Cadbury World With Kids: Expectations v Reality

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I think I’ve been to Cadbury World about five times since we had Ibrahim. This year alone, we’ve probably been two or three times. Is it worth it with kids, and is it really the Willy Wonka experience you’re picturing before your first visit? No. Truthfully, we were so excited the first time, and don’t get me wrong, we do genuinely enjoy it, which is exactly why we keep going back, but it is not the chocolate factory fantasy you’ve built up in your head if you’ve gone in with zero research.

Tickets and Getting In

Pricing wise, it can add up quickly once you’ve got a few of you going, so I’d recommend hunting down discounted tickets, offers, and 2for1 deals wherever you can find them. I recently managed to get tickets for my mum and niece at a heavily discounted rate simply because of having a local postcode. I’m fairly sure that link wasn’t meant to still be working, but it was, and they had no trouble getting in, so I’m not complaining.

One thing I do like once you actually arrive is that parking is free, so far anyway. It’s close to the entrance too, so no long trek involved, and even the overflow car park isn’t far off.

The Experience Itself

Once you’re in and you’ve queued up, everyone in your group gets four bars of chocolate each, even babies. That’s a lovely start for most people. I happily accept them being handed out, but I always have to bring my own dairy free chocolate along for my kids.

You start off with an immersive walk through the history of chocolate, complete with interactive screens, games, and life size displays. There are also screens that spring to life the moment you stand in front of them and play out little scenes from history, which the kids find endlessly fascinating (and I’ll admit, so do I).

From there, you reach a sort of historic “street,” styled like old museum shop windows, where you wait for the doors to open for the “show.” It’s a video presentation on the history of Cadbury and how the company got to where it is today, and you move from one room to another as it plays out in stages.

Next up is the chocolate zone, where you watch a live demonstration of someone tempering chocolate while they talk you through what the factories were like when they first opened. Further along, you’ll spot staff behind windows decorating chocolate slabs, balls, shoes, you name it. This bit is genuinely one of the best parts, because you get to taste melted chocolate with two toppings of your choice. Fair warning though, the marshmallows are not vegan (halal).

Since my children have allergies, I’ve taken to melting vegan chocolate in little pots myself and adding Oreos and halal marshmallows, so they never feel left out. Works a treat every time. My nephew, my husband, and I, meanwhile, ended up having their portions too, which we absolutely did not need, but who on earth says no to more chocolate?

The Rest of the Walkthrough

After this, you wander through a display of old chocolate designs, historic wrappers, and vintage marketing, before taking a lift down to the tempering area. Here you get hands on, tempering your own chocolate and writing your name in it, great fun, but be warned, it is very messy with children involved. Thankfully there are wash basins and tissue on hand for the inevitable clean up operation.

From there you head out to the 4D adventure, a 4D screening starring various Cadbury characters. The kids love it now, though I’ll admit when Ibrahim first saw it as a much younger toddler, he found it a bit much and was genuinely scared.

There’s also an outdoor play area, which we’ve never actually used, before you walk through the Bournville display and history section and on towards the queue for the “ride.” We had an access pass so managed to skip the queue entirely, which was a blessing, because it looked like a long wait for what it actually is. It’s a ride where up to four people share a vehicle and use laser guns to shoot targets and rack up points. At the moment the theme is collecting chocolate ingredients, though in previous years the theme has changed depending on the time of year. We also noticed the whole layout of the whole place has changed quite a bit since we first went, back when Ibrahim was around three.

The Shop and the Verdict

You exit through the souvenir shop, naturally, where you can buy Cadbury chocolate. Some bits are genuinely cheaper than in the supermarket, others you’ll find just as cheap or cheaper on the shelves at home. It really depends on how you feel about the age old debate of whether Cadbury still tastes like it used to.

All in all, we like it. I know there are plenty of people out there who’ll tell you it’s “not real chocolate” and so on, but honestly, it’s a lovely day out with the kids and it’s local enough for a quick, last minute trip. Especially handy now that we’ve got the Merlin pass. Without that, I’d probably lean towards a free or cheaper activity instead.

Would I recommend it? Yes, especially if you’ve never been before. Just don’t go expecting to drink chocolate from rivers or lick the wallpaper, like in the films. That bit, sadly, is not on offer.