In our first blog post about Margate Dreamland was shut and we said we would put out another piece specifically about Dreamland when it reopened in December so here is that piece.
Growing up in Margate Dreamland has always been there in one form or another for me whether it was open, closed, burnt down or standing. I never got to see Dreamland when it was at its best back when it had animals, more rides and less regulations but I, as well as most other people are more than happy that it has been regenerated and reopened. Seeing the Scenic Railway burnt down and left to rot for so many years really was tragic and here’s to hoping it never ends up that way again.
Anyway on with the present. Dreamland has two entrances a front where you can see the Scenic Railway as you walk in and the back, just off the seafront, where you enter through the building side of Dreamland. Having just walked along the seafront we went in through the back, and you walk past a Dreamland memorabilia shop and then into the arcade, cafe and rollerskating area (something I didn’t even know Dreamland had) and it was a lot busier than I could ever have imagined. But I can see why. It looks fantastic in there. There are modern arcades as well as older machines and things like pinball to fit in with the retro theme. The floor was concrete but with lots of copper 1 and 2 pennies pushed into it which gave a great affect especially when the lights from the rollerskating disco area caught them right.
Going outside there were again a lot more people, I later found out from my interview with Roger Gale MP for North Thanet; who speaks in the video about Margate’s regeneration, that 16,000 people visited that weekend alone, with some 6,000 the weekend before that.
As you immediately walk through the turnstiles there is the big wheel directly in front of your face, a carousel to your left and more rides as you walk on. There was an outside food area in the middle of the park with a variety of different foods available.
The mood in the park was very good, you could hear cheers and happy mutterings from all directions, in fact I don’t think I heard a crying child the whole time we were there. The park is very spacious as in all honesty there are not that many rides at the moment. To begin with though it was always going to be like this as Dreamland is a work in progress still and will only get better as time goes on.
From the entrance to the park you are really made to work to get to the main attraction, the Scenic Railway, as you have to walk through and past just about everything to get to it. The Scenic Railway used to be in the very middle of the park but now with the car park at the front and the downsizing it finds itself at the very front. While rebuilt and not painted red (as it used to be) it loses none of its previous thrill and charm. Rebuilt as an exact replica of the burnt down roller coaster there is still a brakeman operating the speed of the ride from the carriage.
The park overall has been made to look very nice and looks very colourful and pretty. I think there is still work to be done but as a start it is fabulous, certainly a million miles better than the sorry state it found itself in 5 or so years ago.
Below is a short video I threw together showing a few of the rides, you’ll have to excuse the Christmas music as you can see it was while Dreamland has their ‘Frosted Fairground’ theme.
Seaside Pride 