Park queries?

The Save Dreamland Campaign was launched by Joyland Books in January 2003 and is now supported by several thousand people. This is the place to discuss all aspects of saving Margate's famous amusement park and its iconic , Grade II listed Scenic Railway, Britain's oldest roller coaster.

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Park queries?

Postby vann98 » 30 Sep 2010, 16:12

well iam new to these forums though ive been watching the project progress for a while now, and when going down to the site a few weeks back i just thought of a few things...

1) I dont no what building it is, but its at the side of the cinema i think its bentween a multi story car park, anyway looking at the horrible state of it and the fact that some of the doors on it had been ripped of i was wondering weather that building would be demolished or at least refurbished. this goes for those ugly blue metal buildings facing the site.:roll:

2nd) will any more concept art for the park be realesed to the public?

3rd)i heard that when the park opens as a heritage amusement park the main entrance will be located through thee cinema building?? if this is true what is going to happen to the arcade building which you can get to by going down an alley, which i beleive held the river caves in them at one point.

and lastly i saw the save dreamland campaign rescued parts of the water chute is rhyl but they could not get the main structure and track, is there any chance of this ride being rebuilt from scratch when the park opens as its quite a major attraction to have and would be great beside the scenic.

i aplogize if any of these queries have all ready been answered on a seperate thread or website.
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Postby kevinashe » 30 Sep 2010, 17:49

the original idea was to save the ride but funding wasnt available,nick investigated and found that if the the trust took all the workings,pumps,cars etc and basically everything except the structure then a rebuild could be on the cards when finances allow as the original blueprints still survive.Sorry i cant help with the other question but im sure nick can
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Re: park queries?

Postby Nick » 30 Sep 2010, 18:38

I will do my best to answer your questions.

1) I dont no what building it is, but its at the side of the cinema i think its bentween a multi story car park, anyway looking at the horrible state of it and the fact that some of the doors on it had been ripped of i was wondering weather that building would be demolished or at least refurbished. this goes for those ugly blue metal buildings facing the site.


We are currently investigating which buildings we can keep as we are trying to maximise the money spent on the rides and minimise the need to demolish buildings only to replace them with new ones. I think you are referring to the old ballroom, which is of no architectural value. This was going to be demolished but might now be staying. The buildings with the blue roofs may also now remain and be reclad. It is a theme park after all, where stylish facades can often disguise a steel shed.

2nd) will any more concept art for the park be realesed to the public?


The park is currently undergoing its final design phase, ready for implementation when the land transfers, and we may be in a position to release something in a few weeks. The focus at the moment is applying for the second part of our Heritage Lottery grant.

3rd)i heard that when the park opens as a heritage amusement park the main entrance will be located through thee cinema building?? if this is true what is going to happen to the arcade building which you can get to by going down an alley, which i beleive held the river caves in them at one point.


We will be accessing the park through the cinema building. We are currently investigating the potential for installing a ride in the site of the 1990s water ride.

and lastly i saw the save dreamland campaign rescued parts of the water chute is rhyl but they could not get the main structure and track, is there any chance of this ride being rebuilt from scratch when the park opens as its quite a major attraction to have and would be great beside the scenic.


We do have parts of the Water Chute and it would be nice to rebuild it, subject to funding being available. It is almost certainly not something we can afford in Phase 1.
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Postby vann98 » 30 Sep 2010, 20:23

oh ok thanks alot for replying, so quickly i appreciate it, i was just a bit curious, as i dont live near the area and dont visit margate that often.

anyway thank you for the fast reply
Last edited by vann98 on 06 Feb 2011, 19:36, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby vann98 » 06 Feb 2011, 19:33

I was just looking through the ride listing on the new website when I was thinking that there are some rides missing which were originally listed for the park. These being the carousel, helter skelter and tumble bug.

Will these rides be aquired for the dreamland project sometime throughout the year, or are they not being used in the new dreamland anymore?

In another note how is the park going around being advertised when it reopens?
Last edited by vann98 on 06 Feb 2011, 20:28, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Jim Douglas Jr. » 06 Feb 2011, 19:58

If they can be found. That original plan was somewhat of a wish-list, and partly just to show what could be done in an attractive manner.
There are only a handful of surviving Tumble Bugs. Maybe 5 or 6 known to exist including the Turtle variation.

