Professional Pre-Production: Possible Locations

Pleasure Park is set in a fictional seaside town. The town is called Fairwood and is in Lincolnshire (home to Skegness). Like most other seaside towns it's a little run down, and not very popular. This lack of popularity is one of the many reasons why Pleasure Park isn't doing very well. The local council want to build a large shopping centre in the hopes that it will bring people to Fairwood, put to do that, they must demolish Pleasure Park.

The choice of location will be really important in ensuring the show looks and feels how I intend it to, so below are my current options.

POSSIBLE LOCATIONS

Fantasy Island (Skegness)

Fantasy Island is a family amusement park in Skegness. It currently has about 24 rides, 5 of which are roller coasters.

Pros-

- Visually interesting.

- Lots of rides which provide good background for scenes.

- Right next to a large holiday park which would work well as cast and crew accommodation.

Cons-

- Maybe to big to be a failing amusement park.

- Doesn't look run down enough.

- Probably too busy.

Dreamland (Margate)

Dreamland is the UK's oldest amusement park. It's also home to one of only eight Scenic Railways in the world, this one being the oldest in Europe.

Pros-

- Visually interesting

- Big enough space to film a television show

- Has a good number of rides

- On the seafront, which is good for the show.

- The town of Margate would also work well as a run down seaside town.

Cons-

- Recent redevelopment, and plans for the future, mean the park wouldn't really be a good background for a fictional failing amusement park.

- Looks too new.

- Very busy during the summer season, filming would be difficult.

Adventure Island (Southend-on-Sea)

Adventure Island is a family amusement park in Southend-on-Sea. It is home to 33 rides, 5 of which are roller coasters.

Pros-

- Visually interesting

- Lots of rides

- Right next to the beach, which works well for the fictional town's seaside setting.

Cons-

- Southend is quite a popular town, so probably wouldn't work well as a failing seaside town.

- From my experience the park is usually quite busy.

- Doesn't look run down enough

Harbour Park (Littlehampton)

Harbour Park is an amusement park in the coastal town of Littlehampton. It is home to 14 rides, one of which is a roller coaster.

Pros-

- Right next to a harbour/beach area.

- Looks reasonable run down.

- Small and quiet.

- In an area that would work as a failing town.

Cons-

- Maybe too small and quiet to work well for the show.

- Not a lot of rides.

Pleasure Beach (Great Yarmouth)

Pleasure Beach is an amusement park in Great Yarmouth. It is home to 27 rides, one of which is a Scenic Railway.

Pros-

- Looks slightly run down.

- Has Pleasure in the name of the park.

- It's right next to the beach which works well for the show.

- Situated next to a holiday park which is good for cast and crew accommodation.

- Has a good number of rides.

Cons-

- Not really what I imagine Pleasure Park looking like.

- During the summer season it gets quite busy.

Pleasure Beach (Skegness)

Pleasure Beach is a family amusement park in Skegness. It is home to 24 rides, 4 of which are roller coasters.

Pros-

- Right next to the beach

- Situated in a town that could work as a failing seaside town.

- Has a good number of rides

- Looks like how I imagine Pleasure Park looks.

Cons-

- Can be busy during the summer season, even though Fantasy Island is nearby.

These are my current options for the location of Pleasure Park. My next step is to look at these options and eventually narrow it down to a final choice.