Chocoholics read on ... (Cadbury World)

Member Name: pornstarx2

Product:	Cadbury World
Date:	26/04/06 (2817 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of tasting chances, well priced entrance fee & good fun

Disadvantages: No where to get a decent meal & can have lots of waiting around

For a while now I have been wanting to my boyfriend to take me out for the day but never knew where to go. Then one day I decided on Cadbury world. I don't know why I thought of it and what to expect and to be honest we didn't even give it that much thought we just we would go on good Friday and spend the day there.
As it got closer to the time I got worried that it might be a bit childish and full of families and some people had commented that they didn't think it was very good.

How wrong were they it was a great day out and really enjoyable. Not at all just for kids ok yes this place would be good for families but my boyfriend and me had a really good day out and would definitely recommend it to anyone who would like a nice day out. Especially if you like chocolate.

DIRECTIONS
If you are coming from the East or North East you should take the M1 to junction 23a then the A42/M42 to junction 2

If you are coming from the South or South East you should take the A34 to the M40 and leave at junction 16 to merge with the M42 to junction 2.

If you are coming from the South West you should travel along the M5 to junction 4 and follow the signs for a further 7 miles.

If you are coming from the North West you should travel along the M6 till junction 8 and then take the M5 to junction 2 and follow the signs for a further 7 miles.

Cadbury world is situated in a town called Bournville in Birmingham. It is very easy to get to once you leave the motorway you go on a pretty straight road that is pretty well sign posted it takes you straight to Cadbury world.
Birmingham city centre is about a 15 minute drive away so if you are visiting Birmingham for shopping or sight seeing you wont have far to go to get to Cadbury world.
Midland Mainline also offers a good rail link inclusive of ticket entrance for some competitive rates. The train pulls into Bournville station, which is only a 15-minute walk from Cadbury world so it is definitely something to consider.

WHAT TO EXPECT
When you pull up at Cadbury world it doesn't look as big as you think and is obviously set in a town which was really weird as most attractions are setup on their own away from anywhere else, but Cadbury world is set around the real Cadbury factory and all the workers and families used to live in the town. Now obviously it's not the same but that is why it is where it is.

When I first decided to visit Cadbury world I checked it out on the net and there was the option to buy your tickets over the net which we were quite prepared to do but we realised you had to choose a time and the best times were fully booked and we weren't sure what time we would be getting there anyway. So we thought we would leave it to chance on the day.
When we arrived at Cadbury world there were 4 queues 3 for tickets already purchased and then 2 queues for people who needed to buy them. We couldn't understand it because we thought if you purchased a ticket online you wouldn't have to queue. Wrong the tickets online were to ensure you got to go on the tour at that specific time and you had to swap your confirmation for your tickets. The people who had not done this had to take the next available slot. We arrived at about 10:30 and our slot was not until 1pm, which seemed a long time off especially as you know you are clock watching until then.
Once you have paid and got your tickets you can have a look around the other areas or watch the clowns and magicians that were entertaining everyone in the foyer. Next to the ticket area is the restaurant and the main shop this is quite big and stocks all the chocolates and souvenirs you can think of. Some of the things were real bargains and others about average prices.

You also have a one-day pass for the main factory shop, which isn't situated, in the actual attraction grounds. You have to drive to it so we didn't bother as we weren't really there to buy lots of chocolates but I am sure that must have been the place to go to get your bargains.

THE MAIN TOUR
Once your time slot comes up you make your way to the queue at the main doors and
Are let into the main exhibition. Once you are through you pass though the Aztec Forest which is two rooms decked out in an Aztec theme with lots of scenes and water features taking you through the times of Mayan Indians and the Aztecs so you can see how cocoa became central to their way of life. In here you can toss your coins into the big water fountains and read all about history. This area is ok for the adults but the kids didn't seem really interested because there is quite a lot of reading to be done.

You then go into a room and hear John Cadbury tell you all about how he started his business out from him owning a small coffee shop and a couple of shops that he rented out to other small retailers. We then learn how he joins forces with his two sons Richard and George who help him to develop the family business by importing the beans and getting the right mix to make the dairy milk chocolate. You also learn about how they bought their first factory and helped their workforce by introducing paid holidays and sick leave.

The next room is really good fun for the kids you all sit on benches while the process of making dairy milk chocolate is explained and when things got roasted you are zapped with a red light and feel really hot and then when the beans are shaken and stirred the benches move from side to side. It is fun for everyone, as you just aren't expecting it.

You then go into the next room which is full of computers and you can press a button on them so you can get a run down on how your favourite chocolate bar is made it is quite good and very informative. This is the best you will get to see in production of chocolate because health and safety and you cant go into the actual factory but you get to see a small part of the factory.

PACKAGING PLANT and FOOD PRODUCTION
After you have been through the main part you are left on your own to follow the route round all the different areas of the factory you are behind a screen but you can see some of the chocolates being wrapped and boxed which is quite interesting, but not as interesting as the demonstration area. Once you walk n here you know your in for a treat there are about 5 tables all doing different things with chocolate to show you. One table is someone thickening the chocolate, on table is someone moulding chocolate into chocolates that you get in boxes and one is someone writing in chocolate and showing you how to pipe chocolate. All of the staff are very friendly and explain everything they are doing and answer any questions you have. They also let you sample as much as you like. I especially enjoyed sampling the fudge they drenched in chocolate yummy.

