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^ There are no coasters at Blackpool with brake men.

The woodie at Great Yarmouth has one though.
 
gavin said:
^ There are no coasters at Blackpool with brake men.

The woodie at Great Yarmouth has one though.
Oh right yeah, I was getting confused with the old style brakes that some of their woodies have. My bad. Wasn't thinking.
 
I guess this is to do with the whole "it's a new ride, new regulations" thing, just like the new cages on the trains.
 
Hi all, newbie here and also very local to Dreamland :)

With discussion regarding the Scenic's brakes, I found a short explanation that clears it up a bit, taken from a Freedom of Information request:
The braking system has been a difficult issue to resolve because, for reasons of health and safety, the ride has not been permitted to rely solely on the brakeman, who for whatever reason might be incapable of, or determined not to, keep the train on the tracks. The Health and Safety Executive agreed to retaining a brakeman, a function of the ride which everyone agreed was of considerable historical importance, only on the basis that there would be a secondary 'override' brake to prevent the trains ever falling off the track at the corners. A discreet magnetic brake was therefore agreed.

Whilst a compromise had to be made for this, it's good to know that the brakeman will still have primary control over the coaster during its operation, with the brakes sounding more like a back up system. It's been very exciting to see the Scenic testing recently, and having followed this project closely since 2005, it really is fab to see it operating once again!

I am also eagerly anticipating their Screamland event :D The park has been posting some fantastic sneak peeks of the scare mazes on their Facebook event page, would really recommend everyone to have a look if they can (unfortunately I can't post the photos in here just yet) :p The sets have certainly surpassed my expectations so far, Dead and Breakfast is definitely the maze that is standing out for me right now. The sets are incredibly detailed, yet I'm not quite sure what to expect from the experience when I visit in just under 2 weeks time :')

An exciting few weeks ahead for Dreamland indeed :D
 
Whilst this Screamland event does look good, I get the feeling their prices may do the visitor numbers some harm. You have to buy a seperate ticket to ride during the day, and that costs £18, plus £25 for the evening. So it's for £43 for a day at Dreamland, or (on average) £45 for Fright Nights (not including BOGOFs).

I did really want to go to Screamland, but the quality of the rides at Thorpe alone is making me wanna do Fright Nights again!
 
Yeah but from what I can see all the rides are open in the evening for the Halloween event. As the park is not that big I'm planning to go only in the evening. £25 is much easier to stomach (and I guess that parking will be free/cheaper).

Hi Kimberley, nice to see some more members from down south. I've been following the renovation work closely as I have many happy childhood memories from Dreamland. Sadly though, the constant delays have quelled my excitement somewhat. When the fans start getting annoyed you have to wonder what the general public make of it all.

Nice find on the new brake situation. I guess that goes a long way to explain the delays. I think there were alterations to the trains themselves too. I wonder if Great Yarmouth has a similar set up (or maybe because it isn't 'new' it can get away with just a brakeman'?

I believe the Screamland event is being put on by a company called AtmosFEAR! which one of the Coasterforce members is heavily involved with (have a look in the Halloween events topic if you are interested). I've never been to any of their stuff myself but it's supposed to be very good.
 
If you book in advance you can save money :) Tickets online are £15 and at the moment there is an offer running whereby you can save £3 on a Screamland ticket, so if you did want to spend a whole day there it would be more around £37.

I would agree with Mysterious Sue that an evening is all that is really needed for Dreamland, the park is obviously a lot smaller in size with comparison to Thorpe Park, as well as offering a much different experience :p Screamland runs from 6 until late (can't find a specific time for this :p). I think £25 (£22 if you take advantage of the recent offer) for 1 run through each of the 4 mazes, plus their other attractions and entertainments is very reasonable - but of course everyone is going to have their own opinions in terms of affordability :)

Personally I can't wait to visit :D I am expecting that they will use the park's smaller area to their advantage, I believe this could really offer a more personal experience in comparison to some of the larger players. For example, when I have visited Fright Nights and Scarefest in the past, the roaming actors have been quite isolated. In terms of the scare mazes, the sets are looking impressive!

Dead and Breakfast
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Festino's Forgotten Funhouse
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The Final Cut
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The theming is really taking shape in Dead and Breakfast, the extra details will certainly add to the experience :D Festino's Forgotten Funhouse also looks huge! Very few teasers have been posted for The Final Cut in comparison, so I'm intrigued to see what this will have to offer :)

Images taken from the Screamland event page and ScareTOUR
 
The attractions will surpass all expectations that anybody has. I've just spent three days in them and I'm so happy with where they're at.


Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk.
 
I'm really excited about Screamland. I'm not overly fussed about horror nights but I adore the creativity and imagination involved. I will be attending the press night next Thursday (15th Oct) so stay tuned to CF FB and Twitter for updates!
 
It's been confirmed that the Scenic is opening on Thursday this week at the Screamland press launch. The park will not be open to the public that day, so the first chance to ride it is on Saturday 17th. I expect it will be fairly busy!

I'm going to the press launch, so expect plenty of photos and (hopefully) a POV.
 
Sorry if its already been mentioned, but wtf is with the trains
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I like the colour scheme and all but why does it have to be such a cage.
 
Zac said:
Sorry if its already been mentioned, but wtf is with the trains
otCOtmN.jpg
I like the colour scheme and all but why does it have to be such a cage.

The cages are there to stop people waving their arms out of the train. After all its Britain and its 2015 so overzealous health and safety modifications are far from surprising.
 
I can only imagine that it's easy to touch the railings on either side of track? Pass.
 
Typical modern Health and safety. It ran without incident and no one lost an arm for like 90 odd years previously but lets put massive cages on it anyway :roll:

Either way I am glad its reopened at all and I can't wait to get on it. It's great that they have managed to get it open in time for the halloween event.
 
So excited to ride the Scenic soon :D Hoping the forecast improves a bit for Thursday as it's looking windy though :p

Also can't wait for Screamland this week, a few more teasers have been posted and the mazes are looking fantastic!

The Final Cut
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Dead and Breakfast
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Source
 
I'm off to the park for the first public day tomorrow (Friday), but it looks like the Scenic Railway is a hit at the press opening.

Just a couple of HSE-gone-crazy points to note:

The cage around the seats is metal - no padding.
There are (get this) over-the-shoulder seat belts to be worn, keeping your head nice and close to that metal cage. Lap belts are one thing, but what exactly are HSE expecting to happen that would require over-the-shoulder seat belts?

In a collision (heaven forbid) the seatbelt arrests your forward momentum, but your head then travels backwards and hits the headrest at speed. Not sure solid metal was the original designer's idea of the best material to use for the car headrest.
 
^Oh dear that all sounds ridiculously over the top! Still, its better that the coaster re opens than not at all and its another interesting cred for the UK.
 
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