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Willy Wonka event ends with parents calling police
Parents called the police demanding refunds after an "immersive" event promising to bring Willy Wonka's chocolate factory to life turned out to be a lame warehouse that made children cry.
GLASGOW, Scotland - It was supposed to be an immersive experience, transporting Willy Wonka fans into his wonderful world of sweets and smiles.
Instead, parents got an empty wall, a single bouncy castle and no chocolate. The experience was in Glasgow, United Kingdom and according to the website, the attraction invited fans into "a universe where confectionary dreams are brought to life."
The London-based House of Illuminati organized the event, which described it as "a place where chocolate dreams become a reality."
The site appears to be filled with several AI-generated images showcasing the various rooms attendees can expect to see including an enchanted garden, the illustrious imagination lab and the twilight tunnel.
But fans received none of that. According to The Hollywood Reporter, one family compared the attraction to a meth lab.
Some parents were so furious they even called the police to ensure they received a refund.
Stuart Sinclair, who paid 35 pounds per ticket, said he arrived after the police were called. He said he and his family arrived at noon but were "thrown out" due to the event being canceled.
Sinclair said he’s still waiting for his refund.
"When we arrived, it was nothing like what was promised," Sinclair said.
In the photos provided by Sinclair, the event looks nothing like what’s advertised on the website.
It was an empty warehouse with random bits of plastic decoration littered around the room and a sad bouncy castle that looked like it had given up on life.
Since then, a Facebook group about the event was created with dozens of people sharing their experience.
The group is called "House of Illuminati scam" and currently has 1,300 members.
One person posted in the group claiming to be a hired actor for the event.
"I spoke to some of the people on Saturday and I am deeply sorry for the fact that things turned out the way they had. I spoke to the police officer who was in front of the warehouse later on and gave him as much information from an inside perspective as I could," they wrote.
In an interview with The Guardian, the event organizers said they refunded tickets and apologized for the "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 canceled first thing this morning instead," organizers said.
This story was reported from Los Angeles.