Updates to the plan likely feature attractions that have already been acquired.
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Postby erclairedoc » 06 Feb 2011, 20:02

As far as I know, the line-up of rides has not been fully concluded yet. Some rides may simply not feature at the park until Stage 2 of the works.
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Postby Nick » 08 Feb 2011, 09:16

The line-up of rides has not yet been finalised and the original line-up was something of a wish-list, much of which we have actually subsequently acquired.

We would like a traditional English gallopers, but these will be expensive to acquire and so may have to be leased.

We don't have a helter skelter at the moment, but would like to have one eventually.

I am not aware of a tumble bug being available. The costs of rescuing one of these would in any event be outside our budget for Phase 1.
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Postby epiclyawesome » 10 Feb 2011, 18:10

Do we know when work on the actual park is likely to start?
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Postby kevinashe » 10 Feb 2011, 18:30

there is a tumble bug sitting rotting somewhere in america but it looks in poor condition and restoration costs would be massive-unless somebody wins euromillions i suppose!!!
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Postby Nick » 10 Feb 2011, 19:50

epiclyawesome wrote:Do we know when work on the actual park is likely to start?


It is impossible to give a precise date at the moment, as there are so many factors involved. The Scenic work should start in a few weeks. How much of the rest of the park starts alongside the Scenic is something we hope to have more clarity on soon. As I have said before, the land, property and planning issues surrounding the Dreamland site (and I mean the entire site) are no less complicated than all the other development sites that I am involved with in my day job.

We will, however, be repeating the Carters Steam Fair event this year (for longer than last year due to its massive success) and we have other events in the pipeline, including John Lawson's Circus. Lawson's circus is a genuinely high quality event which I would strongly recommend.
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Re: Park queries?

Postby Bob » 13 Feb 2011, 17:54

vann98 wrote:well iam new to these forums though ive been watching the project progress for a while now, and when going down to the site a few weeks back i just thought of a few things...

1) I dont no what building it is, but its at the side of the cinema i think its bentween a multi story car park, anyway looking at the horrible state of it and the fact that some of the doors on it had been ripped of i was wondering weather that building would be demolished or at least refurbished. this goes for those ugly blue metal buildings facing the site.:roll:

2nd) will any more concept art for the park be realesed to the public?

3rd)i heard that when the park opens as a heritage amusement park the main entrance will be located through thee cinema building?? if this is true what is going to happen to the arcade building which you can get to by going down an alley, which i beleive held the river caves in them at one point.

and lastly i saw the save dreamland campaign rescued parts of the water chute is rhyl but they could not get the main structure and track, is there any chance of this ride being rebuilt from scratch when the park opens as its quite a major attraction to have and would be great beside the scenic.

i aplogize if any of these queries have all ready been answered on a seperate thread or website.


Having the Main Entrance there does not seem to be the best of locations. Dreamland always suffered from a poor and almost hiden Entrance. It would be far better to relocate and have a really visible & impressive entrance. First impressions count and a more visible entrence would attract casual visitors
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Re: Park queries?

Postby Vince, Charlie and Sam » 13 Feb 2011, 18:07

Bob wrote:
Having the Main Entrance there does not seem to be the best of locations. Dreamland always suffered from a poor and almost hiden Entrance. It would be far better to relocate and have a really visible & impressive entrance. First impressions count and a more visible entrence would attract casual visitors


Do you know what Bob, for once I agree with you.

However, apart from the gap where Mr G's arcade used to stand, I cannot see anywhere which would be more suitable for an impressive entrance to Dreamland than the current access.

We have to work with what we have but theoretically speaking, what would you suggest?
Last edited by Vince, Charlie and Sam on 13 Feb 2011, 22:19, edited 1 time in total.
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Entrance sign in Neon

Postby 1234567890 » 13 Feb 2011, 22:15

The current entrance of dreamland reminds me of the Savoy London, firstly because they are both art deco and secondly they are both set back L shape entrances.

Eg: Dreamland entrance: http://www.joylandbooks.com/scenicrailw ... SHOW53.jpg

Eg: savoy: http://www.whatahotel.com/hotels/2434/savoy-b.jpg

Entrance sign in Neon and some sort of spectacular water focal point would draw the eyes to dreamland, should do the trick.

In a reflected dreamland style.
Last edited by 1234567890 on 13 Feb 2011, 22:55, edited 2 times in total.
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Postby Vince, Charlie and Sam » 13 Feb 2011, 22:24

The photo of the Savoy does indeed look exactly like the entrance to Dreamland, or how it could be, interesting pics.

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