go ahead and book ourselves onto Vertigo, the skycoaster at the park. At around 160 feet Vertigo towers over the rest of the park. Having done it now, I cannot stress how good it was. Easily one of my favourite experiences inside a theme park, if not anywhere. The rush from the top down to ground level was amazing and I couldn't recommend it enough to anyone. If you're ever at Oakwood, Vertigo is so so worth the price.
The afternoon saw a mix between rerides on Speed and Megafobia to watching those brave enough to try in the weather conditions on Waterfall.
With regards to Oakwood as a whole, I had a fantastic day with some great highlights. However, there are definitely areas which can be improved. There was a lot of closures around the park and some areas felt as if they'd been untouched since opening. Drenched as I said before needs some TLC, and Neverland could benefit from a few simple theming elements and a louder soundtrack. On the contrary I do hope to return to the park in the future to see if they progress and to experience Speed and Megafobia, and hopefully Drenched should it ever open.
Thanks for reading if you have got this far, and I hope to produce more trip reports eventually as the season progresses.
Until then, see you all at Spring Spectacular!
TOTAL RIDECOUNT: Megafobia x11 | Speed x15 | Treetops x1 | Bobsleigh x3 | Moon Landing x3 | Vertigo x1 | Clown Coaster x1 | Crocodile Coaster x1 | Boating Lake x1 | Snake River Falls x1 | Train x1 |
NemesisNosh
