Dreamland
About
Dreamland is free to walk into, which surprises people, and that single fact changes how you use it. You pay for rides and attractions individually or by wristband, but the park itself, the arcades, the street food and the general business of wandering around a restored amusement park cost nothing. One thing to get straight before you come. The Scenic Railway, the wooden coaster that dominates the park and is the oldest surviving roller coaster in Britain, is no longer a ride. It stopped running in August 2024 after a carriage fault tore planks out of the track, and in January 2026 Dreamland announced it had completed its journey as a roller coaster and would take retirement from operation. The Grade II* listed structure stays where it is, the park is required to keep it in good condition, and Dreamland says it will be reinvented for people to enjoy some other way, but you cannot ride it and nobody can tell you yet what it will become. What does run is deliberately vintage in character rather than a modern theme park: the Bavarian Fun House, the Gallopers, the Big Wheel, a roller disco in the Roller Room, art installations, and an outdoor concert space that puts on a summer live music season. The critical thing to check before you build a day around it is the operating pattern. Dreamland runs daily in peak summer but weekends and school holidays only outside it, and on days with an outdoor gig the park's own closing time moves earlier, sometimes to 16:00. All of that is published on Dreamland's own site and nowhere else reliably, so check there on the day.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓Free to enter, rides and attractions charged separately
- ✓The retired Scenic Railway, Grade II* listed and still standing over the park
- ✓Roller Room roller disco
- ✓Vintage-style rides and arcades
- ✓Outdoor live music season through the summer
Tips
- →Check dreamland.co.uk on the day. The park runs weekends and holidays outside peak, and gig days pull the closing time forward.
- →Free entry means you can walk through it as part of a seafront stroll without committing to a ride budget.
- →The park sits directly behind Marine Terrace, so it is two minutes from Main Sands and ten from the station.
- →Ride availability changes; nothing on this page should be read as a guarantee that a specific ride is running.
Best Season
Accessibility
Dreamland publishes its own accessibility page. Not independently verified during this build; check the park's site before travelling.
More Attraction Activities
Turner Contemporary
Free contemporary art gallery on the seafront, on the site of Turner's Margate lodgings. Open Tuesday to Sunday, closed Mondays.
The Shell Grotto
4.6 million shells in a tunnel under a Cliftonville side street. Discovered in 1835 and never explained. Grade I listed.
Margate Caves
A chalk excavation on Northdown Road with a documented history, run by a community trust. Open daily, the most dependable indoor option in town.