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Refunds were issued to attendees of Willy's Chocolate Experience in Glasgow, Scotland, after police were called to the event over its dismal and sparsely-decorated warehouse venue that in no way delivered on the promises made on the website.
The experience, which was slated to offer a “celebration of chocolate in all its delightful forms” charged up to £35 (nearly $45 US) for tickets.
Promotional materials promised an "immersive experience” with giant mushrooms, candy canes and chocolate fountains, Oompa-Loompas and an “enchanted garden” filled with “giant sweets, vibrant blooms, mysterious looking sculptures, and magical surprises.”
When attendees arrived at the event, however, they immediately realized they were not getting the experience they paid for. Photos of the decorated warehouse showing backdrops hung on the walls, plastic props and an inflatable bounce house quickly went viral.
And, yes, that was the only Oompa-Loompa at the event.
What really sent people over the edge, though, was a terrifying character named "The Ender" who climbed out from behind a mirror, causing children to cry.
The experience also promised an "imagination lab" and a "twilight tunnel" boasting “captivating projections, enigmatic sounds, and surprising turns.”
But those were empty promises, as well.
People on social media noticed right away that the promotion for the event, which was pushed mostly on Facebook, used AI-generated images and descriptions to lure their participants.
But many noticed red flags from the beginning, especially in regards to spelling and mechanics of the ads, which promised "dim tight, dodjection, vivue sounds, dippractions, and ukxepcted twits."
@CultureCrave This should\u2019ve been the red flag if nothing else. Catgacating? The M in performances has one too many arches. Cartchy tuns? Exaserday? Pasadise of teats?\n\nAny parent who read all of these and still paid, needs to be in the same class as their child, relearning the english\u2026— (@)
The experience was so infuriating, in fact, that police were called when parents realized they were not getting anything remotely similar to what they purchased.
The actor who was hired to play Willy Wonka for the event, Paul Connell, took to social media to reveal he, too, was shocked when he arrived at the venue.
“My heart sank looking around … I just felt sad because I was aware of how many kids were going to be coming through."
“We were told to hand the kids a couple of jelly beans and a quarter cup of lemonade at the end.”
He also shared that when he asked how he was supposed to deliver his "15 pages of AI generated gibberish" script, given the props and special effects were missing, Connell was told to "improvise."
Reactions on social media were all over the board.
Several were surprised that people fell for the scam in the first place, considering errors prevalent in the ads.
Of course, many expressed their sadness for the children who did not get to enjoy the experience they were so greatly anticipating.
@CultureCrave look..you shouldn't get fooled by these. but as a parent who always wants to wow their kid with the coolest experience, I feel these parents pain and feel bad for the kids. Hopefully they all got a milkshake and food somewhere after and realized time with family is the real\u2026— (@)
Thankfully, the company behind the event, House of Illuminati, promised to issue full refunds to all patrons and apologized for a “very stressful and frustrating day”
“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 realize we probably should have cancelled first thing this morning instead."
Customers should receive their refunds within 10 days.