Well - this is the Save Dreamland campaign's forum. Have we saved Dreamland? I reckon it's a resounding "Yes".
After enjoying (rather too much) the Scenic on Friday, the quiet daytime session allowing (rather too) many rides in the blustery, damp conditions, followed by the delights of the Screamland event in the evening, all I can say is - if it does fail in the future, it certainly won't be for lack of trying!
The attention to detail is something else - the rather brilliant Hemingway design that cleverly infiltrates every aspect of the park, the layout of the rides that leaves plenty of room to wander between them yet gives loads of flexibility for rides that come and go (keeping the line-up nice and fresh), the consistency of presentation, the use of characters wandering the park (which is a daily thing - not just for the Scare fest), the happy faces on all the workers (even the guy cleaning the loos greeted me with a cheery "Good Afternoon")...
ANd now we can see just how much care is put into a major event - the Screamland mazes are getting great reviews on the usual Haunted Attraction fan forum sites, and the park looked fantastic - even in the evening rain on Friday. A good reputation is building regarding these events - people have heard about "Dead and Breakfast" and "Final Cut" and are now planning long journeys to attend. This is the kind of thing that will get the visitors from greater distances.
And the Scenic - WELCOME BACK! Given the fact that the train has only recently arrived, that the magnetic braking technology has not (to my knowledge) been used with a ride that also has an on-board brake operator, and that the ride only started rolling with unpredictably variable loads of paying passengers, rather than water dummies - or crew, just the day before, I was hugely impressed with the ride it gave on Friday. After the Screamland festival, I'm sure there will be tweaks to be made to avoid things like the stalling on the final set of magnetic brakes before the station. There is a great team working on the ride - so many new brake operators - and, as in the rest of the park, they all appear to be having a good time. As the day rolled on into the evening, I could feel the train speeding up on its journey, with a hint (better than nothing) of airtime on the two main double dips and some lateral forces on the entry into the turns.
The train still looks ungainly, but the important things (for me, anyhow) are that the cage still allows two adult pairs of shoulders to fit in the same seat, that the seat belt is unnoticeable during the ride, that the lap bar stays in the position you pull it down to throughout the ride and - best of all - I can sit with my knees together, facing forward, in any seat (couldn't do that in the original trains). The front seat is now even better than before as there is no bar between the dragon heads - you have an unobstructed view of the track racing towards you. And the track/lights/structure look just fan-tastic!
I enjoyed listening to the other riders - many of them were newbies and underestimated just how "peppy" a ride first built in 1921 could be. Everyone got off the train smiling - even in the rain - and that is pretty much the key.
So - with the new developments in progress, more vintage rides to join the line-up next year, the Ballroom, the Hall-by-the-Sea after that, a nightclub and well-staged events like Screamland - if it ISN'T a successful venture, then there is no justice in the world.