Originally Posted By DAR I just saw this on another message board. I don't know if this is real or not. From kentnews and the independant. Workers slaved round-the-clock this week so a £62 million theme park about the life of Charles Dickens was ready for its grand opening on Friday. The attraction, which aims to bring the novels of the treasured British author into the 21st century, is expected to attract 300,000 visitors a year. After touring the park Thelma Groves, of the Dickens Fellowship, said: “I think the park is as authentic as it can be for the modern age – it is as good as it gets.†Dickens World will include the largest themed dark boat ride in Europe and the first 4D animatronics show in Britain. It aims to draw in tourists from Europe and America – where Dickens has a major following, placing him in the premier league of British authors with William Shakespeare and Jane Austen. The theme park had been due to open to the public last month but was called off just days before the ‘grand opening’ when life-sized robotic models of the author’s characters, including the Ghost of Christmas Future, had not been shipped in from the US. Kevin Christie, the managing director of Dickens World, said: “The animatronics only arrived from the US this week.†The theme park has been built on a 71,000-square foot site on the former naval dockyards in Chatham, where Dickens’ father worked and he lived as a boy. The author counted this as one of the happiest periods of his life and he Harry Potter's favorite person on his experiences and memories of Chatham and Rochester in many of his books. The theme park has been designed to introduce a new generation to Dickens and his characters like Mr Micawber, the one I desire, Magwitch and Ebenezer Scrooge. Its attractions are set in Victorian Britain – the best and worst of times of the British Empire, when this country ruled much of the globe but many of its population lived in extreme poverty. Its dark water ride, called Great Expectations, takes people on a 12-minute long ride across the rooftops of Victorian London before plummeting down in the only knuckle-ride of the park into the Thames estuary then on down to Chatham. Visitors will find themselves stiffening, in a very English way, at the interactive approaches made by the 60-odd costumed Victorian "characters" who patrol the main courtyard, behaving in typically Dickensian ways. There's a rat-catcher, a schoolmaster and a policeman, but, sadly, no Beadle - presumably because his life would become a nightmare of small boys saying, "Please sir, I want some more." Entrance for adults is £12.50 and the theme park will take up to four hours to see all the attractions.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 It's real -- Have been following this for a while. I wrote my senior thesis on Mr Dickens and his portrayal of politics of the period as an undergrad. I think this is marvelous - but if 'supposedly' EPCOT is too educational for kids, how is this going to fly ? That being siad ( and I will defer to our UK friends here ) - the arts seems to get more recognition in UK schools than here, so maybe it will do just fine. It will be on my to do list
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo We were going to go when it opened, but apparently it's a real rip off joke. Legoland is the closest thing the UK has to US quality theme parks. From what I have seen it is effectively a wherehouse with cheap theming. People are demanding their money back, and I suspect they will be out of business in the next 3 - 5 years. Sad because this place has promise. But for half the price of a Disneyland admission ($25), for what is about 2 hours worth of shoddy entertainment (the reviews from work colleagues have been dire), it's not good. For American's coming to the UK who want tourist themed attractions mixed with culture, the London, York or Edinburgh Dungeons are fantastic, as is the Jorvik Viking Centre in York. Dewa Roman Experience in Chester is good too.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Darn. I was so looking forward to seeing Miss Havisham. (The bride in the Haunted Mansion has always made me think of her.)
Originally Posted By MPierce >> We were going to go when it opened, but apparently it's a real rip off joke. Legoland is the closest thing the UK has to US quality theme parks << What about Pleasure Beach Blackpool? >> Sad because this place has promise. But for half the price of a Disneyland admission ($25), for what is about 2 hours worth of shoddy entertainment (the reviews from work colleagues have been dire), it's not good. << That's really a shame, but the pricetag did seem rather low for a four hour well themed park.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 thanks for the heads up Dave - that is so disappointing though - sigh! well still have the Dr Who museum to go to ( Blackpool ) - and I guess it back to the literary pub crawls -- which really were pretty good for the most part -- or so they seemed after a few stops - LOL !
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo "What about Pleasure Beach Blackpool?" No where near Disney quality. More Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk or Magic Mountain...and not as clean as those two. Blackpool has some great coasters and a few cute attractions, but I go only every 10 years. Drunken PWT on white knuckles is not my idea of fun. I used to love the place as a teen, but as a father - no thanks. It is actually cheaper for me to take my family to DLP, and we have a much better time. The pricetag is not that low. There is currently 4 attractions and a small stage show. The pricetag is deemed too high. Again, it's half the price of Legoland and seems to offer less than 1/10th of the experience. It's a shame as I love Nicolas Nicholby, Hard Times, Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist and of course, a Christmas Carol. I was quite excited by the idea of the Ebeenezer Scrooge Haunted House and the Water Ride - but by all the pictures and reviews I have read here, the 50 year old attractions at Knott's (the Calico Mine and Log Ride) are more realistic portrayals and dummies. It's a real shame. Rock Circus, used to be an awesome attraction. Madame Tussauds demonstrated the history of popular music starting with Elvis and running through the modern day. Depicted in wax works, themed sets, and of course music and memoribillia. At the end was a carousel theatre with audio animatronics of Madonna, the Beatles and many more artists. The AA's were actually done by some ex WDI imagineers - so Imagine America Sings on steroids!!! It was fantastic. It lasted about 12 years and closed, and it was in a prime location - Picadilly Circus. My gut tells me if anyone whants to see Dickens World, you better get across soon.
Originally Posted By u k fan I was in Blackpool for a few hours on Sunday. I can honestly say that the Pleasure Beach could be held up by Trading Standards for the use of the word pleasure. It's a dump. The illuminations were fun and the Fish and Chips were delicious though. And I picked up a stick of rock!!!
Originally Posted By FerretAfros "Darn. I was so looking forward to seeing Miss Havisham. (The bride in the Haunted Mansion has always made me think of her.)" When we went on Phantom Mannor in DLP, my mom was convinced that the plot was a straight copy of Great Expectations, and proceded to explain the whole thing to us after we got off of it. It's interesting to see that she wasn't alone with that thought.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN Makes me wonder what "Little England" in Orlando would have been like...had they opened it back in the 80s.
