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Dreamland Margate: General Discussion

TLDR: ... the old ride as we knew it it gone. :cry:

... surely this makes it a new credit? :D
 
It is to all intents and purposes a new coaster that follows the route of the original. Parts of the drive system were salvaged, but that's about it.
 
Went back today and invested in the annual membership. Oddly I was informed their cards aren't ready, so have to make do with a plain paper incarnation until the membership cards are ready?

The charm is still there, something that seems unlikely to leave the park at all. The numerous additions since really add to the atmosphere and variety in attraction line up, and it was great to finally experience some of the offerings that weren't available on open day.

Best of all is the entertainment. It's so simple, cheap and yet it manages to put the big UK players efforts to shame. After exiting the Ferris Wheel, we observed someone dressed as a carrot jumping onto the ride, pursued by someone dressed as an angry rabbit determined to catch its lunch. An utterly ludicrous concept that had nearby guests stop to observe.

Not long after exiting the Counter Culture Caterpillar, we observed two beings dressed as... seagulls. Seagulls. By the seaside. 'Attacking' people, especially if they had food. What an utterly hilarious yet well executed concept, even if the costumes clearly didn't have mountains of cash ploughed into them.

The entertainment at the park seems to be very spontaneous and temporary, making the routines of some of the big UK players look tired and repetitive. It goes to show that quirky entertainment that captivates guests is possible within our parks on a shoestring budget.

It's great to be able to visit the park every month or so as there's always going to be significant changes on each visit, something to look forward to and keeps the park fresh and fun.
 
Thought I would post a quick Screamland update :)

Firstly I want to show my appreciation for the posters they had commissioned by local artist Dean Samed, they look fab!

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Secondly, a few photos have been posted on their Facebook event page to show the progress being made with the scare mazes. I'll put this as a spoiler just in case anyone is planning on attending :p

This is Festino's Forgotten Funhouse, which is being held in a circus big top :)
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Secondly we have Dead and Breakfast!
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And lastly there is The Final Cut :)
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Must say, I think the mazes look great :') Dreamland have said that 3 of them will be wheelchair friendly which is nice to know :) They are promoting the event having 'more than 60 actors', which makes me wonder how many will be roaming in the park..

They have also announced that there will be live bands and entertainments performing during the evenings, and lastly the extra addition of Horrify Me, an opportunity for a horror makeover and photo shoot!

Online tickets are priced at £24.99 now that the early bird offer has finished, which gives you entry to the park and 1 go in each of their 4 mazes. Everyone will have their own opinion in terms of affordability, but given entry is usually £15 for the park in advance, I don't think that £10 for 4 mazes is too bad.

Sadly I haven't been able to find anymore info about when the Scenic will be opening :p
 
Another quick update :)

A few more photos of Festino's Forgotten Funhouse have been posted on their Facebook event page, for which I will put in a spoiler again :p

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What they're really emphasising is how big this scare maze will be, I am very excited to see the final product :D

In other news, Ride Rater have posted some great photos of the Scenic testing :)

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No further news from Dreamland as to what the opening date will be, but with Screamland starting in a couple of weeks I'm sure they will want it open for then! :)
 
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Very good to see, however the reported trims that have been fitted are quite disappointing.
 
Very good to see, however the reported trims that have been fitted are quite disappointing.
If it has "trims", or any other type of brake system on the track, then by definition it is not a scenic railway.
 
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It has a lot of trims, you can see some of them in the first photo above and there are several more sets elsewhere on the ride.
 
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I believe the braking system was designed by Fairfield Control Systems, having found a document the other day which explained how it worked. However, upon trying to find it again now, they have taken it offline which is frustrating - I will post it here if it's re-uploaded :p

As outlined in the briefing note for the Scenic Railway, due to modern health and safety standards the coaster unfortunately was not allowed to rely solely on the brakeman to keep it on the tracks. This meant that it had to be fitted with a magnetic braking system as a secondary override to prevent the trains going too fast around corners. So if I have understood this correctly, the brakeman still has control for the braking, but the magnets are there just in case not enough braking is applied..

It's a long document, but if you want to have a read you can find it here on page 23 :)
 
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Drawing the boundary between a modification and a new coaster is tricky. RCDB gives an opening date for BPB's Big Dipper in 1923, but the ride that stands there now has a totally different layout. The 'new' Scenic is far less different to the original than Big Dipper is to the ride built in 1923.
 
Taken from the document:
Historic England said:
The braking system has been a difficult issue to resolve because, for reasons of health and safety, the ride has not been permitted to rely solely on the brakeman, who for whatever reason might be incapable of, or determined not to, keep the train on the tracks. The Health and Safety Executive agreed to retaining a brakeman, a function of the ride which everyone agreed was of considerable historical importance, only on the basis that there would be a secondary 'override' brake to prevent the trains ever falling off the track at the corners. A discreet magnetic brake was therefore agreed.

The Dreamland team clearly would have wished to have the Scenic without the system, but sadly The Health and Safety Executive have the final decision at the end of day! Whilst it may be slightly disappointing, looking at the bigger picture, it's a huge achievement to have it operating again when many of us doubted its future, and I can't wait to ride it once again :)
 
It all just goes to show that this is a new ride, not a restored old one. Yarmouth's scenic is allowed to run as-built (albeit with block signals for the brakeman) with no issues.
 
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I suspect the Scenic would also be able to run as built had it not been decimated in the fire and had continued to operate during that period. It's obvious they've done everything they can to make it resemble and feel like its original incarnation, but we all know that H&S like to piss on our parade.
 
How typical, we go from praising that the ride is back in business, then we complain about about it for various reasons E.G. the trains, braking system and not original

We can never seem to happy about anything really :rolleyes:
 
If you look past the park itself, the Scenic is more than just a ride. It's an icon to Margate, hence the amount of cash ploughed into it. Poor product? Visually it looks fantastic and no doubt it'll be a firm family favourite when it opens.
 
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