So I just got back from a 5 day mini holiday in Wales with my family which involved a trip to Oakwood on the Tuesday. The weather was fantastic virtually all week after it had been raining the week before, making me think the park would be really busy, and it was quite busy to a certain extent, but the queues were ok.
We made the short trip from our hotel to Oakwood (around 10 minutes) and parked up and made our way towards the entrance, arriving at around 10:30. We used our Tesco Clubcard vouchers and were soon in the park and decided to walk instead of taking the train as it isn’t very far at all.
I decided to head off to Speed: No Limits first, so after negotiating my way through the paths, we arrived to see a short queue.
It was on 1 train operation and they didn’t fill the seats at all, so even a small amount of people resulted in some sort of queue, but after about 10 minutes we were on, front row.
This was only my second Eurofighter after Saw, and I found that a bit lacklustre. However, I had heard how intense Speed was so I was definitely looking forward to it.
And boy did it deliver! Insane first drop and first airtime hill where you get flung out of your seat (as long as your restraint isn’t too tight!) and the rest of the layout is nice and intense.
It didn’t give me a headache as some people complain about but there was a little bit of brainshake, but not much and I’ve had worse.
As we left the ride I bought myself the ORP which was reasonably priced at £5.25.
So next up was my 125th coaster, the reputable Megafobia!
After finding the entrance (which is well hidden IMO!), my dad and I entered and reached the queue at the back of the canopy area.
It took about 20 minutes on one train operation with the ride ops being a bit more helpful on this by filling up empty rows and trying to pair single riders together.
As we reached the station, the back row was empty so we headed straight towards it and strapped ourselves in the next train.
My lapbar was a little loose and I went absolutely flying over the first drop. The airtime on this ride is brilliant and I love the layout filled with hills and turns all at a fast pace.
I expected it to be rougher than it was, but the only part I noticed was the bottom of the first drop really. Overall though it was amazing, top 20 ride without a doubt!
As my dad and I were riding Megafobia, my mum and sister had been sitting on one of the benches on the main grassy area around there, and we saw the Wild West Dive Show was about to start, so, after a coffee, we stuck around for that.
The setup didn’t look too good, but it turned out to be really entertaining! They dive from stupid heights on tiny ledges into what is a really small pool, which I have hopefully managed to convey in the pictures.
The show comprised single dives from different heights of 4m, 9m, 13m and the big one, 25m; all the divers dressed up as clowns and joking around and diving in; synchronised diving and a diver on fire!
As I say, it really was better than I expected, but I have no idea how it passes health and safety.
Next up was the Boating Lake with the pedalos. Queued around 10 minutes and it gave a great view of Megafobia and was a nice, enjoyable and relaxing ride around the lake.
By now it was dinner time so we decided on the restaurant near Drenched. The food was good quality though slightly highly priced, but it’s to be expected from a theme park.
After we checked out the shop near the entrance, but I didn’t buy anything until later on. However I wish every park had this much merchandise, there was loads!
Back over to the other side of the park now and I walked on Treetops Coaster.
It was a lot bigger and faster than I expected as you can hardly see it from outside the forest, and there are a lot of close calls with the trees!
I was next to Bounce and thought I would give it a go, even if everyone slates it.
With no queue I walked on, and actually thought it was better than people make out. The first launch is decent and the full drop later on is quite good.
It doesn’t touch the Intamin drop towers no, but it’s good and I heard a lot of the public speaking highly of it.
I then decided to have a go on Bobsleigh as I’ve never been on one before. The queue was probably the longest of the day at around 30 minutes, obviously due to the amount of people the ride can hold at one time.
For some reason my sled got stuck near the top of the lift hill and it started like jumping upwards which was strange. The person at the top sorted it though and I was away soon.
I expected it to be a bit longer than it was but it was quite a fun ride. I wouldn’t queue very long for it again though.
By now it was mid afternoon and I had noticed that Drenced was open, so after buying an ice cream nearby, we headed over to it.
I had heard about slow loading and long queues, but it wasn’t that bad at all, only about a 10 minute wait. The loading was much quicker than Perilous Plunge at Knott’s, so I was quite surprised at how quick I was on.
It was really hot and sunny as I have said, so I wasn’t that bothered about getting that wet, and on the edge of row 3, I expected to.
The drop was really good and better than the one at Knott’s in my opinion. I did indeed get quite the soaking, but I soon dried in the sunshine. Great ride.
Seeing as I was already wet I decided to head over to Waterfall. I walked straight on, but unfortunately only one side was running. It was a really fun ride, with the initial drop and trying to keep yourself balanced on the water and I did get a bit of a splash.
By now I had done pretty much everything I had wanted to do so I decided on a couple of re rides. I was going to do Plane Crazy, but didn’t in the end. First up was Speed which had a bit of a longer queue than earlier in the day. I queued for about 20 minutes and chose the back row as I had ridden the front before. I think I enjoyed the back row better and again it was a really great ride.
Last up was a couple of rides on Megafobia and it just got better and better with hardly any queue. I rode the front row then somewhere in the second car and I think the front row was my favourite seat. You lose a bit of airtime but the view is great and I love the rush of the speed as the rest of the train comes over the hills.
As I exited the ride I had a look around the shop and bought a Megafobia cap which was a bit pricey at £9.99, but hey ho I needed one and it looked cool. We then headed off to the entrance to have another look around the main shop where I purchased an Oakwood mug.
Overall fantastic day, Oakwood really impressed me and there’s a lot more to do than I expected. There are rides that I didn’t ride that I would have done if I was with mates or whatever, and although it certainly needs a lick of paint in places, it really is a good park.
