Moving Dreamland

[villager]

Hey!
Im new to this forum and am not local, but I have visited Margate a couple of times and enjoyed my visit to dreamland both times.
From reading about your organisation, first of all I feel you must be congratulated on a superb effort. You obviously really enjoy your park.

However, it has also occured to me that, over time, the park has slowly started to be dismantled (Which is very sad in itself) and it seems that (knowing local councils and the government! lol) the land will be sold to some housing developer and the arcade area that I remember will probably be some sort of luxury apartments.

Keep up the good work, but, if the park meets it fate (demolition ), then how would you campaigners feel if dreamland was moved? What if a new location was found for the park, with all the old "classic" rides moved there with a mix of new modern rides to attract the tourists it deserves?

Im not too good on the geography of the town having only visited twice for a day, but what would you campaigners feel if this was to happen? Obviously ideally it would stay where it is now, but if this wasnt possible then how would you feel if it was moved? Just a thought as a sort of "indipendant" viewpoint....

[David Ellis]

Dreamland's treasure is the listed 1920 scenic railway coaster. It would be totally unfeasible to relocate the ride, as the ride would not survive intact.

We have to hope to keep the park open and the Scenic Railway running at its current location at all costs. There is no other feasible option.

David.

[Neil]

I'm afraid that David is right about it not being able to feasibly relocate the Scenic. In effect the rest of 'Dreamland' is gradually being relocated to Loudon Castle in Scottland. I've never visited but from the sound of it Loudon Castle is certainly going up in the world and I'd be surprised if it doesn't overtake MandDs as Scottlands largest theme Park over the next couple of years:
http://www.loudouncastle.co.uk/

When I spoke to Dave Collard (Scenic operator) in the summer he told me that if a new operator does take over Dreamland the only ride they're likely to be interessted in keeping is the Scenic anyway. I'm not too worried about this as most of the rides bar the Scenic are quite recent additions arriving in the late 90s and more recently.

Even if the Scenic could be relocated I don't think it would really work as we all know that there is something special about the good old British seaside Amusement park and nowadays hardly any towns would have a plot of land close to the seafront avaliable for an Amusement park. If the rides were relocated to a modern style theme park somewhere else then effectively it would be more like starting from scratch than relocating Dreamland. These are my thought any way but thanks for the suggestion 'Villager'.

[Matty]

Loudoun Castle is the only theme park in Scotland, strictly speaking.
It's definitely the only one worth a second look anyway.

I've been to both, and while Loudoun Castle has some great rides in wonderful surroundings, M&D's is a few carnival rides on a slab of tarmac.

I know your Dreamland is in the same situation, but it has it's redeeming features, such as the Scenic Railway and it also has it's heritage.

M&D's isn't even ten years old!

I wouldn't agree with you though that Loudoun Castle is just a relocated Dreamland.
It may have bought some rides which were at Dreamland at some point and even bought rides from Dreamland itself, but LC has a lot more potential than Dreamland has now.

I am really happy now though that Henk Bembom has taken over the park.
For years it was owned by Codona's Amusements, so there didn't seem to be much future for it there, but it's fantastic that it's now being run by an experienced man who you all seem to hold in such high regard.

Hopefully, M&D's will be forced to withdraw their claim of being "Scotland's Theme Park" and let Loudoun Castle take the title which is righfully it's already.

[Nick]

I wouldn't agree with you though that Loudoun Castle is just a relocated Dreamland.
It may have bought some rides which were at Dreamland at some point and even bought rides from Dreamland itself, but LC has a lot more potential than Dreamland has now.

Loudoun Castle is a fantastic place, and much, much better since it has been in the ownership of Henk Bembom. But I wouldn't agree that it has more potential than Dreamland. Both parks have a great deal of potential.

Loudoun's potential is now (at last) beginning to be realised. Dreamland's potential is far from being realised at the moment.

One thing that Dreamland has going for it (besides the obvious things, like its heritage and the Scenic Railway!) is its location. Loudoun Castle could never expect to pull in the numbers of people that Dreamland can attract (nor does it need to). Dreamland's accessible location - an easy drive or train journey from London - means that it can draw people in very large numbers. That is why there is so much interest from established theme park operators in acquiring the park. They know that Dreamland has the potential to be a major tourist attraction for the region. They can see the huge potential that the park has.

