The Willy Wonka experience that promised to be “immersive” and was a fiasco: “There wasn’t even chocolate”

The immersive Willy Wonka experience ultimately wasn’t as good as the company that put it together promised. It was a total fiasco: there wasn’t even any chocolate.

Willy’s Chocolate Experience was an event held on February 24 in Glasgow, Scotland, in homage to Roald Dahl’s famous novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and films starring Gene Wilder, Johnny Depp and Timothée Chalamet.

According to the organization that created it, House of Illuminati, in the Box-Hub event space there would be “chocolate fountains, Oompa-Loompa performances and interactive experiences inspired by the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory universe”. Most of the images and attractions would be created using artificial intelligence. The entrance fee of up to 44 euros ensured an unforgettable experience.

A disappointment: there wasn’t even chocolate

The company delivered: the experience was unforgettable, but in reverse.

According to one of those affected, there were only around twenty chairs, “a couple of tables” and “a semi-inflated bouncy castle” on site. “There wasn’t even chocolate,” this person said. Through an article in Vulture it was learned that the children only received “some gummies” and “a quarter of a cup of lemonade”.

The Oompa-Loompas, the famous chocolatier Willy Wonka’s assistants, were played by actors dressed in poor-quality costumes that left much to be desired. They read a 15-page script – given to them the night before – that was likely written by an artificial intelligence.

Kirsty Paterson, a 29-year-old actress who agreed to work as an Oompa-Loompa for £500 for both days, said the children “were quite upset and confused”.

Because his script was terrible, one of the organizers told him to abandon it and let the guests move on.

Outraged by the scam, some parents who were at the event with their children called the police to cancel the event and refund their money. The organization, aware of the disaster, stopped the show before the end of the first day.

Subsequently, and in response to the violent impact on the networks, the company released a statement acknowledging how poorly it had done its job. “We apologize for what happened and will refund the full amount of the tickets to all people who purchased them.”