Nic
Strata Poster
On Sunday 2nd November, I took a trip to the Dreamland Expo in Margate. The exhibition takes place in the newly appointed "Visitor & Learning Arcade", housed in the original cinema building on the seafront.
It's aim is to allow people to reminisce about the park's past, whilst also giving information about the ongoing refurbishments and plans for the future.
The exhibition contains a number of original artefacts from around the park along with information and explanations.
The exhibits include parts of some of the original rides
HemmingwayDesign are responsible for the look and feel of the refurbished park, and if the exhibition is anything to go by, they will do a great job. Everything is arranged in an appealing and eye-catching way with a great visual style to the posters and information boards.
One of the main attractions at the expo is a small cinema room. This is showing a new documentary film about the history of the park - both in its heyday and its decline - as well as the currently refurbishment work and future plans. Narrated by Barbara Windsor, it is a well a made and interesting watch.
The other main attraction in the arcade is a number of historic pinball and other game machines.
Tokens are for sale to allow you to play on the games machines - it was a lot of fun!
As well as providing a visitor experience in its own right, the expo also acts as an information point about the park and the ongoing regeneration project. Several volunteers were on hand to answer any questions. There was also a limited amount of merchandise available to purchase.
All in all, it was an interesting place to visit and we spent a lot longer in there than you may imagine. It's probably not worth travelling any great distance for, but if you're in the area, then it's definitely worth popping in. The Expo is free to enter and is open weekends from 10am until 5.00pm. More information is available on their website: http://www.dreamlandmargate.com/visitor ... rcade.html
Whilst I was there, I popped round the back of the park to see how the Scenic is coming along. A contractor, Topbond plc, has been appointed to carry out the refurbishment of the historic coaster and preparation work has already begun.
Some of the rooms underneath the remaining parts of the coaster have been removed. This is the main noticeable difference since my last visit for the open day almost a year ago (http://forums.coasterforce.com/viewtopi ... &start=160). They've also begun to remove damaged timbers from the original structure.
Apart from that though, the site currently looks very similar
It's good to see that some progress, however slow, is finally being made to bring this park back into operation. It feels as though it's in the right hands, with people who have an interesting and sustainable vision for the park's future. I will be very excited to see how the development work goes, and will definitely be there for when the park finally reopens.
It's aim is to allow people to reminisce about the park's past, whilst also giving information about the ongoing refurbishments and plans for the future.
The exhibition contains a number of original artefacts from around the park along with information and explanations.
The exhibits include parts of some of the original rides
HemmingwayDesign are responsible for the look and feel of the refurbished park, and if the exhibition is anything to go by, they will do a great job. Everything is arranged in an appealing and eye-catching way with a great visual style to the posters and information boards.
One of the main attractions at the expo is a small cinema room. This is showing a new documentary film about the history of the park - both in its heyday and its decline - as well as the currently refurbishment work and future plans. Narrated by Barbara Windsor, it is a well a made and interesting watch.
The other main attraction in the arcade is a number of historic pinball and other game machines.
Tokens are for sale to allow you to play on the games machines - it was a lot of fun!
As well as providing a visitor experience in its own right, the expo also acts as an information point about the park and the ongoing regeneration project. Several volunteers were on hand to answer any questions. There was also a limited amount of merchandise available to purchase.
All in all, it was an interesting place to visit and we spent a lot longer in there than you may imagine. It's probably not worth travelling any great distance for, but if you're in the area, then it's definitely worth popping in. The Expo is free to enter and is open weekends from 10am until 5.00pm. More information is available on their website: http://www.dreamlandmargate.com/visitor ... rcade.html
Whilst I was there, I popped round the back of the park to see how the Scenic is coming along. A contractor, Topbond plc, has been appointed to carry out the refurbishment of the historic coaster and preparation work has already begun.
Some of the rooms underneath the remaining parts of the coaster have been removed. This is the main noticeable difference since my last visit for the open day almost a year ago (http://forums.coasterforce.com/viewtopi ... &start=160). They've also begun to remove damaged timbers from the original structure.
Apart from that though, the site currently looks very similar
It's good to see that some progress, however slow, is finally being made to bring this park back into operation. It feels as though it's in the right hands, with people who have an interesting and sustainable vision for the park's future. I will be very excited to see how the development work goes, and will definitely be there for when the park finally reopens.
