A Delicious Christmas Experience at Cadbury World, Birmingham

**AD - Review**

I've always wanted to go to Cadbury World, I mean what's not to love about an attraction that is both fun and hands you bars of chocolate as you walk around!? I was particularly jealous when James got the chance to go last year with his Cubs group! So when we were recently invited along to enjoy the chocolate attraction during their Christmas experience we all jumped at the chance.

If you haven't heard of Cadbury World before it is a chocolate attraction based in the old Cadbury Factory in Bournville, Birmingham. During your visit you will find out all about how Cadbury began and the journey it took into becoming the chocolate we know today. As well as lots of fun interactive attractions and a trip down memory lane too.

Our day started with a pantomime, as our self guided exhibition tour didn't start until 3.10pm we were advised to arrived around 1.5 - 2 hours before to make sure we could enjoy everything that was going on. As we were visiting on a Christmas Celebration weekend included in admission price is entry to the Pantomime (Snow White and the Chuckle Beans) as well as entry to the Santa show too! Plus of course all of the other usual attractions included at Cadbury World.

The pantomime was absolutely hilarious, the actors involved were amazing, so funny and great at engaging the whole audience. They had everyone laughing (my husband even laughed so hard he cried!) from the little kids right through to the adults which is no easy job. The story was around 15 minutes long which was a good length, especially for younger children who can get fidgety if sat for too long. But this pantomime had everyone shouting, singing and giggling along with them right through to the end.

After the pantomime we headed to the 4D chocolate experience. Here you are taken on a rollercoaster ride through a land of chocolate, through a liquid bowl of Cadbury chocolate, and up into the skies on the crème egg air balloon. As you enter the 4D screen you are first shown a short "news" clip in a waiting area, this lasts around 5 minutes. Once this is over you are directed into the screen and handed a pair of 4D glasses to wear once you are seated.

The seats are super comfy and as you sit back and the short film begins you are instantly transported onto the rollercoaster, as the seats gently rock you whilst simulating the rollercoaster motion. I think this part of the trip was actually Evelyn's favourite, she smiled and gigged the whole way through and loved the seat moving. She couldn't get over how the chocolate bars popped out of the screen right in front of her face and you would be forgiven for forgetting you were sat in a chair for a few moments as its that realistic.

After this we headed over to the queue for our self guided exhibition tour. As we got there the queue looked fairly large (we arrived about 10 minutes before our time slot), however it did go down fairly quickly and we were at the front within about 15 minutes. Before you enter the exhibition, you are handed two full size Cadbury chocolate bars (we received a Crunchie and Oreo bar) for each person in your group. There is also the chance to buy a reusable bag at the point to carry your cars and for just £1 each for the small purple Cadbury bags we opted to get both the kids one each.

When you first enter the exhibition you are transported back over 1000 years to Mexico where you walk through the tropical rainforest and discover where it all began, the origin of the cocoa bean! You will then Travel through to a recreation of Victorian Bull Street where you’ll meet Quaker 
entrepreneur John Cadbury, and see where the Cadbury business began. This is another interactive part of the exhibition as you will be taken through to discover how chocolate is manufactured and discover just what it feels like to be a cocoa bean. The chairs rock and vibrate, as well as hot and cool air being blown into the room to simulate the chocolate making process, its really quite fascinating. 

You can't really miss anything or get lost in the exhibition as it directs you around the building in a big loop. We loved this as it meant we didn't miss anything and didn't need to keep referencing back to a map or anything to get around. Another highlight for the kids was getting the chance to have a go at tempering their own chocolate and then writing their names in melted chocolate too.

This part of the exhibition was great fun and was help at huge marble tables that the kids (and grown ups) could gather round. There were plenty of staff on hand to help and despite it being a full tour we didn't have to queue or wait for either activity. The staff were amazing, happily taking their time to talk to everyone and give an extra helping hand and some advice to those who were struggling to get the hang of tempering.

As we left this area we came across an area which you don't want to miss! Just around the corner from the above activities is an area where you can grab a small cup of melted Cadbury chocolate where you also have to option to add one or two topping choices too. The choices including giant buttons, jelly babies, Oreo, crushed biscuit and marshmallows. Now I don't want to sound too dramatic here but Oh My Days it was absolutely delicious, I could go back today just for that pot!

Once we were done devouring our melted chocolate we climbed aboard the Cadabra which is a gentle, magical ride through a chocolate wonderland. Discover the magical world of the Chuckle Beans as you take a short but magical drive around their world in the beanmobile. There are plenty of things to see as you are driven along the track including moving features, music, lots of bright colours and props, at the end we were even transported in a winter wonderland complete with ski lift and twinkling snow.

We did have to queue for the ride and it took around 20 minutes for us to get on. However this wasn't too bad and the kids were happy to enjoy one of the bars of chocolate they had gathered whilst they waited. The ride rook around 5 minutes in total to complete and was a really love ride, you can fit 4 people in each car and the cars can accommodate wheelchairs too.

Once off the ride we headed towards the end of the exhibition which takes you into a room full of interactive games and fun. This was a great way for the kids to burn off some of the chocolate they had eaten and stretch their legs after the queuing too! The Purple Planet room was so much fun and James and Evelyn loved all of the interactive games.

James has a go at growing his own cocoa tree, relaising just how tricky it is to get the right amount of rain and sunshine to make it grow. Whilst Evelyn ran around splatting chocolates on the interactive floor and bouncing balls in the air with her shadow!

We finished our experience by heading to see the Santa show, this is included in your entry price and you will be given a time to see the Santa show when you book so be sure to make sure you take a note of this.

The Santa show is short but sweet and a lovely way to end the day. The children gathered at the front of the room, in front of the stage which has been transformed into a cosy living room area and awaited Santa's arrival. As Santa came through the door with a flurry of snow, you could feel the excitement in the room from the kids at the front. Santa spoke about his magic (and even performed a couple of pretty cool magic trips) explaining how he makes his sleigh fly before collecting up all the kids Christmas wishes with his special machine.

Santa gave all the kids a lovely reminder that he may not be able to get them everything they ask for but that whatever he brings would be special which I thought was a really lovely touch. He then finished off the show by handing out a Cadbury selection pack for each child which of course was a hit with all the kids.

We had an absolutely fantastic day and would definitely recommend a visit if you haven't been before! We were really impressed with how interactive the experience was and how much there was to see a do too. We spent around 5 hours at the attraction in total, however we could have easily spent longer if we had the time.

Of course the kids were thoroughly impressed with all the chocolate on offer too and if you are looking to stock up on some of your favourites or even some birthday/Christmas gifts the Cadbury shop was really reasonable and stocked to the brim with every Cadbury product you could think of.

If you are looking for a Christmas experience that is fun, educations and delicious I would really recommend checking out a trip to Cadbury World. You can find out more about the experience or book your tickets via the Cadbury World website. The Christmas celebration weekends are running every Saturday and Sunday from 16th November until 15th December as well as on 21st, 22nd and 23rd of December.

What is your favourite Cadbury chocolate flavour?

xXx


**We were gifted admission to Cadbury World for the purpose of this review. However all words, opinions and images are my own.**