When the Marine Lake amusement park closed it
heralded changes at Ocean Beach as well.
The arcade and side stalls that had divided the
park into two were removed and a new Golden
Goose arcade built at the town end.
With this came the removal of certain rides and
an end to the duplication that had previously
existed.
A
six lane Astroglide was built at the front of
the revamped park and ran parallel to the
promenade.
The old wooden Mad Mouse was removed and
replaced by a steel version. Although I had
never been brave enough to ride its predecessor
I now felt ready to tackle this ride.
It
was one of the most scary rides I have ever been
on. When you were travelling along the zig zag
section at the top of the ride you used to feel
like you were going to end up flying straight
off into the sea. I don't recall the ride having
any safety belts; you just had to hold on to the
bars on the outside of the car for dear life!
Other new attractions included a Moon Walk and
kiddies roller coaster which were built next to
the Astroglide.
A
go kart track was also constructed at the front
of the park.
These were joined for a couple of seasons by a
set of Hurricane Jets and another Flying
Coaster.
The Rotor was moved to the back corner of the
park behind the aforementioned Wild Mouse and
Psycho.
But this was only the start of the modernisation
of the amusement park...
A
couple of years later the park owners rang even
more changes to Ocean Beach.
The Wild Mouse was removed and replaced by an
Italian designed steel roller coaster called
Cyclone. This was basically a modern version of
the old figure eight coaster.
The wooden Lighthouse Slip was also taken down
and replaced by a smaller square skyline slip.
The Jets and Flying Coaster left and a new
Satellite ride and Waltzer were introduced to
the park.
The wooden dodgems also disappeared and were
replaced by a much more modern, and larger
track, which is still at the park to this day.
One of the latest novelties arrived at the park
- the Skydiver, or lifting paratrooper, and the
wooden Caterpillar was demolished in favour of
the ultra- modern L'Amour Express. This seemed
massive and had a roof, steep hills and
individual cars which were covered by the green
'caterpillar' hood. It seemed to race round at a
much greater speed than its forerunner.
I always remember that Ocean Beach seemed to
have the latest attractions and it seems sad to
think that it has gone into a decline and could
soon be home to yet more seaside flats and
shops. Hardly something that is going to
encourage any number of visitors to the
resort...
|
From the BBC News (August 2005)
A famous north Wales funfair could disappear if a
development firm's vision for west Rhyl is realised.
Manchester-based firm Modus Properties has published
an artist's impression on its website showing how
the Ocean Beach fairground site could be
transformed.
The proposed development includes 200 apartments,
restaurants and a food store - but not the historic
funfair.
Denbighshire county council said it was aware of
Modus Properties' interest but no planning bid had
been lodged.
The Rhyl funfair is synonymous with the seaside
town, but has deteriorated in recent years.
A spokeswoman for Modus properties said the company
hoped to start work on the scheme early next year,
but said the project was in its "really, really
early stages" and nothing could be confirmed. |
|
From Joyland Books (January 2007)
A
planning application has been submitted by
Manchester-based Modus Properties for the
redevelopment of Rhyl's historic Ocean Beach Fun
Fair.
The application, submitted to Denbighshire County
Council in December, is for 217 apartments, an ASDA
supermarket, hotel, shops, offices, cafes and
restaurants.
The funfair will be completely demolished, ending
more than a century of amusement park history in
this part of the town.
The planning application for the Ocean Plaza
development will go though a public consultation
exercise before being decided by planners. |
