I've always tried to remain positive about Oakwood, with it being the closest theme park to me, and the only real one in Wales, but I genuinely believe that this is near the end for the park now.
It's no doubt that the Hydro accident was the first step to it's decline, but from there they have just not managed to recover.
I really admire the ambition the original owners had for the park, installing rides like Megafobia, Hydro & Speed, you can tell that they were thinking ahead for the parks future, and giving the park it's own distinct feel. The biggest shame is that they decided to sell to a Company who doesn't seem to have ambition for the park, and clearly doesn't run it well.
It seems that there's multiple problems in Oakwood's case. The amount of visitors it gets these days is significantly lower than it used to be. The park is relatively empty most of the time, with rides now running on rotation and many of them out of order. The lack of visitors obviously seems to cause the lack of investment, and it just carries on until things are practically falling apart.
I remember doing some research a few years back, and found information regarding Oakwood's finances. I can't remember where I had found the information now as it was quite a long time ago, but Oakwood's profit was barely existent, only reaching into the thousands. There's no way a Theme Park can run on profits like that, and it would explain the mess that it seems to be in.
The purchase of this 'old' rollercoaster is really just another 'quick fix' attempt on trying to get visitor numbers through the gate, which I know for a fact will only fall flat. It's not going to work, and I'm genuinely surprised that a 'big' company like ASPRO would let it get to this point, instead of having a strong & proper strategy for the park.
I mean, what exactly did happen to the Sleepy Hollow area? Now James & the Giant Peach? It just shows the complete lack of direction, and adding this 30 year old coaster is not going to solve the multiple problems that seem to be apparent at Oakwood.
It's the time of the year when many Schools visit Oakwood as a part of their summer trips. A few Schools visited yesterday but only to find that Megafobia, Speed, Bounce & The Pirate Ship closed for maintenance. I cannot understand what Amusement Company could stand there and defend that being an acceptable amount of rides to be closed? 3 of the supposedly 'Big 4' Rides closed, leaving you with very little to do. I know if that was the case when visiting I would be demanding some form of a refund.
The best move from here would be to sell Oakwood to another Amusement Company, or as I would like to see, Sell it on to the Original Owners, and restore the ambition and feel Oakwood used to have.
Im incredibly gutted to see what has happened to this Park. Used to have such a strong sense of character, giving me plenty of good memories, if only it can revive and bring great investments... which sadly I cannot see happening.
This link gives a good insight with the financials of Oakwood
https://companycheck.co.uk/company/0204 ... l-accounts
