Dreamland in Margate was an amusment park that my Mum has very fond memories of from her summer holidays in the 1950’s/60’s.
Fun filled days of good old fashioned rides and fairground stalls, of which my grandparents favourite was ‘Spin A Disc’ where they won some beautiful cut glass that is still in the family to this day.
Many years have passed since then with Dreamland having a change of name for a few years and sadly a long period of closure.
Thankfully last year a regeneration program was started on the site and we went along to check out how much our little ones would enjoy this iconic amusment park.
Unfortunately we had a midweek trip which meant that the rides outside were not open for us to try out, but we will be back very soon to give them all a try.
There was still a whole host of activities to get involved in inside and we headed straight to the roller disco to see how we got on, on four wheels.
Luckily enough for me number five was to little to join in so I got to sit on the sidelines and watch my husband and number four slip and slide around the rink.
Let’s just say neither of them were naturals but they had a good try and enjoyed bopping along to the upbeat disco music whilst making their way round.
If you fancy watching instead of skating like me there is a run of great diner style booths along the edge of the rink where you can relax and grab a drink or something to eat while watching all the fun.
From here we made our way into the Octopus Garden which is a soft play with a real difference.
You have your usual ball pit, soft bricks to play with and areas to climb and slide down that all children love.
But they have kept a seaside theme and added some great features such a several sandpits, a dressing up area, role play sections where they can do some shopping or get their hair done and a gallery that they can create their own chalk masterpiece in.
If all of this gets to much and a refreshment break is needed there is a great little cafe where you can grab hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, salads and lots more.
We filled our bellies with some really tasty chips whilst sitting in a really cool beach hut before heading out to the amusement arcade.
Slot machines are normally a pet hate for me! Poring money into machines with the hope of getting something in return which rarely happens.
I have to say though I was very impressed with the machines that Dreamland have to offer.
There was a whole section of vintage machine that gave the children the opportunity to play with games that my Mum my have played with all those years ago.
They had all the other games you would expect to see in an arcade plus lots of machines that allowed the children to earn tickets that they could then exchange for something of their choice at the till.
While my husband and number four were busy earning tickets number five was keep amused by trying to pick up the money from this super cool floor!
We all had a wonderful, fun filled afternoon at Dreamland and have created some wonderful memories in a fabulously restored amusement park that is steeped in so much history that the restorers have managed to withhold perfectly.
We can’t wait to come back and try out the rides later in the year and tell you all about it!
*We were gifted tickets for the purpose of this review and they are all my own honest opinion.
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