Dreamland 16th June 2019

I'd intended to get to Dreamland for opening, but decided late yesterday that an extra hour in bed was preferable. As such it was just before 11:00am when I arrived at the large car park located on the east side of the park. The meter wouldn't accept my credit card, so I decanted all the coins that I had into it, giving me just over two hours to play with. This turned out to be ample for my purposes, as my stomach was not being overly cooperative, reducing my tolerance for repeat rides on coasters and rendering the majority of flat rides entirely off limits.

My key target was Pinball X (#2699), a Zamperla Spinning Mouse that was one of nine new attractions at the park last year. The ride was installed in the same place as the previous Magic Mouse, though the large drop and lift hill now face away from a nearby apartment block rather than towards it. The theming package is rudimentary by the standards of Spinball Whizzer, though I will allow it 100 points when lit for novelty value. The experience on board is as per every other example of the type; I rode twice before moving on.

In an ideal world I'd have ridden the Dreamland Drop, but it was one of three rides out of commission for the duration of my visit; the Speedway and Waltzer were similarly indisposed. In due course I wound up at the Big Wheel for some overhead photographs. With that done I made my way to the Scenic Railway, and though operations were unhurried I was still able to complete three laps over a one hour period, all of which were in the second car from the back. It was fun to experience the ride under the control of different brakemen; my first lap was noticeably more peppy than the other two.