Cadbury World - Birmingham, England

As a kid, I always identified with Charlie, the kid who finds a “golden ticket” to visit Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory. I have been to the Hershey factory, which does not include an actual tour of the factory. You can take the narrated ride, which provides a representation of the chocolate making process, but is not an actual factory tour. I did the free ride and paid another ten dollars for the trolley tour, which is a sixty minute drive around Hershey, complete with a narrated history and Hershey Kisses samples. When I purchased tickets to Cadbury World, I had a bit of “sticker shock” at the L15 (currently L17) per adult ticket. However, I found that you get much more for your money from Cadbury World. While not quite a fulfillment of the Willie Wonka dream, it certainly came much closer than Hershey's.

I ordered tickets online, which saved a whopping five percent off normal admission prices. If I had looked locally, I am certain I may have found other deals, however, there is not guarantee you can get in if you wait to pay at the factory. Because this was high on our list of attractions to visit in England (we were visiting family here) we decided it was worth getting locked in to a specific tour time and order in advance. When you order in advance, there is a “will call” line for online tickets. I waited very briefly in line to get these tickets, which included our start time approximately a half hour after our arrival. We passed that time quickly talking to family we hadn’t seen in a few years…and with a nice cup of Cadbury hot chocolate complete with a piece of Flake candy bar inserted into the whipped cream.

When our time to enter the exhibits arrived, we entered the queue, where we were given a couple of full-sized candy bars (per person). This was an interesting way to start the tour, which is a self-guided walking tour. As you enter into the tour, you are greeted with a variety of free standing exhibits that offer a bit of history regarding the discovery of chocolate, dating back centuries. As you move forward through the exhibits, you begin to learn the Cadbury story, complete with holographic movie displays. Eventually, visitors are herded into a common area where a human tour guide provides some background on Cadbury and visitors are introduced to the founder, whose face is projected onto the wall.

The tour is then herded into a movie theater, where additional history is covered as visitors sit on stable benches. Following the multi-graphic film, visitors are ushered into an adjacent theater, where they are treated to a somewhat campy interactive 4D presentation that includes shaking benches and other interactive features. After completing the films, visitors are ushered upstairs, where they are given the opportunity to pose for an advertising style photograph before continuing on with the factory tour. Yes, this part actually takes you into the factory! While there were no Oompa Loompas, the tour did include actual views into the internal functioning of the factory. This part of the tour also included more free samples. Yum. It is also the point in time when the children start getting high on sugar and bouncing off the walls…

This part of the tour is guided by employees of the factory, who offer insight into the process of making chocolate. This includes another video, with very limited seating. Many people, my family included, had to remain standing along the wall during this presentation as there were far more visitors than seats. There was also an incredibly silly amusement ride somewhere along the way. There was a ten to fifteen minute wait time for this completely juvenile attraction. My kids were a bit old, but our cousins were just the right age for this ride…geared toward pre-teens. As we continued through the factory, we were able to observe some of the processes for packaging before entering into another interactive area where employees demonstrated a variety of chocolate exercises, such as tempering or writing with chocolate. This also included a demonstration on the creation of specialized products like chocolate shoes and soccer balls, which are hollow chocolate representations hand-painted with chocolate designs.

The tour then filters into an area that explores the advertising history of Cadbury. This also included interactive exhibits that were Chuck E. Cheese silly (but great fun for the children). This included animatronic musical performances. The advertising area sort of runs together with Purple Planet, which continues the interactive theme. The big attraction in this area was a floor platform that allows younger visitors to “stomp” on a variety of Cadbury products projected onto the floor (screen). Sensors indicate where the kids are jumping, resulting in a variety of responses, such as breaking pieces of chocolate. This exhibit filters guests into Cadbury’s largest chocolate shop where they are encouraged to part with more money…which I promptly complied with. I picked up some drinking chocolate and a few other small items.

After completing the factory tour, which took well over an hour, we proceeded below the factory tour area to a children’s play area where there were still exhibits to visit! This included a “create your own candy bar” exhibit that included yet another movie. After herding guests into the large room for a movie, they are filtered into an adjacent room where they are instructed on options for creating their candy bar. In reality, you do not get to create a candy bar. You are given a choice of three or four ingredients and can pick ONE that will be added to liquid chocolate poured into a cup. You can then mix it together and eat it. While it was not actually creating a candy bar, I had not yet eaten any chocolate up to this point. So this was my first opportunity to experience the chocolate…as fresh as it comes. And I liked it.

After finishing this exhibit, we allowed the kids to blow off some steam on the playground, while enjoying some cold water and a light snack from the snack bar located next to the playground. We then visited another interactive exhibit (the Bourneville Experience) on the back side of the factory before spending half an hour in one final exhibit. There is a children’s show in England based around some puppets and a lady with lots of energy. I don’t really recall much about the program, which appears geared toward very young children, other than getting squirted with water halfway through. The kids seemed to eat it up though.

Aside from the snack bar located near the children’s play area, Cadbury also has a café where you can take an actual meal. The Cadbury World self-service restaurant serves lunches, light snacks and hot and cold drinks from when the building opens until closing. Hot lunches are available from 11:30 - 14:30 Monday to Friday and 11:30 - 15:00 Saturday and Sunday. During peak times (school holidays), they are open from when the building is open, serving breakfast, hot and cold lunches and snacks until 16:00.

If you are traveling to Cadbury World, the best bet is to use a navigation system with postal code B30 1JR. I had a rental car with navigation and used the postal code to take me directly to the main entrance from Gloucestershire about an hour away. It was fairly easy to find, although the GPS made it effortless. The factory has an upper parking deck, where we were easily able to find parking. There is also a lower parking area that began to fill up after we arrived. The parking never reached capacity. There is no charge for parking.

While it wasn’t Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory, Cadbury World was a close second. Far closer than Hershey, PA. We spent the better part of a day here exploring the numerous interactive exhibits, campy as they may have been. For twenty dollars, we received a chunk of admission back in the form of samples. After having visited the factory, I would suggest it is well worth the price. It was fun, interesting, informative and, well chocolaty. Yum. Overall, the Cadbury World tour was worth the time. There was a little something for everyone.

All photos are my own. They may be reproduced with prior permission.