Ride count:
Speed: No Limits x2 (Front/Back)
Megafobia x3 (Front/Back)
Wild West Dive Show x1
Boating Lake x1
Treetops Coaster x1
Bounce x1
Bobsleigh x1
Drenched x1
Waterfall x1
We made the short trip from our hotel to Oakwood (around 10 minutes) and parked up and made our way towards the entrance, arriving at around 10:30. We used our Tesco Clubcard vouchers and were soon in the park and decided to walk instead of taking the train as it isn’t very far at all.
I decided to head off to Speed: No Limits first, so after negotiating my way through the paths, we arrived to see a short queue.
It was on 1 train operation and they didn’t fill the seats at all, so even a small amount of people resulted in some sort of queue, but after about 10 minutes we were on, front row.
This was only my second Eurofighter after Saw, and I found that a bit lacklustre. However, I had heard how intense Speed was so I was definitely looking forward to it.
And boy did it deliver! Insane first drop and first airtime hill where you get flung out of your seat (as long as your restraint isn’t too tight!) and the rest of the layout is nice and intense.
It didn’t give me a headache as some people complain about but there was a little bit of brainshake, but not much and I’ve had worse.
As we left the ride I bought myself the ORP which was reasonably priced at £5.25.
So next up was my 125th coaster, the reputable Megafobia!
After finding the entrance (which is well hidden IMO!), my dad and I entered and reached the queue at the back of the canopy area.
It took about 20 minutes on one train operation with the ride ops being a bit more helpful on this by filling up empty rows and trying to pair single riders together.
As we reached the station, the back row was empty so we headed straight towards it and strapped ourselves in the next train.
My lapbar was a little loose and I went absolutely flying over the first drop. The airtime on this ride is brilliant and I love the layout filled with hills and turns all at a fast pace.
I expected it to be rougher than it was, but the only part I noticed was the bottom of the first drop really. Overall though it was amazing, top 20 ride without a doubt!
As my dad and I were riding Megafobia, my mum and sister had been sitting on one of the benches on the main grassy area around there, and we saw the Wild West Dive Show was about to start, so, after a coffee, we stuck around for that.
The setup didn’t look too good, but it turned out to be really entertaining! They dive from stupid heights on tiny ledges into what is a really small pool, which I have hopefully managed to convey in the pictures.
The show comprised single dives from different heights of 4m, 9m, 13m and the big one, 25m; all the divers dressed up as clowns and joking around and diving in; synchronised diving and a diver on fire!
As I say, it really was better than I expected, but I have no idea how it passes health and safety.
Next up was the Boating Lake with the pedalos. Queued around 10 minutes and it gave a great view of Megafobia and was a nice, enjoyable and relaxing ride around the lake.
By now it was dinner time so we decided on the restaurant near Drenched. The food was good quality though slightly highly priced, but it’s to be expected from a theme park.
After we checked out the shop near the entrance, but I didn’t buy anything until later on. However I wish every park had this much merchandise, there was loads!
Back over to the other side of the park now and I walked on Treetops Coaster.
It was a lot bigger and faster than I expected as you can hardly see it from outside the forest, and there are a lot of close calls with the trees!
I was next to Bounce and thought I would give it a go, even if everyone slates it.
With no queue I walked on, and actually thought it was better than people make out. The first launch is decent and the full drop later on is quite good.
It doesn’t touch the Intamin drop towers no, but it’s good and I heard a lot of the public speaking highly of it.
I then decided to have a go on Bobsleigh as I’ve never been on one before. The queue was probably the longest of the day at around 30 minutes, obviously due to the amount of people the ride can hold at one time.
For some reason my sled got stuck near the top of the lift hill and it started like jumping upwards which was strange. The person at the top sorted it though and I was away soon.
I expected it to be a bit longer than it was but it was quite a fun ride. I wouldn’t queue very long for it again though.
By now it was mid afternoon and I had noticed that Drenced was open, so after buying an ice cream nearby, we headed over to it.
I had heard about slow loading and long queues, but it wasn’t that bad at all, only about a 10 minute wait. The loading was much quicker than Perilous Plunge at Knott’s, so I was quite surprised at how quick I was on.
It was really hot and sunny as I have said, so I wasn’t that bothered about getting that wet, and on the edge of row 3, I expected to.
The drop was really good and better than the one at Knott’s in my opinion. I did indeed get quite the soaking, but I soon dried in the sunshine. Great ride.
Seeing as I was already wet I decided to head over to Waterfall. I walked straight on, but unfortunately only one side was running. It was a really fun ride, with the initial drop and trying to keep yourself balanced on the water and I did get a bit of a splash.
By now I had done pretty much everything I had wanted to do so I decided on a couple of re rides. I was going to do Plane Crazy, but didn’t in the end. First up was Speed which had a bit of a longer queue than earlier in the day. I queued for about 20 minutes and chose the back row as I had ridden the front before. I think I enjoyed the back row better and again it was a really great ride.
Last up was a couple of rides on Megafobia and it just got better and better with hardly any queue. I rode the front row then somewhere in the second car and I think the front row was my favourite seat. You lose a bit of airtime but the view is great and I love the rush of the speed as the rest of the train comes over the hills.
As I exited the ride I had a look around the shop and bought a Megafobia cap which was a bit pricey at £9.99, but hey ho I needed one and it looked cool. We then headed off to the entrance to have another look around the main shop where I purchased an Oakwood mug.
Overall fantastic day, Oakwood really impressed me and there’s a lot more to do than I expected. There are rides that I didn’t ride that I would have done if I was with mates or whatever, and although it certainly needs a lick of paint in places, it really is a good park.
Ride count:
Speed: No Limits x2 (Front/Back)
Megafobia x3 (Front/Back)
Wild West Dive Show x1
Boating Lake x1
Treetops Coaster x1
Bounce x1
Bobsleigh x1
Drenched x1
Waterfall x1