Let's just hope that Harry Ayers' enthusiasm and ideas for Dreamland begin to fulfil some of Dreamland's potential for 2005.

Nick

[Matty]

Sorry, I worded that comment incorrectly so I agree with what you said.

Loudoun Castle used to be terrible, with all cheapy transportable rides and you could tell that the owners didn't care just by looking around it.

Mr Bembom has made a huge difference and you can see how the money has been spent.

I think many people here seem to agree that Dreamland's "Golden Age" would be in it's years under Bembom, and I can see that from the pictures, so I'm really delighted he's running Loudoun.

Loudoun Castle and Dreamland are different kinds of parks really though.
Loudoun is maybe more like your theme park, like Alton Towers, out in the middle of nowhere amongst trees and rolling fields, whereas Dreamland is like your old classic seaside attraction, like Blackpool PB.

M&D's is like a wannabe Dreamland. But Dreamland the way it is now is probably better than M&Ds! In my opinion anyway.

I always think it's a shame how Frontierland went, and now is supposedly going to be replaced with shops.

With you guys around, I'm sure that'll never happen to Dreamland!

[Nick]

I think you are absolutely right. Loudoun Castle and Dreamland are very different places (despite Loudoun now having a lot of Dreamland's old rides from both the Bembom and Godden years).

I think M&D's tries to market itself as an Alton Towers, but in reality it is more like a travelling fair. And that Tornado coaster is the most painful roller coaster I have ever had the misfortune to ride (and I have also ridden Goudurix and The Ultimate when it had OTSRs!)!

Nick

[iain]

I take it Matty/Nick are not fans of M&D's then!!! Even if you are not a fan you cannot call the likes of Tornado (and I agree with Nick it is painful) and Tsunami "Carnival Rides". The Big Wheel at M&D's is a clone of the one on the Central Pier at Blackpool. I have never heard anyone slag that ride off as a carnival ride.

Have your opinion by all means that you prefer Loudoun Castle to M&D's but keep to the facts. The very fact that Hank has transported these rides from Dreamland to Galston show that they are every bit as temporary as the rides assembled at M&D's.

M&D's has also been around for far longer than 10 years. My eldest daughter is 15 and it was up and running before she was born in the original location nearer the loch before relocating across the road to the current site.

At the end of the day both parks (and Dreamland except for the Scenic) are filled with rides that are transportable. Magnum Force at Flamingoland is a travelling fair ride........no further comment is necessary!

Iain

[Nick]

Have your opinion by all means that you prefer Loudoun Castle to M&D's but keep to the facts. The very fact that Hank has transported these rides from Dreamland to Galston show that they are every bit as temporary as the rides assembled at M&D's.

Correct, but Henk has also installed a number of new, permanent rides that cannot be travelled. Plus, some of the other existing rides at Loudoun couldn't be travelled, such as the Log Flume. Henk has also added permanent station buildings to some of the rides meaning they are now permanent.

Anyway, what is wrong with travelling rides? Some people seem to think that a 'travelling fair' is a derogatory comment. There is nothing at all wrong with travelling fairs in my view. Whilst I do think that Loudoun Castle offers a far better day out than M&D's, I still very much enjoyed my visit to M&D's a couple of years ago.

Nick

[Matty]

I have nothing against travelling fairs, apart from maybe the price of the rides in some of them.
They've got a great atmosphere, especially at night.

What I don't like is M&D's branding itself as a Theme Park which I think is misleading.

Looking at it from the highway, you could almost still believe it was a theme park. It's only when you pay and get in that you realise it's not.

Sorry Iain if I sounded like I was stating my opinions as fact.
I do prefer Loudoun Castle to M&D's, because I prefer theme parks to fairs.
It's probably the whole idea of the theme parks I like, which is the theming.

I'd certainly like Loudoun Castle to install even more permanent rides in the future.
I'd also like to see some of their transportable rides (especially Twist 'n Shout) made more permanent, perhaps by building a permanent path and station and by covering up the metal base with grass.

Maybe it's kind of a security thing. I know that the rides aren't just going to disappear over night, especially if it's a ride I like.