- Police were called to the Willy Wonka-style event as the family was overwhelmed.
- Customers criticized the event for failing to deliver the advertised features.
- Organizers apologized and promised full refunds to ticket holders.
Last weekend's “Willy's Chocolate Experience'' turned out to be far less satisfying than people expected.
The event was hosted by Illuminati House in Glasgow, Scotland. It was advertised as “a place where chocolate dreams come true” with enchanting gardens, an “Imagination Lab” promising “mind-expanding projections and optical wonders” and a “Twilight Tunnel” .
A disclaimer at the end of the website states, “This experience is in no way affiliated with the Wonka series, owned by Warner Bros.”
People quickly realized that it was far from what the organizers had promised.
Stuart Sinclair, who took his children to the event, called it “an absolute shambles.”
In a Facebook post, Ms Sinclair said the event was described as a “great day for the children”, but upon arriving she noticed a line of people waiting to protest.
A spokesperson for Police Scotland said police had also been notified and “advice has been given”, according to Sky News.
X users guessed The images used online by the organizers were generated by artificial intelligence. Some of the images featured on the website have clear signs of AI art. Business Insider was able to use AI to create a very similar image.
Illuminati House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its use of AI in photo marketing.
In a Facebook post, Mr Sinclair said the company was “nothing short of a total scammer”.
Ms Sinclair said after the chocolate fountain appointment, the children received two jelly babies and a small drink. He added that tickets for the event cost £35 per person, or about $44.
“Today has been a very stressful and frustrating day for many and we are truly sorry,” the Illuminati House said in a Facebook post Saturday night.
“Unfortunately, at the last minute we were disappointed with many parts of the event and although we did our best to continue and push through, we now realize that we probably should have canceled first thing this morning. I did.
“We deeply apologize for this incident and will provide a full refund to everyone who purchased tickets.”