Dreamland Margate: General Discussion

It appears to be a poor product in terms of technology ruining the liveliness of wooden rides, and certainly the original.

It's as much the original Scenic Railway as a sweeping brush that's had two new handles and two new brushes in its lifetime.

I highly doubt the park wanted the technology there, but moreover as none of us have yet ridden it, we are unable to comment on if it actually affects the ride or not.

As for the comment literally stating the ride has nothing left from its original, I'll be sure to take great pride in observing the intricate workings underneath the lift hill that funnily enough, are from the original Scenic.

Personally, I'd rather have a ride that's not the original, but safe. If adding trims and technology mean that it won't derail or anything, then what's really the problem? At the end of the day, if the ride is good and is very similar to the original, does it matter?

Edit: just like to add that I'm adding my opinion as a 15 year old, who has never rode the original (or even heard of the park before this topic). Tbh I don't really see the difference between this and the original or care to much about the heritage. Also not likely to visit dreamland as I live too far away.

The issue is the ride experience.

Tom said:

The issue is the ride experience.

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I fully appreciate this. I never rode the original scenic. But to anyone who's never rode it, it makes no difference.

Tom said:

The issue is the ride experience.

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But it's not even open yet!

I got the impression that Dreamland was a sort of nostalgia time machine and it pulls that off very well, but clearly some of us aren't worthy enough of being blessed to travel into the future and obtain a verdict on how the Scenic now rides.

I think we were all pretty gutted when someone deliberately set fire to the Scenic Railway and destroyed the original trains. How could someone derive pleasure from destroying something that bought so much joy to so many people? But alas, it happened. So now it’s been rebuilt and they’ve had to make changes to bring it in line with modern safety. But what was the alternative? To sit back and go, ‘well that was a pity’, and let them build a housing estate? We nearly lost the Scenic Railway, just as we’ve lost most of the other classic wooden coasters and seaside amusement parks. But I’m so glad we didn’t.

Dreamland’s created 230 jobs in an area of high unemployment, it’s saved Britain’s oldest roller coaster and several other rare vintage rides such as the Hurricane Jets. It’s preserved one of the last and biggest seaside amusement parks. It’s created a park with more events and live entertainment than pretty much any other UK park. It’s open as many hours after dark as most of the big inland British parks put together. It’s created more competition down South. And we could have thrown all this away, just because some people think the ‘trellis’ on the new trains looks a bit ugly. I’m not one to look at things through rose tinted spectacles and I’m not saying Dreamland’s Britain’s answer to Europa Park, but I’m sure as hell glad people rallied together to save Dreamland. Some things are worth fighting for. Even if you do have to add some magnetic brakes and tweak the trains. The Scenic Railway’s bigger than that.

The important thing to understand with Dreamland is how much it is valued by local people, including myself (which most people have probably realised by now )

Dreamland holds a lot of history and has always been a crucial component of Margate, the Scenic itself had been operating since the 1920's before the park's final closure in 2005. With nothing to attract people to Margate anymore, this was seen as the final nail in the coffin if you like, which led to town's deterioration accelerating even further. For the past 10 years, we have watched an arduous campaign unfold to secure its return, an outcome that almost seemed impossible when the Scenic was burnt down in 2008!

The return of Dreamland has led to wonderful things for Margate. The atmosphere within the park is completely different to the likes of other UK parks, and I believe it is this community spirit that really brings the place alive. Margate still has a way to go for its regeneration, but since reopening it has already made a significant impact.

To put this into perspective, all you have to do is compare the photos The park has been transformed from Margate's abandoned treasure:





..to a modern yet nostalgic pleasure park that has revived the memory that many of us held strongly as the true heart of Margate





Whilst compromises have had to be made along the way, I think it's important to realise the extent of what has really been achieved in Margate. I will always remain a long-term supporter of the project and encourage people to give it a chance, and of course look forward to many more visits in the future

Looking at the photos of the Scenic it actually looks like it's not as tall as the original. Can anyone shed some light on this?

