WALES’ largest theme park Oakwood has announced two new rides for this year, as part of wider future investment plans.
The Pembrokeshire attraction is set to unveil a new family ride ‘Dizzy Disk’ for Easter, as well as bring back popular thrill ride Bounce, after a £400,000 refurbishment.
Joining Oakwood’s eclectic collection of 27 rides and experiences, Dizzy Disk will see riders face outwards as they glide back and forth while simultaneously spinning in circles. Aimed at families, it will offer fun for everyone.
A firm visitor favourite, Bounce originally closed in 2016 but will reopen its doors this summer
following a full restoration, becoming Oakwood’s fifth large thrill ride.
As well as new rides, 2019 will see the launch of the Oakwood season passes, in addition to the park’s already popular annual tickets. Costing fractionally more than a regular day pass, the new ticket will allow holders entry into the park for the entire season, running from 15 April to 3 November, representing great value for Pembrokeshire residents and regular visitors.
The changes come on the back of a number of multi-million-pound investments in the park over recent years by parent company Aspro since it acquired Oakwood in 2008.
In the last five years alone, Aspro has spent millions of pounds upgrading the park including £4.5m developing new Peter Pan themed children’s area ‘Neverland’ in 2013, complete with seven rides and play areas including a kid’s coaster and water slide, as well as £1.5m in 2018 to create ‘Spooky Street’– a major new family zone featuring new rides, attractions and catering facilities.
Employing over 300 people a year, including 20 full time year-round employees, in addition to hundreds of seasonal staff, Oakwood is one of the largest employers in Pembrokeshire and plans to create further jobs through future investments.
Park Director, Phil Verbinnen at Oakwood Theme Park said: “We are excited to welcome our new ride ‘Dizzy Disk’ and reinstate Bounce to Oakwood, adding to our repertoire of fun, family friendly attractions at the park.
“We have invested significantly into the park in recent years, creating exciting new thrills for the family market, along with new catering and retail facilities which will add to the visitor experience.
“This new destination marks the start of our ambitious plans for further investment in the coming years, designed in response to visitor feedback. We especially want to give our local customers added value so our season pass is a great way of making sure they get great bang for their buck!”
