Silly Wonka!
Children’s tears at £35 ‘immersive’ chocolate factory... in a warehouse
THEY were promised a ‘chocolate fantasy like never before’ – a bold pledge to make to any sweettoothed child.
But youngsters were left in tears – and police called to deal with furious parents – after an ‘immersive’ Willy Wonka experience turned out to be simply a warehouse and a glum-looking Oompa Loompa.
Families paid £35 per head to attend Willy’s Chocolate Experience in Glasgow, which events company House of Illuminati claimed would transport them to an enchanted garden with ‘giant sweets’ and ‘magical surprises’.
In reality, disappointed children cried after waiting in long queues to find the ‘shambolic event’ consisted of one tiny bouncy castle and a few Jelly Babies each.
The ‘magic’, inspired by the Roald Dahl book and last year’s spin-off film starring Timothee Chalamet, turned out to be a few benches and an ama
‘Given a few Jelly Babies each’
teurish looking set, barely disguising the warehouse building. Officers had to deal with crowds of angry parents, and the company cancelled the experience halfway through on Saturday, eventually announcing that more than 800 tickets would be refunded.
Despite the experience being billed as a ‘paradise of sweet treats’, children were only given a few Jelly Babies or a small lollipop and a quarter of a can of Barrs Limeade.
Jenny Fogarty, 25, who was hired to play an Oompa Loompa, called the event ‘embarrassing’ and said she was given a 15-page ‘script’ to learn the evening before the event began.
One mother wrote on social media: ‘We waited in a huge queue for about 40 minutes and then when we got inside there was more waiting around. Underwhelming was an understatement. Embarrassing oesn’t even cut it. I paid for Willy Wonka and got Billy Bonkers.’
Another parent said: ‘What an absolute shambles of an event. This was described as the full Willy Wonka experience with chocolate fountains etc and a great day out for the kids.’
House of Illuminati have since apologised.
It said: ‘Unfortunately, last minute we were let down in many areas of our event and tried our best to continue on and push through and now realise we probably should have cancelled first thing instead. We fully apologise for what has happened and will be giving full refunds to each and every person.’