Families were promised an exhilarating 'Willy Wonka' experience. What they got instead was a 'shambles of an event.'

Parents shelled out roughly $44 per ticket over the weekend to take their kids to "Willy Wonka: The Chocolate Factory Experience" in Glasgow, Scotland.

They were promised a "world of enchantment" where "dreams take flight and every corner holds a delightful surprise." They were instead met with a dreary event space littered with a handful of slapdash exhibits and no chocolate in sight.

Disbelief and disappointment soon turned to rage, prompting Scottish police to swing by and the organizers to grant over 800 refunds.

The pitch

The official website for the event, which was not officially related to the Wonka franchise, showcased various elaborate AI-generated images of candy-covered landscapes and "wondrous creations."

According to the event listing on What's On Glasgow, families would be able to immerse themselves in "visually stunning and intricately designed settings inspired by Roald Dahl's timeless tale. From the iconic Chocolate Room to the whimsical Inventing Room, each space promises a visual feast."

Extra to the promise of eye candy, Billy Coull's House of Illuminati promised an "exhilarating" adventure down the so-called Tunnel of Fear; live performances featuring Oompa Loompas; an "interactive spectacle that captivates all ages"; chocolate fountains; "delectable treats"; and a day "filled with surprises."

The organizer failed to make good on most of his promises but made sure to give families at least one big surprise.

The delivery

Footage and photos taken at the event indicate the "visual feast" at the Box Hub venue in Glasgow was actually a grim display of mismatched props strewn across a largely empty room. A few backdrops were clumsily pinned to walls, ostensibly for photo ops. At the back of the main room was a small bouncy castle and picnic benches.

The live entertainment was apparently also a letdown.

Jenny Fogarty, 25, one of the women hired to play an Oompa Loompa, told the Scotsman that she received a 15-page script the night before the opening of the event and was given a "sexy" version of the iconic costume.

"I was hired as an Oompa Loompa. I didn't get a costume until Saturday morning, about an hour before people started to arrive," said Fogarty. "I noticed that the costumes we were given — all of them were female and were given the sexy version as opposed to the traditional ones."

Fogarty noted further that the wigs handed out came out of an "Amazon box that probably arrived that morning."

Paul Connell, the actor who was apparently hired to play Wonka at the event, quipped on TikTok that "people who wanted Timothee Chalamet ... got Timothy charlatan."

Connell claimed he was cast for the role on Thursday, just days ahead of the event, and told to learn 15 pages "pretty much of AI-generated gibberish."

The response

Stuart Sinclair, a father who drove his three children two hours to the event, said it was "an absolute shambles of an event."

Sinclair told the New York Times, "There was maybe 20 chairs, a couple of tables, and a half-inflated bouncy castle."

"The children got two jelly beans each," said Sinclair. "And then they got half a cup of lemonade."

Sinclair indicated that as soon as families walked in the door, "They were like, 'wow,' just shaking their heads and totally in disbelief of how bad it was."

"The worst part of all," added Sinclair, "there was no chocolate."

The Scotsman reported that one mother waited in line outside the venue for 40 minutes before being ushered inside, where she had to wait some more. That's when the real vexation began.

"Underwhelming was an understatement," said the mother. "Embarrassing doesn't even cut it. I paid for Willy Wonka and got Billy Bonkers."

"I can laugh about it now, but initially I just thought it looked ridiculous," Alana Lockens told the Times. "It was so poorly done considering how much the tickets had cost us."

Police officers were reportedly sent to the scene around the time parents began raging and complaing about what they figured for a scam. However, it was determined that the officers were not needed. After all, the organizers ultimately indicated they would give full refunds.

The House of Illuminati suggested in a Tuesday Facebook post that it had refunded at least 850 tickets.

The event was shut down Saturday afternoon.

The organizer stated, "I am truly sorry for any upset and disappointment caused at the weekend. Refunds have been issued and will continue to do so."

The organizer added, "This was an event gone wrong[.] The house of illuminati will NOT be holding any other event in the foreseeable future."

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