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I'm Completely Obsessed With How Terrible This Willy Wonka "Immersive Chocolate Experience" Is

Now I kind of want to go.

Matt Stopera
by Matt Stopera

BuzzFeed Staff

A Willy Wonka "immersive chocolate experience" is being dragged mercilessly online for being hilariously awful.

A rainbow archway entrance with cloud designs and oversize yellow duck sculptures in an indoor space
Stuart Sinclair

It's basically Fyre Festival in the form of one of those traveling van Gogh experiences that are super popular right now.

The dinner that @fyrefestival promised us was catered by Steven Starr is literally bread, cheese, and salad with dressing. #fyrefestival pic.twitter.com/I8d0UlSNbd

— Tr3vor (@tr3vorx) April 28, 2017
Twitter: @tr3vorx

The event was in Glasgow on Feb. 24 and cost £35 a ticket.

Advertisement for Willy's Chocolate Experience starting Feb 24, 2024, with a whimsical candy landscape background
How of Illuminati

The event was described as a "[f]ull immersive experience [...] designed for families and children - promising a day of pure imagination and wonder."

Event flyer for House of Illuminati immersive experience with details on location, duration (10 hours), and family-friendly invitation
Facebook

The pictures on the website looked highly elaborate but appeared to be AI-generated.

Police were called to an 'immersive' Willy Wonka Experience after families showed up to an 'empty warehouse'

The event reportedly charged $40 for entry, advertised with AI art, and said it would be a 'journey filled with wondrous creations and enchanting surprises at every… pic.twitter.com/udz8KeWVxQ

— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) February 27, 2024
House of Illuminati / Via Twitter: @CultureCrave

Attendees were definitely expecting something quite whimsical, but that's definitely not what they got.

House of Illuminati / Via Twitter: @CultureCrave

This is what people who showed up found:

A rainbow arch installation in an indoor industrial space with a small yellow duck sculpture
Stuart Sinclair

It looks as if there was a small bounce house.

Interior of a spacious hall with arching ceilings, a few people scattered about, and a small stage setup in the distance
Stuart Sinclair

There were a few candy canes, lollipops, and mushrooms.

Indoor candy-themed miniature golf course with oversize candy decorations and artificial turf
Stuart Sinclair

There was this teeny-tiny backdrop:

A small mural of animated characters on a wall behind an empty black rolling TV stand in an otherwise barren indoor space
Stuart Sinclair

It was iconically terrible.

Empty exhibition space with a large animated movie poster on display
Stuart Sinclair

The Guardian reports that police were even called to the venue after complaints.

The best thing to come out of this debacle? The jokes.

Stuart Sinclair / Via Twitter: @bestfoodalex

"Guys be like ‘I know a place’ and then take you to the off brand Willy Wonka experience," this person said.

Guys be like “I know a place” and then take you to the off brand Willy Wonka experience

— kate (@katebeingsilly) February 27, 2024
Twitter: @katebeingsilly

"I'd love to meet the person who signed off on this Willy Wonka experience ... [and] said, 'all done, doesn't it look good!?," another person said.

I’d love to meet the person who signed off on this Willy Wonka experience. I’d love to go back in time and meet them at the precise moment they said “all done, doesn’t it look good!?” 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/JjMxORGH2I

— 🅱🅴🅽 - тν ℓєgѕ 📺🪩 (@bejokex) February 27, 2024
Stuart Sinclair / Via Twitter: @bejokex

This is the kind of story the internet thrives on.

they charged $45 for this pic.twitter.com/0Nlk0IMJkj

— Chris Alsikkan (@AlsikkanTV) February 26, 2024
Stuart Sinclair / Via Twitter: @AlsikkanTV

And I need a Hulu/Netflix documentary ASAP.

What If we kissed infront of the Willy wonka experience candy land backdrop that we paid £35 to see 👉🏻👈🏻 pic.twitter.com/f8pzTtwLCt

— AnnaWanyama (@AnnaMaryyyyyy) February 26, 2024
Stuart Sinclair / Via Twitter: @AnnaMaryyyyyy