Do dreams really symbolize what's going on in your real life?

Dreams are your subconscious mind going where you cannot, they symbolize a part of your hidden desires, and not what’s going on in your life. That’s not to say you wish anything bad upon your friends, but it’s expressing some curiosity or fear. Do you or any of your friends fear rollercoasters?

No, they are just random.

No, goddamnit, no!

Usually. When you have a dream that leaves an impression on you it is usually your subconscious trying to tell you something. Often, when we see a person in a dream it is a representation of an aspect of ourselves. Is there an aspect of yourself that you need to let go of? Or is there an aspect of yourself that you feel you are loosing?

I think @FluffyChicken may have a point.
It could also mean several other things. I gather from your dream you could not stop the event from happening. And it seems to happen in a place where one would be at peace or have fun. So maybe your relationships are changing and you feel its not headed where you want them to go. But it really depends on how you felt about the dream. If you were distressed than you may want things to stay the same and they are not. If you were not upset than you may feel a need to kill or let go of the relationship. A way of your subconcious saying your relationships are pretty much dead already.

Random? When did that ever stop anyone from trying to make meaning out of it? And I think dreams are hardly random. I think they are generally quite meaningful to the dreamer. Otherwise we wouldn’t see so many people seeking help in figuring out the meaning of their dreams.

Does the meaning a dreamer finds in the dream have any relationship to reality? Of course it does. The only context for the dream and the only context for meaning making is the reality the dreamer experiences. Any interpretation of anything has to reflect that context. Any effort to make meaning is informed by both exterior and interior realities.

If the dreamer wants to, they can interpret the dream in the context of what is going on in their lives. They can interpret in a multitude of ways, some quite opposed to each other. Doesn’t matter. The dreamer does what they want to do.

To say a dream is random is to experience the knee-jerk catechism of a scientist. I don’t think it’s very good science. If you want your dream to symbolize your real life, then it does, and no one can prove it wrong. And there would be a lot of evidence to support that connection.