Rides and more
Posted: 17 Aug 2015, 13:25
Having been at Dreamland on and off for the last few weeks and been busy ensuring that the rides we supplied (Jets, dodgems, double decker, Austin cars, galloper & Speedway ) have worked reliably I'm afraid I have not visited this forum for quite a while. There are various topics which concern me but rather than answer them individually I thought it might be useful to make a single post which may answer some of the questions raised.
I am sure you will appreciate I am not the park operator and therefore cannot speak for them however, I can say that given the complexity of getting this project off the ground it is nothing short of a miracle what has been achieved and in such a short time. I am not going to waste time addressing the points made by trolls and outright opponents of Dreamland as there is no point. What I will say is reading the online comments and actually speaking to visitors the reaction to the park would seem to be overwhelmingly positive with the exception of two things:
No 1 The comments that in the old days people could wander around and pay per ride. I am afraid the world and every theme park in it has changed and the only viable policy is the one in place and with the advent of the cheaper evening tickets this complaint should really be at an end. This is not the old days, this is not the old Dreamland, this is a new park starting from scratch and it will take time to iron out the problems in every area of operation.
No 2 relates to rides not working.
This is a very complex issue but its safe to say the team at the park have worked like dogs to overcome a mixture of things which include ride suppliers being late / problems with new rides / and the strains of having all the teething problems of a new park to deal with.
Even the vintage rides supplied by us have suffered the occasional teething problems for example the Jets ride had a couple of jets out of action for a couple of days due to new seals sticking. We also had a problem with the speedway relating to wheels / tyres and bearings and like the park maintenance crew we are also learning that rides like the speedway have probably never worked this hard in their lives so this winter even the recently restored speedway will be returned to base and changes made to improve it and make it more robust and reliable.
It is very easy from the comfort of your armchair or even as a visitor to make observations and suggestions, but we are not asleep here and we cannot be expected to spend all day on internet forums & social media explaining every problem and every resolution to it. We simply ask that you make a working assumption that where a problem exists we are not sat on our backsides we are actively working on it. I will give you an example. Last Friday night we had a problem with speedway tyres and as the spares on order had not arrived one of our team who was on site drove four hours each way to Lincolnshire on Saturday in order to ensure the ride was open on Sunday which it was. Visitors on Saturday would have been disappointed but in reality it was impossible to do anymore than was done so perhaps rather than complaining about people who are already doing everything humanly possible a little latitude would be nice!
As a business man I could make a list of 100 things which could be improved but could I have done any better? no ! There are also a great many things right with this park including a fantastic team of young staff who everyone seems to agree make a huge difference to the visitor experience. They are doing a great job but have been doing this job weeks not years so again a little latitude would be welcome.
Now, lets talk about rides, The park has a core of rides which have been well advertised and this list of rides has been added to using hired in rides for the first few months of operation. This means there have been change over periods when poor performing rides have come out and this will continue this season. I am pleased to tell you that the vintage rides we have hired to the operator will almost certainly return next year including the Speedway etc and in addition we are working on the Ex Coles / Chipperfield's caterpillar which be ready for the start of next season and which I suspect will replace the modern caterpillar.
It is glaringly obvious that the most popular rides in Dreamland are the vintage rides so I believe it is a safe assumption the number of vintage rides will increase over time in fact because we respect Sands as an operator and the young team who have been running our rides we have agreed to make the crown jewels of vintage fairground available to them on an on going basis so expect to see some other fantastic rides appearing / coming and going each year. Don't expect the line up to remain static as nobody wants it to become stale.
That's pretty much all I can tell you for now so just enjoy the fact that a new Dreamland exists which even this week includes a circus / high diving / a great selection of rides / fantastic staff & entertainers and there is so much more to come. If you are determined to be negative then maybe go find a mirror and take a look at yourself because no one wants to hear you whinging and certainly not the people of Margate and the staff and suppliers of Dreamland who are busting a gut to deliver the memories of tomorrow.
At the risk of being stereotyped as a blunt Yorkshireman please just bugger off and leave the rest of us to do our best and have some fun!
