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Oakwood Discussion Thread


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Hey everybody!

 

This thread is simple! Rather than having a million little threads about everything that goes on at Oakwood Theme Park, this thread is designed to consolidate it all into one user-friendly thread. Feel free to use it to post updates, trip reports, questions, comments, and of course, general discussion. For pictures and videos of the park as well as past updates, see TPR's Park Index Page

 

Official Park Website

 

 

Below are some links to past updates from the park, you may be interested in. Enjoy!

 

--Robb

 

_____________________________________________________

2005

February 18th, 2005 - HYDRO to re-open - SEE BELOW!

March 31st, 2005 - OTSR to be added to Hydro

November 28th, 2005 - Oakwood announces a Eurofighter with a 97 degree drop

 

2006

March 23rd, 2006 - name of Eurofighter announced "Speed"

 

2007

May 19th, 2007 - Oakwood to be prosecuted for rider's 2004 death on Hydro

 

2008

February 22nd, 2008 - Park charged 2004 death on Hydro

March 11th, 2008 - Oakwood sold to Aspro Group

 

 

2013

March 26th, 2013 - Park announces Peter Pan themed land with many new rides to open in 2013

October 29th, 2013 - Oakwood to remove Brer Rabbit's Burrow

 

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Original Post

 

 

A white-knuckle ride from which a girl fell to her death will re-open next month following a health and safety prohibition notice requiring changes to restraints, it emerged today.

 

Schoolgirl Hayley Williams, 16, from Pontypool, died after plunging 100ft from the Hydro ride at Oakwood Theme Park in west Wales last April.

 

Swansea schoolboy Martin Rothwell, aged 10 at the time, was hit in the head and injured by the teenager as she fell past him.

 

A major police and Health and Safety Executive inquiry was launched into the tragedy, witnessed by dozens of horrified visitors.

 

A Dyfed Powys Police statement issued today read: “We can confirm that the Hydro ride involved in the occurrence has now been released back to Oakwood Leisure Ltd.

 

“The Health and Safety Executive have issued a Prohibition Notice, requiring changes to the ride’s passenger containment system prior to it being operated with passengers again.

 

“The joint investigation, by Dyfed Powys Police and the Health and Safety Executive, into the incident is continuing.”

 

Paddy McNamara, managing director of Oakwood Theme Park, said Oakwood will be re-opening for the 2005 season on March 24 and Hydro will re-open at the same time.

 

He said: “Following recommendations by the Health and Safety Executive as a result of their investigation, we are replacing the interior of the Hydro boat and installing over the shoulder restraints with an interlock mechanism.

 

“As with all rides at Oakwood, Hydro ride operation and design is signed off as safe by independent certifying engineers before it is opened to the public.

 

“We do however acknowledge the need to provide additional reassurance to future riders and are quite sure the new system will do this.

 

“It was appropriate that Hydro remained closed last year, but we are pleased it will re-open as it has always been an extremely popular ride at Oakwood and it has been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of riders in the past.“

 

The ride has been billed by the theme park as: “Europe’s fastest and wettest water coaster“.

Edited by larrygator
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Yea i heard this about a month ago... had to laugh at first when i heard it was getting OTSRs...but if it stops ppl from falling out of it i 100% support this choice

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The only reason I would think they wouldn't be the PP restraints is because of this line:

 

"He said: “Following recommendations by the Health and Safety Executive as a result of their investigation, we are replacing the interior of the Hydro boat and installing over the shoulder restraints with an interlock mechanism."

 

They wouldn't need to replace the interior of the boat for those restraints.

 

But who knows until the damn thing opens or we get a photo.

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  • 1 month later...

Call me insensitive, but it's starting to bother me how over-restrained rides are. Even if there has been an accident, it seems a bit over the edge to me to put OTSRs on shoot the chutes and coaster that don't go upside-down. It seems a bit over the edge to me sometimes to put OTSRs on some rides that do go upside-down. When an accident happens, is there nothing that can be done to improve the lap bars? I don't know, am I alone on this feeling?

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People with two-digit IQ's and no numbers higher than 5 in it is a major part of the commom people that will demand such solutions if just a single accident happen. Hundreds, maybe thousands are killed or injured in car crashed every single day, and I've yet to hear about an Arkansas housewive causing public uproar because of it. Why don't they force people to install OTSRs in cars now, huh? (Which would be hilarious )

 

Sorry, just had to get that of my chest.

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I don't really like the idea of a water ride with OTSR's...something about it seems a bit creepy to me. At least on Plunge I always had the feeling I could get out if I needed to...on this...ugh...I mean I think I would still ride it, but I might feel a bit uneasy about it.

 

Elissa "water rides should not have restraints that you can't easily open on your own" Alvey

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Elissa, I'm with you. Imagine shoulder bars on a rapids ride! Hell no! I would never set foot on a ride like that. If the tube capsized you'd be held under water, unable to swim up for air.

 

As for the person who asked about getting stuck upside-down with just a lap bar - it's happened and passed the test with flying colors. Walibi Belgium's Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop got stuck upside-down for TWO HOURS and all the riders were safely held in by just a lap bar.

 

 

-kip-

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Honestly consider that there is almost no way these can flip. They are much larger than the rafts and heavier. The track is also seriously tight so there is no where for it to go. Sadly enough people do dumb things and the park operators have to do something to stop people. Unfortunately this is the price of having to share the parks with the GP.

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Yeah, these are much better than those nasty, wet, moldy, holding-up-the-boat-for-fifteen-minutes-while-the-idiot-Buena-Park-locals-figure-out-to-fasten-a-seatbelt S&M straps they put on Knott's ride.

 

You get in, pull down the restraint, you go. If you have to have a new restraint it's the sensible way to go.

 

--Robb "Stupid cheap Knott's!" Alvey

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm with you Robb. When Perilous Plunge first got those restraints, I was confused about a water ride with POS Restraints but decided to wait anyway. We waited 20 min to dispatch one train, got on and the ride operator said to me and many others riding "You're all too skinny to ride. If you want to get wet, go stand on the bridge. Well, At least you only waited for one train to dispatch." I was furious. Only one row of people wanted to ride and only some fat lady could ride. It took 15 min to load with only ONE person! Never tried to ride Perilous Plunge ever. Still, OTSRs on a water ride is uncomfortable.

Kevin"The old restraints were just fine!"Bujold

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  • 7 months later...

Taken From:

http://www.oakwood-leisure.com/rides/new.htm

 

New Ride for 2006

 

STATISTICS

Degree First Drop 97

Highest Point 120ft

Top Speed 95kph

G-force -1G

 

RIDE RESTRICTIONS

Minimum height 1.25m

 

Opens April 13th 2006...name to be announced in the coming weeks!

 

2000 feet of steel roller coaster built for speed and fun! Our new ride will thrill you with a vertical lift, a more than vertical first drop, a -1G camel hump, a flying 110 degree turn, a vertical loop, a 360 barrel roll and a horizontal loop at speeds of up to 95 kph!

 

It's got all the character of Megafobia but this time we've done it in steel!

 

Interesting Fact

The UK's only more than vertical drop...a 97 degree overhang!

 

Video for Broadband: mms://81.3.125.47/oakwood/newhigh.asf

 

Video for Dial Up: mms://81.3.125.47/oakwood/newlow.asf

 

 

Looks Great! Can't wait to ride it next year!

1537159966_OakwoodNewRide.jpg.dcc802597dd76b0f0f8c389c63f6777b.jpg

Yay! Custom Layout! Drop, Airtime Hill, Overbank Turn, Loop, Brakes, Zero G, Helix Stuff, End!

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