A Day At Dreamland

Summer made a last gasp for life last weekend and we decided to take full advantage of it by going to the seaside! We headed off to Margate with my sister and spent most of the day at the revamped Dreamland!
Being the super organised Mummy (and penny pincher) that I am, I pre-booked our tickets to get the online discount and kiddo was free because he's under 3.
Pre-booked tickets also means you don't have to queue, I just showed the email on my phone, they scanned the bar code and away we went - easy peasy.

The park has been closed for a decade, the town has campaigned to get it re-opened and a lot of public funding has been spent to make it happen. They've also had grants from the National Lottery and their local council. What I love about this, is the community spirit involved in making it happen, something the park acknowledges by giving local residents a ticket discount.
The original Dreamland was a huge tourist attraction particularly in the 50s and 60s, the new development has really harped back to this time and it really is fantastic. It has a brilliant retro, British Seaside holiday feel which was right up our street - I do love myself a bit of vintage nostalgia!

There's a lot there for all ages which was great, there's specially designated young kids corner with boat swings, tea cups and mini picnic benches for tiny bums. BUT what really made me happy was that with the majority of the other rides, Finley could still join in as long as he was accompanied by an adult. So all of us got to have fun together rather than splitting up and taking turns 'holding the baby' and going on rides.
We particularly enjoyed the Caterpillar Rollercoaster, Dodgems and Helter Skelter. There is also a really cute vintage pedal car area, where kids can ride tiny vintage tin cars, which he loved and so did we until he refused to get off them and I had to bribe him with an ice cream so we could move onto to something else!

For lunch we took a picnic but there's plenty of places to get food, including the Roller Diner which looked pretty cool. I doubt any of them serve Finley's staple - Marmite sandwiches with a side of cheese, so a picnic was a smart move on our part.
We spent quite a while in the arcade, there are a few vintage rides like a Thunderbird 2 and Bill n'Ben The Flower Pot Men. Our favourite were the classic 2p machines and Finley was thrilled when he won a little prize.

We ended the day with a paddle in the Sea and a walk along the Sea Front. Someone had left a message especially for Finley in the sand...

I Like Cheese

You can visit the Dreamland Website Here.