PS Make sure you come to Scream land later in the year as we are currently restoring a vintage Ghost Train which will form part of Scream land after which it will become a full time feature in the park.
I am sure you will appreciate I am not the park operator and therefore cannot speak for them however, I can say that given the complexity of getting this project off the ground it is nothing short of a miracle what has been achieved and in such a short time. I am not going to waste time addressing the points made by trolls and outright opponents of Dreamland as there is no point. What I will say is reading the online comments and actually speaking to visitors the reaction to the park would seem to be overwhelmingly positive with the exception of two things:
No 1 The comments that in the old days people could wander around and pay per ride. I am afraid the world and every theme park in it has changed and the only viable policy is the one in place and with the advent of the cheaper evening tickets this complaint should really be at an end. This is not the old days, this is not the old Dreamland, this is a new park starting from scratch and it will take time to iron out the problems in every area of operation.
No 2 relates to rides not working.
This is a very complex issue but its safe to say the team at the park have worked like dogs to overcome a mixture of things which include ride suppliers being late / problems with new rides / and the strains of having all the teething problems of a new park to deal with.
Even the vintage rides supplied by us have suffered the occasional teething problems for example the Jets ride had a couple of jets out of action for a couple of days due to new seals sticking. We also had a problem with the speedway relating to wheels / tyres and bearings and like the park maintenance crew we are also learning that rides like the speedway have probably never worked this hard in their lives so this winter even the recently restored speedway will be returned to base and changes made to improve it and make it more robust and reliable.
It is very easy from the comfort of your armchair or even as a visitor to make observations and suggestions, but we are not asleep here and we cannot be expected to spend all day on internet forums & social media explaining every problem and every resolution to it. We simply ask that you make a working assumption that where a problem exists we are not sat on our backsides we are actively working on it. I will give you an example. Last Friday night we had a problem with speedway tyres and as the spares on order had not arrived one of our team who was on site drove four hours each way to Lincolnshire on Saturday in order to ensure the ride was open on Sunday which it was. Visitors on Saturday would have been disappointed but in reality it was impossible to do anymore than was done so perhaps rather than complaining about people who are already doing everything humanly possible a little latitude would be nice!
As a business man I could make a list of 100 things which could be improved but could I have done any better? no ! There are also a great many things right with this park including a fantastic team of young staff who everyone seems to agree make a huge difference to the visitor experience. They are doing a great job but have been doing this job weeks not years so again a little latitude would be welcome.
Now, lets talk about rides, The park has a core of rides which have been well advertised and this list of rides has been added to using hired in rides for the first few months of operation. This means there have been change over periods when poor performing rides have come out and this will continue this season. I am pleased to tell you that the vintage rides we have hired to the operator will almost certainly return next year including the Speedway etc and in addition we are working on the Ex Coles / Chipperfield's caterpillar which be ready for the start of next season and which I suspect will replace the modern caterpillar.
It is glaringly obvious that the most popular rides in Dreamland are the vintage rides so I believe it is a safe assumption the number of vintage rides will increase over time in fact because we respect Sands as an operator and the young team who have been running our rides we have agreed to make the crown jewels of vintage fairground available to them on an on going basis so expect to see some other fantastic rides appearing / coming and going each year. Don't expect the line up to remain static as nobody wants it to become stale.
That's pretty much all I can tell you for now so just enjoy the fact that a new Dreamland exists which even this week includes a circus / high diving / a great selection of rides / fantastic staff & entertainers and there is so much more to come. If you are determined to be negative then maybe go find a mirror and take a look at yourself because no one wants to hear you whinging and certainly not the people of Margate and the staff and suppliers of Dreamland who are busting a gut to deliver the memories of tomorrow.
At the risk of being stereotyped as a blunt Yorkshireman please just bugger off and leave the rest of us to do our best and have some fun!
PS Make sure you come to Scream land later in the year as we are currently restoring a vintage Ghost Train which will form part of Scream land after which it will become a full time feature in the park.