As for the trim issue it does make me laugh that because it's technically a "new" ride that trims have had to be added when Great Yarmouth's scenic railway runs perfectly happily with its original system.

I think it's not the original scenic railway anymore, but it's a nice replica with some origional features.

Its an awkward line between rebuild and replica.

It looks great, but I can't help but feel deflated and disappointed by the product on offer.

I've been following the project since Godden closed up in 2002/3. I was really excited by both the initial proposal put forward by the Save Dreamland campaign, and even more so the heritage park. When Nick Laister went to Southport and "saved" all those rides, particularly King Solomon's Mines, I thought the guy was a hero.

Why oh why did they leave the parts on site? I know storage isn't cheap, but christ, it just seems like such a naive thing to have done! Spin it however you like (no pun intended), a Twist and a mini drop tower were not the sort of proposition I thought I was supporting.

The Scenic stuff is disappointing but I always felt it would end up that way. I'd still rather it live on in this form than not at all.

I just don't feel there's enough there to bring me down to Margate. In fact, anywhere north of the Thames and I'd say if you want a vintage amusement park experience you're better heading to Blackpool.

It's far from a disappointment and I never had high expectations before I visited. The product on offer is something ridiculously unique that this country simply hasn't had and fills a void in the market. There really is nothing like Dreamland, its charm, staff, branding, and entertainment are all exceptional.

Once that initial visit has been made, it really does take a hold on you.

...but there is literally only a single ride I am even remotely bothered about trying. Unless I find myself in Margate for another reason, that first visit will be a long time waiting.

Another thing I've noticed, if this is a new build woodie and knowing how much we keep egging on having a new woodie built in this country, I'm surprised by our disdain attitude to the whole project, especially as we seemed all on board for Dreamland to return.

Dreamland is a very difficult one for me to comment about. I have made the long journey down from Nottingham on many occasions to support Dreamland whilst its been closed. Some of these included the volunteer day where we spent all day removing moss and weeds, to the preview event a few days before the park opened.

However, I have only been to Dreamland once since it officially opened. Why? Well for me, the project concept has been lost along the way. The whole selling point of this to the Heritage Lottery fund, was to produce an historic amusement park full of vintage rides. So fast forward to a couple of weekends ago when I visited (and took those photos of the Scenic testing which have been posted) and what do I see? A vintage twist not operating all day, a modern spinning mouse sat there, a travelling Top Spin ride, a modern replica of a helter skelter and the old 70's astroglide from Paultons Park.

The work that Littleboys did on the restoration of some of the rides is brilliant and the Speedway which is currently at the park is lovely, but for me its just confusing.

I personally didn't see any entertainment on park when I was there (this was a Saturday) and it just felt flat and unfinished. I came away thinking about what just what really could have been.

QTXAdsy said:

'm surprised by our disdain attitude to the whole project, especially as we seemed all on board for Dreamland to return.

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That'll undoubtedly be the result of being let down by the rest of the UK's portfolio of parks, as there's hardly any enthusiasm towards any of the projects on our soil anymore.

People just don't seem to get Dreamland and I completely understand why. There's nothing like it in the country which means there's no experience that can offer anything remotely close to what Dreamland presents. Its location doesn't help encourage those who are from further afield to visit either. If I didn't have the opportunity to frequently visit that neck of the country from Manchester, then I'd have never considered the trip in the first place.

I suspect in a few years when the ride line up is more stable then the general consensus towards the park will have altered. It'll be less the case of bringing in temporary crowd pullers (Crazy Mouse and the Top Spin) and relying on its original vision of being a heritage amusement park. On the other hand though, the park have stated it will always features rides from every decade, so I don't see a problem with one or two modern rides having a spot on the line up...

When they have more rides, I may visit.

A few more teasers have been uploaded of the upcoming scare mazes


Dead and Breakfast is looking fantastic and is certainly the most anticipated maze for me, I love all the details and variety across the sets

Taken from ScareTOUR and the Screamland event page