Megafobia

Nemesis' Nemesis?

Oakwood located in Pembrokeshire, Wales, is now one of the major contenders in the UK Theme Park scene, it may be one of the smallest parks in the list (in terms of rides) but what it has been able to achieve in less than 30 years is quite remarkable and what it has accomplished is down to one ride only.

Oakwood opened in 1987, as a minor theme park in one of the most touristy areas of Wales. Over the course of the following seasons, it added several unique and fun rides but nothing out of the ordinary, this changed in 1996 with the parks first major investment.

Just two years earlier, the UK had three unique coasters (all of which were either Europe's or UKs first) built in the form of the Pepsi Max Big One (Hypercoaster), Nemesis (Inverted) and Shockwave (Stand Up) as a result all three parks had enjoyed record attendance. Oakwood needed that killer ride, put it on the map, problem was, the cost. The steel coasters were too expensive immediately for anything of a decent size, and instead they opted for a wooden coaster built by CCI, who had been receiving great acclaim in America for their coasters. Could this be replicated in Wales, let alone Europe?

For a small park, and such a major ride, Megafobia is surprisingly hidden. Located near the most southern part of the park, it isn't until you get to the obligatory shop and on ride photo booth, do you begin to see the ride. This isn't because its small, far from it, at 85ft high it is a fair height for a wooden coaster.

There are not many rides that feel at home in their surroundings but Megafobia is one of them, built onto a small hill, it partly hides how tall it actually is, the natural trees of the park hide a lot of it and when you're lucky enough to get some sunny Pembrokeshire weather, the reflection into the lake is wonderful.

The queueline is a lengthy affair, starting off by the boating lake and then weaving into the structure. By now you can see the lift hill, the first drop and one of the later turns of the ride, but at over 3,000ft of coaster, this barely scratches the surface. From the queue itself, you see slightly more, but not much. On the days were you do have to queue for lengthy periods (it mainly happens at the annual After Dark event) it can be quite a boring queue. After a very bendy queueline between the station and the brake run, you are virtually at the station. You walk up some stairs and enter the rather roomy station, especially when compared to Pleasure Beach Blackpool's wooden coasters.

The trains themselves are comfy, and slightly wider than the classic wooden coasters at the Pleasure Beach, and are not too dissimilar to the Grand National, post the 2004 fire. After the belts and lap bars are checked, the ok is given (sometimes with interaction from the ride operator) and the train, slowly makes its way out of the station, down a small drop to engage with the lift hill that you went under earlier in the queueline.

It ascends the lift hill quickly, and can see over to the hills and mountains on a clear day on the Pembrokeshire/Ceredigion border in front of you, and if you look behind, you get a nice aerial shot of the park.

Once at the top of the hill, another very small drop immediately follows, which then quickly does a semi circle to the left, before rising ever so slightly before going down the biggest drop of the ride. If you are in the front of the ride, it feels as if it struggles ever so slightly to make it over this little incline, and the descent is quick with nothing else worthy of mention. However, the further you get to the back the more extreme the airtime is. At the back itself, you literally rise up off your seat, into the restraint and you don't return again until the very bottom of the first drop.

The sound at this point is fantastic, and equally matches the iconic "roar" noise of Nemesis at Alton Towers, Megafobia sounds alive.

No sooner have you returned up your seat, it is time to ascend up the next fairly steep hill as you rise up and over the lift hill. This hill is slightly banked, so expect to get thrown around slightly as you climb, as you reach the top, a smaller drop follows, which again offers more natural airtime in the front of the train and more extreme and forced in the back of the train.

Another hill rises immediately after, followed by a tight turn to the left, if you didn't get cosy with your co-rider before, you certainly will now. With a similar effect as the lift hill into the first drop, the track dips slightly down this drop, before rising again before a bigger drop. You know what to expect down this drop? That's right, more airtime. This time its more extreme at the front, left alone the back. The On ride photo is located here, and often picks up some great facial expressions!

The pace slows down momentarily, as you rise up a more gentle incline, before descending down a steeper one. The airtime follows, but due to the gentler incline, this, even at the back, feels a more floaty, less forced as the last hill did eat into the speed of the coaster.

With a steep incline again and a turn to the right this time, it is time to get cosy with your co-rider once more, as you weave outside of the lift hill, a tighter turn to the right quickly follows.  Before the whole train descends once again, into a hill and drop. The negative G force having a great impact on the riders, as we all once again come off our seat and those in the back of the train, not getting their bums back on seats until ascending the next hill.

At this hill, a very tight turn to the right throws you into your co-rider more so than the others. It feels as if the ride is toying with you, but in a good way. The track descends gently down the next drop, and whilst the hill that follows isn't the steepest, it does have a slight curve to it that you only really notice when you're on it. This curved, hill not only provides the airtime, but as you move off the seat, you move mid air to your right. It is a fun sensation.

The next hill, turns you to the left as you end up close to the first drop again. The curve to the right continues as you rise up a hill, that feels like it did take a bit much of momentum off of it, but you quickly build up the speed as you descend it. A smaller gentler hill and drop follow before a final rise and steepish drop offering the last pop of airtime into the brakes.

As you enter in the brakes, you'll be smiling, laughing and if you listen you can hear the upstop wheels (those that are underneath the track) spinning after what you have just experienced and I'm not talking just a few here, but virtually the whole train feels the same and can't wait to have another go. Since the installation of Megafobia, Oakwood managed to install a serious array of big rides, some of which, were only the second in the world. Not bad for a "minor" theme park

Even now, all those years after it was built, Megafobia is still a refreshing change to the UK coaster scene. This is a ride, not focused on any gimmicks, all what Megafobia was focused on is being a fun ride, a proper family coaster of a great sized length, to the usually short UK coasters. This is an airtime machine, with only the Grand National in Blackpool coming close to it but Megafobia beats it hands down.

As the day gets on, and Megafobia warms up, it just gets more insane, the airtime becomes more extreme and it gets quicker. The best time to experience this is in the parks After Dark season in August, whilst busier, Megafobia really shines through with 12 hours of riding potential. The only trouble with this is, the next time you ride it after an After Dark event, it can seem rather slow, to begin with

Megafobia, along with Nemesis are often revered to be the best two coasters in the British Isles but are at completely the opposite end of the spectrum. Nemesis is all about inversions and positive G forces, Megafobia is all about hills and negative G forces. Both rides have their very minor niggles, but these are phenomenally good, whichever one you prefer is up to you but it'd be a close match for those who have been lucky to ride both.

If you ever are down in Pembrokeshire, Carmarthanshire or Ceredigion area of Wales for a holiday, go for a day trip and experience Megafobia, a pretty much flawless coaster and one that Oakwood (and Wales) should be very proud of!

The Good:
- Great pacing for the majority of the ride
- The ride gets better as the day progresses
- Airtime machine
- One of the longer UK coasters
- Feels wild and out of control; everything a wooden coaster should be
- That major drop
- Nice surroundings
- Often quiet
- One of the highlights of the After Dark event

The Bad: 
- A couple of the hills take the pace off a bit too much
- On some days it can take a while to get to its peak running condition
- Dull queueline

The Verdict:
  
5/5