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词条 Dickens World
释义

  1. The concept

  2. Original Attractions

  3. Administration and restructuring

  4. Use by the media

  5. See also

  6. References

  7. External links

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}{{Use British English|date=June 2015}}Dickens World was a themed attraction located in the Chatham Dockside retail park in Kent, England. It was themed around elements of the life and work of Charles Dickens. After a soft opening in April, Dickens World officially opened to the public on 25 May 2007.[1] It closed on 12 October 2016.[2]

The concept

First conceived as far back as the 1970s, Dickens World was designed by Gerry O'Sullivan-Beare, who also created Santa World in Sweden and Andersen World. It cost ₤62 million.[2] Designers RMA Ltd worked closely with Dickens World and the Dickens Fellowship to ensure the production of authentic storylines, characters, atmospheric streets, courtyards and alleyways were true to the period.[1]

Dickens World was based around the life of author Charles Dickens, briefly a resident of Chatham as a child and who, as an adult, lived at Gad's Hill Place in nearby Higham. Many of the locations and characters in his novels are based on buildings, places and people of the Medway Towns. Holcombe Manor was the inspiration for Dingley Dell, the house in Pickwick Papers, and some of Edwin Drood takes place in Rochester Cathedral.[3]

Dickens World was an indoor attraction, centred on a courtyard with facades of buildings related to Dickens, like Warren's Blacking. Unlike many other theme parks, Dickens World was not designed to guide visitors through any particular path, but enabled them to structure their own experience.[6]

Original Attractions

When Dickens World first opened it included a Great Expectations-themed water ride; a Haunted House; a 4D movie at Peggotty's boathouse; an animatronic show in a mock-up Britannia Theatre; an interactive schoolhouse based on Dotheboys Schoolhouse; a "Fagin's den" play area for children; "The Six Jolly Fellowship Porters", a themed bar and restaurant.[4][5] The clients exited into a gift shop called The Olde Curiosity Shoppe.[6]

The Great Expectations ride took visitors through scenes of Victorian London, and ended with a simulated drop from a sewer into the River Thames.[5] Though featuring Magwitch, the ride did not follow the plot of Great Expectations. Instead, it emphasised the criminal elements of Dickens' novel, featuring a jail filled with criminal characters from several of the writer's books.[6] That ride closed in 2013.[7]

The 4D film in Peggotty's Boathouse told the story of Dickens, featuring an inflatable Catherine Dickens, a winking Nellie Ternan, and a spray of water in the face during the Dickens's trip to America. The whole is framed with a magic lantern theme.[5] That attraction closed in 2013.

At Dotheboys Schoolhouse visitors experience a Victorian classroom. Touch-screens replaced slates, and visitors took a quiz on Dickens' life and works.[6]

The haunted house was first advertised as Ebenezer Scrooge's house, but before the grand opening was renamed the Haunted House of 1859, possibly alluding to Dickens' Christmas story, "A Haunted House," published that year.[6] The house featured a Pepper's ghost effect.

Administration and restructuring

The original company Dickens World Ltd placed itself in administration {{when|date=February 2019}} when unable to meet a £6 million tax bill, investors lost £32 million.[8] Former director, Ed De Lucy, explained that the attraction was losing between £500,000 and £1m each year, and only the revenue from the adjacent Odeon Theatre and Porter's restaurant had kept the attraction open.[8]

The new owners reduced the prices to £6.50 a head and the boat trip ride was removed. From 23 March 2013, the venue offered a guide-led walking tour where the visitors met costumed characters, and intended to host weddings and corporate events.[8]

Dickens World officially closed in October 2016 when the restructuring and refinancing company pulled out of negotiations. The staff were informed by text messages and email that the company had ceased to operate.[9]

Use by the media

The courtyard in Dickens World was used for the opening titles of the 10 week TV show I'd Do Anything, which auditioned for two young hopefuls to star in the West End musical Oliver; this was broadcast from 15 March 2008.{{cn|date=February 2019}}

The Hoosiers used Dickens World as the location for their fourth single's video Cops and Robbers in March 2008.[2]

See also

  • Charles Dickens Museum, London
  • Dickens fair

References

1. ^1 {{cite news|last1=Addley|first1=Esther|title=High times aboard the sewer boat ride to the slums|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/apr/19/books.booksnews|accessdate=14 January 2015|agency=The Guardian|date=19 April 2007}}
2. ^1 {{cite book|last1=John|first1=Juliet|title=Dickens and Mass Culture|date=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press}}
3. ^{{cite news|last1=Huntley|first1=Dana|title=Visiting in Dickens World|issue=29.4|date=Sep 2008}}
4. ^{{cite news|last1=Membery|first1=York|title=Great expectations for newly opened Dickens World|url=https://www.thestar.com/life/travel/2008/02/23/great_expectations_for_newly_opened_dickens_world.html|accessdate=14 January 2015|publisher=Toronto Star|date=23 February 2008}}
5. ^1 2 {{cite journal|last1=Hughes|first1=Kathryn|title=Dickens World and Dickens's World|journal=Journal of Victorian Culture|date=2010|volume=15|issue=3|page=388}}
6. ^1 2 3 4 {{cite journal|last1=Gould|first1=Marty and Rebecca N. Mitchell|title=Neo-Victorian Studies 3:2 (2010) pp. 145-171 Understanding the Literary Theme Park: Dickens World as Adaptation|journal=Neo-Victorian Studies|date=2010|volume=3|issue=2|page=145}}
7. ^{{cite web|title=Frequently Asked Questions|url=http://www.dickensworld.co.uk/about-the-grand-tour/grand-tour-frequently-asked-questions/|website=Dickens World|accessdate=17 January 2015}}
8. ^1 2 {{cite news|url=http://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/news/hard-times-for-dickens-world-7226/|title=Hard Times for Dickens World investors after Dickens World Ltd|last=Price|first=Chris|date=10 October 2013|work=Kent Online|publisher=Kent Messenger Group|accessdate=13 July 2014}}
9. ^1 {{cite news|last1=Pyman|first1=Tom|title=Popular tourist attraction closes as staff ‘told of redundancies via social media’|url=http://www.kentnews.co.uk/business/popular_tourist_attraction_closes_as_staff_told_of_redundancies_via_social_media_1_4732889|accessdate=13 October 2016|work=Kent News Online|publisher=KOS Media, Archant Community Media Ltd|date=12 October 2016}}

External links

  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20140930053815/http://www.dickensworld.co.uk/gallery Official Dickens World website] (archived 30 September 2014)
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7 : Charles Dickens|Chatham, Kent|Buildings and structures in Kent|Former amusement parks in England|2007 establishments in England|Amusement parks opened in 2007|Amusement parks closed in 2016
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