On Tuesday February 27th, House of Illuminati organized a “Willy Wonka Experience” in Glasgow, Scotland. Oh boy, did it go terribly. The company charged £35 per ticket, which is equivalent to about $45 USD.
The entire event has been considered a disaster. According to Libby Brooks, a writer for The Guardian says, “Police were called to a venue in Glasgow last weekend after furious families who had spent hundreds of pounds on the Willy’s Chocolate Experience complained about the “awful” event that left children in tears and was abruptly canceled midway through.” (Feb 27th, 2024)
Personally, I think it is ridiculous that children were only handed a couple jelly beans and a quarter cup of lemonade at the end of the experience. The fact that you’re attempting to call yourself a “Willy Wonka Experience” and you don’t have the gallery of candy that the Willy Wonka universe is known for? I think this is an absolute disgrace.
The popularity of this disaster has spread to Tiktok, where people are now making jokes about the event. Many people online want to know why this happened and the perspective of the actors. One actor spoke out about this event, Felicia, a 16 year old actress who played “The Unknown” (the evil character who snuck out from behind a mirror and scared children during the experience) decided to share her perspective. According to Jack Hobbs, a writer for the New York Post says that Falicia was originally asked to be one of the “Wonkas” but she passed up the role after she read the terribly written, AI generated script. She was then recast as “The Unknown” who was an “evil chocolate maker who lived inside the walls of Wonka’s factory.” (March 3rd) After seeing various Tiktoks online, it was quite obvious that the children who went to this event were absolutely horrified by “The Unknown ”, and their parents were more upset. Hearing from Libby Brooks from The Guardian, “A Facebook group has been set up by furious families, who described their children crying with disappointment at the event” (Feb 27th)
Thankfully it has been confirmed that people will be getting their refunds for the event. Reading from The Guardian, written by Libby Brooks, “The organizers confirmed that full refunds would be given to customers, which could take up to 10 days.” (Feb 27th) The popularity of this disaster has skyrocketed, and broadened out to many types of online content. Just recently, I was recommended a Youtube video titled, “ASMR Dressing You As Oompa Loompa to Scam Children | Haircut | The Willy Wonka Experience” by Amy Kay ASMR. I think this video is absolutely hilarious. With the mess of an event that this was, I am glad some people are finding the light of it.
