CoasterGuy06

IROC is garbage safety theatre like TSA.

^Apparently the PTC trains are REALLY loud on the 208 Retrak sections which I guess is why the park is mentioning the quiter part.

Oakwood Theme Park has officially announced its permanent closure with the owners intending to distribute the park's assets to other properties they own. The park will not open for the 2025 season. (Photos and video from Theme Park Review) https://www.oakwoodthemepark.co.uk/blog/sin-categoria/oakwood-theme-park-to-close/ It is with much sadness that we have to announce the immediate closure of Oakwood Theme Park and confirm the park will not open for the 2025 season. Following a strategic review of the business, Aspro Parks, owner and operator of Oakwood Theme Park have reached this difficult decision due to the challenges presented by the current business environment. All possible avenues have been explored to avoid the closure, and we fully recognise the impact of the closure on the local community and the loss that will be felt as a result. Aspro Parks has invested over £25M since rescuing the park from being at risk of closure in 2008. Most recently a major refurbishment of Megafobia, the iconic wooden rollercoaster was completed to great success and acclaim from enthusiasts and fans of the park. Despite the ongoing investment visitor numbers have declined, the financial performance of the park has suffered, making further investment unsustainable. The unrelenting economic challenges ahead, increases in costs, affecting all areas of the operation from; ride parts to electricity costs, food and beverage inflation, increases in NLW and changes to national insurance thresholds have all impacted the decision. A statement from Aspro Parks Group said “in the entire history of Aspro we have never closed any park or attraction. We, and our dedicated team of staff has strived to overcome numerous challenges to continue to bring joy to families and visitors across the region and country. Unfortunately, we could no longer see a sustainable way forward and will seek to improve our other parks using the assets and where possible team elsewhere”. We are aware that Oakwood has been a much-loved destination for generations and a rite of passage for many young visitors. It is for this reason we feel such a sense of sadness. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the dedication and commitment of our team members past and present, suppliers and contractors who have loyally supported us and of course all those that have visited Oakwood Theme Park over the years. We are sincerely grateful. Thank you for making Oakwood Theme Park a special place. https://www.oakwoodthemepark.co.uk/blog/sin-categoria/important-notice-security-measures-at-oakwood-theme-park/ Following our recent announcement regarding the closure of Oakwood Theme Park, we have unfortunately experienced incidents of trespassing on the premises. We want to make it explicitly clear that Oakwood Theme Park is private property and is not abandoned. Our team continues to work on-site daily, and unauthorised access is strictly prohibited. To ensure the safety and security of both our staff and the premises, 24-hour security is in place, including regular police patrols and security dogs on-site. Anyone found trespassing will be reported to the authorities and could face prosecution. We also ask that neighbouring businesses and properties are respected, and that no one attempts to use their sites as a means of access to Oakwood Theme Park. We urge the public to respect the park, as well as the hard work and dedication of those who continue to maintain the site. For any enquiries regarding Oakwood Theme Park, please contact our head office at headoffice@asprouk.com

I know they still do some work for GCI but surely that alone isn't enough to keep them in business. How do you mess up a kiddie coaster this badly though? Glad I happened to get the credits by sheer luck at SFOG last year when I was there.

When SFOG got new trains for Ninja/Blue Hawk they smoothed out some of the transitions by welding not replacing any track. I imagine if SFDL does anything to ME it will be that as well. Isn't the current ROS train only like 9 years old? I doubt they would send SFA's to SFDL as they're probably at the end of their life span, but maybe they can part enough enough decent parts to go back to two train ops?

I'd be curious as to what HFE paid for the park. IIRC the final purchase price was to be determined a few years down the road based on how the park performed. When Ed Hart sold the park originally to Premier no cash changed hands...Premier assumed the $60+ million in debt the park had at the time. Makes me wonder if they ever really turned much of a profit.

Looking online last night a one day ticket for today was $107.99 + tax. Pathetic to charge $5 (+ tax and + surcharge) per person for a one way trip.

^Yes but how many other parks are closing their wood coasters for an entire season because of how bad of shape it's in? When they took over the park they brought one of Holiday World's "Coaster Cats" down to oversee the refurb of the ride. I know he was still there in 2015 when it reopened but I'm pretty sure he has since left the park. It makes me wonder if they ever hired anyone else with wood coaster experience since then.

Nope. They had slide pieces on site in 2022 for a 2023 addition but nothing was built. I'm guessing since Cheddar Chase didn't open until July of 2022 maybe they decided not to do another addition and try to use it as still being "new" in 2023? They announced a new slide for this season back on Christmas. It is a four person raft slide and is being built next to Rocket Racer basically where the Giant Wheel was back in the original amusement park. Name is supposed to be announced in the next week or so. I do not understand how Rampage could be in that bad of shape. They literally re-tracked the entire ride when they reopened it for 2015 and they claimed they spent $1million dollars back in 2022 re-tracking it and upgrading the control system. Granted I haven't ridden it since 2015 (or been to the park since then) so I don't know how it has been running lately. I did do the drive thru Christmas light thing they had this year and they clearly have done a lot of work around the park the past few years but they really have closed in the ride side of the park with the waterpark additions the past few years. Granted the waterpark was way under built when the park opened and the amusement park was over built back then. The fact that they sold season passes for this season and never said anything about Rampage being closed is pathetic though.

With them having a naming contest I wonder if they are going to consider it as being in the ScreamPunk District ... or have they selected a DC name behind the scenes and are just using the name contest as a way to get extra publicity.

Stopped by Fun Spot Atlanta for a couple of rides on ArieForce One. Great ride they have.

And going back to those "Coming Soon" spots on the map last year...they park didn't announce a new attraction for this season.

Wait what now?

I could have sworn at one point they had a few of those canvas covers for the queue? Like maybe for one season?

Looks like another great addition for a CF park!