Megafobia voted third best ride in World and best in UK!
8th January 2007: Oakwood Theme Park’s ‘Megafobia’ is of the world’s best roller coaster according to an international audit conducted by the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain (www.rccgb.co.uk). The wooden coaster has consistently appeared in the world’s top five since it was erected in 1996.
In this latest audit it is placed at number three in the world, beaten to the top slot by two American rides and voted ahead of Nemesis at Alton Towers which came fifth, making it the number one roller coaster in Europe.
The world’s top roller coasters are used to train Nasa astronauts and can inflict more g-force than a formula one car to riders but Andy Hine, who started the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain over 20 years ago, insists the most spectacular looking rides aren’t necessarily the best. Hine, who has ridden 1,000 different roller coasters more than 35,000 times says: “All around the world theme parks compete to build the scariest white-knuckle roller coasters of all but most spectacular doesn’t always mean best. Some of the best roller coasters are made from wood and us adrenalin junkies swear by the threatening soundtrack of creaks, rumbles and groans of the trains at every turn.
”Megafobia looks like a traditional ride but it has been cleverly designed to thrilling effect. The first drop passes close under a tree and gives a hint of what is to come. The rest is a scream a second, and the thrills really do come thick and fast with a g-force of 2.75 and speeds up to 75kph. We take our club to Oakwood every year since it opened and we still have as much fun on it today as back in 1996 – it is a modern classic!”
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Paddy McNamara, Managing Director of Oakwood, says: “We knew we had a winner when we installed Megafobia over ten years ago, it’s been labelled as a coaster with character and has never lost its appeal. We’re thrilled that once again it has been voted in the top three by the RCCGB, complete roller coaster fanatics who travel the world to get their adrenalin fix but return again and again to Pembrokeshire to experience Megafobia.”
The top five roller coasters in the world:
- The Phoenix, Knoebels Amusement Park, Pennsylvania
- Top Thrill Dragster, Cedar Point, Ohio
- Megafobia, Oakwood Theme Park, Pembrokeshire
- El Toro, Six Flags Great Adventure, New Jersey
- Nemesis, Alton Tower, Staffordshire
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