Dreamland Margate: General Discussion

That's my worry, that the furlough scheme will end but my work will still have to do the 2 metre stuff, which would be a right faff and we may not have enough customers to be profitable

 

Was the wording on their website / social media channels more specific about being closed for the whole season at some point? Seems to not say that now from what I have seen?

 

Yes, and they also floated out press releases confirming that was the case. Given they haven't announced anything further about some of the events that were still on their calendar (several this summer have been rescheduled to next year), perhaps they are looking at opening in some capacity?

 

There’s work going on at the park and they’ve said something about some ‘socially distanced events’ being announced soon. I guess they aren’t going to open the full park daily but they will do something with the outdoor stage area and some of the rides around that area.

Ziggy’s Rooftop and Cinque Ports, part of Dreamland, are opening 4th July.

 

We're in very unpredictable times given the pandemic. There are clearly quite a few unknowns here, including will there be a second wave. Even Disneyland has gone and done a U turn on re-opening, and Disney are pretty dependable. Dreamland has always been a very unpredictable organisation, so we've got that combination of an unpredictable organisation at an unpredictable time.

I wouldn't put too much store on what's happening at Ziggy's or Cinque Ports though, as both of them are re-opening under concessions, rather than Dreamland's own management.

 

I have found this amazing 21 year old video of Dreamland Margate.Could you please tell me if applicable the current location of the Rides featured in the Video. I am aware that Dreamland endured a lot of change around the time this Video was shot.

 

More released about the Dreamland sale from BBC News.

Dreamland operators Sands Heritage Ltd - which has a 99-year lease on the site - bought the amusement park, cinema, scenic railways and rides for £2.3m. It paid a further £4.7m for a nearby council-owned car park.

The terms of the sale stipulate that homes cannot be built on the site for the next ten years.

 

The park have confirmed that they have no intention of reopening until all social distancing guidelines and restrictions have been relaxed (earliest possible 21st June).

They have cited difficulties with social distancing on the "vintage attractions" as the reason for this.

Hopefully there are no financial difficulties.

 

Have they got any means at all of making money at the moment, with the park shut? Is there anything they’re able to do?

In other news, Pinball X is reportedly getting relocated to Flamingo Park in Hastings, leaving Scenic Railway as the park’s only roller coaster.

I hope everything’s OK in Margate at the moment; Scenic Railway is a genuine slice of British coaster history that I hope doesn’t close again...

 

Charlotte from 'Diary of a Roller Coaster Girl' posted this view of the park - looks like they're not trying to open anytime soon, as above.

 

Let's face it, this will be housing long before the Paramount Park ever happens (or doesn't happen).

 

I don’t know how many people go to Margate during the summer months but I went at the end of September 2019 and it was dead. Ramsgate on the other hand was busy.
We went to Dreamland before we were gonna drive home just to ride the coaster and it was closed. There was hardly anyone there so can understand there’s no point in opening to June/July when the holiday season starts and they will more likely only open weekends in September and October.

 

I so want Dreamland to be a success, but it seems they are completely incapable of making it one.

Even though it was a shame to come away from the initial heritage park concept, the opening of Zamperla Catalogue Land made sense to boost the line up relatively cheaply. It felt like it was going the right way.

For the council to then dispose of the park in the middle of a pandemic, when surely it is at its lowest possible value and leaving the new owners with no income for the foreseeable, appears to be the worst thing to do for both parties.

Now the new owners are recouping their losses by selling off the new valuable rides leaving a line up which was shown not to work previously. What a mess.

 

Homes in 10 years. How depressing.

 

Homes with a wooden coaster garden ornament though.