Oakwood opened in the late 1980s as a very small family park with BMXs, a wooden fort, a 3D-style cinema experience show, go-karts and a water chute ride.

The park later incorporated four large thrill rides: Megafobia (1996), Vertigo (1997), Drenched (2002, as Hydro) and Speed (2006) which is a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter roller coaster with a 97-degree drop.

Open 20-seater "Severn Lamb" type toast rack carriages are used in warm weather, with enclosed 20-seater former Liverpool Garden Festival coaches used year-round.

In 1996, Oakwood also began an annual After Dark event, with late-night opening, fireworks, entertainment and discounted evening entry.

Several major additions would follow in the coming years: Vertigo, a sky swing, in 1997, Bounce, a shoot and drop tower, in 1999, Hydro (later Drenched) in 2002 and Speed: No Limits in 2006.

2007: Oakwood relocates its Premier Theatre from New Orleans back to the Wacky Factory location, next to Plane Crazy.

Lost Kingdom is rebranded as 'Fun Factory' and the park receives a facelift with buildings, fences and rides being painted.

This brings new (as well as re-themed) rides consisting of Skull Rock (log flume from Camelot Theme Park), Crocodile Coaster (also from Camelot), Tink's Flying School (Formally Plane Crazy), Neverland Chase, Lost Boys Adventure, Jolly Roger, Hooks House of Havoc (indoor play area), Journey to Neverland, Aerodrome and the London Taxi Ride.

[3] In October 2013 the park announced via their Facebook page that Brer Rabbit would close at the end of the 2013 season!

The introduction of the 'Spooktacluar' event for Halloween was a big hit for Oakwood, with the 'Spooked alive: House of Horrors', 'The curse of the lost souls' and two scare zones.

Megafobia also reached 20 years at the park and its trains received a gold or silver colour scheme.

2018: The Roald Dahl theming was dropped, with Flight of the Giant Peach being renamed Creepy Crawler and the area became Spooky Street.

(It is arguable that the park's former section for young children, Kidz World, formerly known as Play Town, is also themed.)

New Orleans featured a "ghost train" called Voodoo Mansion (2000) set in the original showbuilding for the animatronic stage show, and a children's "dark ride" known as "Brer Rabbit's Burrow" (2001).

Both the voodoo religion and the children's character Brer Rabbit are associated with the deep south of America, the locality of the actual New Orleans.

However, it is likely that the themes' connection (particularly that of Brer Rabbit) would have been lost on most members of the public due to its obscure nature.

Summer 2013 brought a new development consisting of a Neverland theme, from Peter Pan[8][non-primary source needed] which opened on 23 May 2013.

The accident was attributed to human error after CCTV footage showed staff had not checked the rider's restraint was in a safe position.

The inquest reported that CCTV footage taken at the ride before the boat left clearly showed that the victim's lap bar was in an "open and unsafe position".

On 18 December, the park was fined £250,000 in addition to £80,000 legal costs, a penalty which was described by the victim's close family as inadequate.

High Court Judge Justice Lloyd-Jones who passed the sentence had earlier commented that safety breaches at the theme park had created "the potential for really serious injury to very large numbers of people".

[24] In late 2007, local press in Pembrokeshire reported that Oakwood had been made the subject of a takeover bid.