The theme park closed its doorways in 2025 after 4 many years – however its iconic Megafobia rollercoaster and different points of interest nonetheless stand idle
Oakwood Theme Park now lies deserted (Picture: YOUTUBE/URBANDONED)
A well-liked theme park shut its gates in March 2025 following an announcement from its house owners that it might stop operations after 40 years, blaming “challenges introduced by the present enterprise surroundings” and deteriorating funds “making additional funding unsustainable.”
A lot of its points of interest at Oakwood Theme Park, located in Pembrokeshire, Wales, stay standing empty as we speak. City explorers from the Urbandoned collective efficiently gained entry to the abandoned website, capturing pictures of the celebrated Megafobia rollercoaster, which propelled Oakwood to an unprecedented attendance determine of 500,000 guests through the 1996 season.
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“We might heard that one of many important curler coasters is being dismantled at the moment,” Alastair from Urbandoned mentioned in a brand new video. “So, it is type of the final probability to to see it in a considerably deserted state.”
The timber rollercoaster, Megafobia, was constructed in 1996 at a value of £1.7 million. It now exists as a reminder of the golden period of British theme parks. Its fairly dilapidated look was intentional, the explorers clarify. “They all the time make them to look as rickety as attainable…you would not belief it,” they mentioned.
Sure points of interest are reportedly being taken aside for relocation. The Pace rollercoaster, as an example, is anticipated to be relocated to a French amusement park. Different sections of the venue stay undisturbed. At one second Alastair and the crew are startled when a movement sensor triggers audio results inside Oakwood’s log flume attraction. Venturing into an deserted theme park can naturally show extraordinarily hazardous, and because of this the positioning’s house owners make use of a full-time safety crew to keep at bay trespassers, studies Wales On-line.
“After overlaying greater than we had hoped, our luck would ultimately run out,” the explorers say as they’re noticed by a safety guard.
The guard stays courteous but resolute as he instructs them to vacate the premises, acknowledging that there have been a “lot of call-outs” referring to intruders on the derelict park.
One of many basic ideas of city exploration is that explorers should trigger no injury to the buildings they enter, and mustn’t ever take away something from the positioning. Alastair from Urbandoned advised us: “At Oakwood, you can simply stroll in. It’s a civil trespass legislation in England, that means that getting into both theme park is not a prison offence so long as we do not trigger injury on-site, vandalise or steal.”
Some points of interest are nonetheless standing (Picture: YOUTUBE/URBANDONED)
City exploration is broadly handled as trespass – making it a civil fairly than prison matter, which can lead to authorized motion from landowners. Nonetheless, there are circumstances by which trespassers can face prison prosecution, comparable to when entry is gained by power.
Oakwood was not with out its risks even throughout its operational years. A 16 12 months outdated woman named Hayley Williams, from Pontypool, tragically misplaced her life after falling from Hydro – a water journey by which passengers have been carried to a peak of above 100ft in a ‘boat’ earlier than plunging in a near-vertical drop and crashing into the water under.
Oakwood had marketed the journey as “Europe’s quickest and wettest watercoaster”. On fifteenth April 2004, Hayley had been taken to Oakwood as a particular deal with, accompanied by her youthful sister and her mother and father.
Oakwood Theme Park (Picture: YOUTUBE/URBANDONED)
In the course of the Hydro journey, she was flung from her automotive — as a subsequent inquest decided – as a result of “she was not correctly restrained”. She was airlifted to hospital however tragically died from inside accidents.
A fellow passenger on the identical journey – 10 12 months outdated Martin Rothwell from Swansea – was handled for head accidents after being struck by Hayley as she fell.
The theme park was handed a £250,000 positive as a consequence. Hydro – which price £1.7m to assemble and featured a nine-tonne 24-seater boat that plunged into one million gallons of water – was shut down for 12 months within the wake of the tragedy. It was subsequently renamed Drenched.
The park’s then chief govt, Patrick McNamara, mentioned: “We’re very sorry that this tragic accident occurred and our ideas, as all the time, are with the household at this troublesome time.”
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