An “immersive experience” that promised to transport Willy Wonka fans into a “magical realm” has turned out to be such an epic letdown that customers called the police and compared the attraction to a meth lab.
The U.K. event was titled Willy’s Chocolate Experience and charged customers $44 each (photos below). The attraction was not affiliated with the Warner Bros. movie Wonka, though the event’s marketing came as close as possible to suggesting it was based on author Roald Dahl’s creation. The ad copy invited fans to journey to “a universe where confectionary dreams are brought to life” that included “mind-expanding projections, optical marvels and exhibits that transport you into the realm of creativity” and “wondrous creations and enchanting surprises at every turn!”
The event organizers apparently used artificial intelligence to generate promotional images that suggested a very high-quality attraction, which looked just like the immersive and trippy Wonka-esque world that the ad copy promised. But the result was somewhat different, and ticket buyers needed pure imagination to think it looked anything like a fantastical chocolate factory.
As reported by The Guardian, customers showed up in Glasgow to find “a sparsely decorated warehouse with a scattering of plastic props, a small bouncy castle and some backdrops pinned against the walls.” Scotland police were even called to the scene, the event shut down and parents said their children were in tears. All the event lacked was a man in top hat telling customers: “You get nothing! You lose! Good day, sir!”
Photos from the event went viral online comparing what was promised to what was delivered: [Reply]
Originally Posted by Womble:
There's now a petition to reopen the Willy Wonka experience. People genuinely want to go and see the shittest event imaginable for themselves. The organisers really should get the ball rolling on this because it's the easiest and quickest buck they'll ever make.
Originally Posted by Womble:
There's now a petition to reopen the Willy Wonka experience. People genuinely want to go and see the shittest event imaginable for themselves. The organisers really should get the ball rolling on this because it's the easiest and quickest buck they'll ever make.
They could have a ompa-lompa and Veruca Salt look-a-like contest.
Winners get to sit on Wonka's lap and talk about the first thing that comes up. [Reply]
I think I am going to open up the "Colonoscopy Experience."
A bunch of winding tunnels all connected that goes on for like 1000 ft.
You enter on your hands and knees and crawl through trying to discover unique parasites, identifying what's in that fecal matter, which polyps are cancerous and try to locate the hidden gerbil.
The tunnels will be pink and squishy with chocolate sauce dripping from the ceiling.
Originally Posted by Womble:
Believe it or not, I was part of a recording in there when I was 11. A backing singer to some B list actors album but was pretty awesome.
Can you share an anecdote from being a backing singer? Did you meet with anyone famous for example? [Reply]