CORONATION STREET
After you have pigged yourself on chocolate you can take a walk into the Coronation Street room. This room is filled with furniture like the stuff in the advert and in here you can watch all the different adverts they have produced for all the different chocolates. There are also a few surprises in there if you touch or sit on things they talk to you and tell you off for nicking the chocolate.

PURPLE PLANET
This is the main children's attraction I would say even better than the chocolate you enter a big room full of different things to try like having your bodies turned into chocolate moulds on a screen, chasing chocolate buttons on the floor and watching chocolate rain.

CADABRA RIDE
This is situated in between the production area and packaging plant. It is a sweet little ride that takes you through the chocolate wonderland of the Cadbury bean there are lots of beans having fun on ski slopes, fair rides and different scenes. The ride lasts about 6 minutes and carries you round in a bean mobile which is quite nice. Although it was not the most exciting thing about Cadbury world it was a nice touch and something s bit different.
There is also a camera half way round that takes your picture and you can buy it for £5. If your photo doesn't turn out as good as you would have liked you can pose with two large beans for a photo to show all your friends.

ESSENCE
This is the newly built attraction and when we visited was not that busy as it isn't within the main attraction you can visit here whenever you like either before you have visited the main area or afterwards depending on how much time you have to kill.
Essence is situated in the children's playground and at first you cannot even notice it. When we walked in we totally missed it and had to have a look at the map to see where it was.
Every 15 minutes people are let into Essence so when you go in it doesn't really get too cramped. The fun all starts when you enter into a big room with nothing in. Once everyone is in the room the entertainment begins three Cadbury people pop up in what seems like human form obviously 3d computer animations but they are really good. The presentation is very short it lasts about 5 minutes and explains who the people were behind Cadbury chocolate.
They then guide you through to the next room which is more computer people acting out how they thought of the idea of making Cadbury dairy milk chocolate.
The next room then opens up and you are invited to choose any chocolate, biscuit or rice crispy you would like in a cup with melted chocolate on. This was great a little bit sickly but really gives you a taste for the chocolate to come.
After this first chocolaty experience you then enter a small Cadbury shop where you can buy any chocolate souvenirs at a slightly discounted price.

CHILDRENS PLAYGROUND
Walking up from the Car park you have to walk through the children's playground. Obviously for me and my boyfriend this was not much fun but if I was 10 years younger I would have been in my element. It was much bigger than your average park and had all the swings, slides and roundabouts you can imagine. Kids were crawling all over the place it did look like good fun.
This is the sort of play area you would feel happy leaving your children to play without having to keep a constant eye on them, as it was all cordoned off.
There are lots of picnic tables surrounding the play area and they are all in a really sunny spot. The day we went was a nice day but a little windy and we sat on the picnic benches eating our chocolate and it was really lovely. It would have been really nice to go in the summer and to take a picnic.
There is a chomp bar also situated in the children's area just to tempt you into buying more chocolate. You can also get ice creams and drinks from there.

MUESEUM
The museum can quite easily be missed as it is situated at the back of the children's play area so you don't walk past it and it is only a small door for the entrance. We only noticed it by chance when we were in the fast food restaurant, which had a door leading to it. I really liked the museum my boyfriend was not that interested and not many kids were but a lot of adult definitely were. It was full of pictures of when Cadbury factory was first together with all the staff and their families. There were also lots of short facts to read and plenty of pictures to read especially on all the perks and visits the staff got.
The best part for me was looking at what the boxes of chocolates all looked like throughout the different decades. Right from the early stages and it was really strange to see how all the packaging had come along over the years and it was fun recognising what the chocolates we used to eat but had forgotten about.
You learn a lot in the museum and it isn't all about chocolate either. There are some nice things that people have donated to be shown such as old jewellery, jewellery boxes and photos.
There was also a television with scenes playing about the history and films showing the factory and all the people who used to work there. Although the museum was small it had a lot of things in and was very interesting.

WHERE TO EAT?
In the main reception area you can visit the self-service restaurant selling hot and cold food with the usual selection of sandwiches, drinks, cakes and snacks. Nothing out of the ordinary the prices are quite expensive like most tourist attractions and the quality isn't that amazing but it's a nice clean and easy area to have some lunch or to kill some time.
If burgers and chips are more your thing then you'll be ok to. Situated in the Children's play area is a fast food restaurant. It was fast when we went in at about 12 but by the time 2'0'clock came if was not very fast at all. The restaurant only seats about 20 people and there were only 2 staff one serving the food and one cooking the food not very efficient and to be honest not very nice either. They mainly sold burgers, fries and hotdogs. My boyfriend and I had a burger and fries each and a drink each which came to aprox £10, which I suppose is about average for fast food but this place really was a greasy spoon and a half. The chips were warm but those type that go cold and hard really fast and the burgers were dripping in fat. OK if you are used to this and I know people enjoy this sort of food but I just could not stomach it I ate half the burger and it put me off for the rest of the day. Can't complain though because it stopped me from eating quite a lot of chocolate and putting on a few pounds.
There are plenty of places to have a picnic and I would really recommend doing this. The car park is not very far away either so it is not like you have to carry your picnic round with you all day you can nip back to the car in 5 minutes.
If you fancy a drink or snack there are plenty of vending machines dotted around if you need them.

PRICES
If you fancy a day at Cadbury world it will cost you
£12.50 for adults
£9.50 for kids (4-15 years old)
£9.95 Senior citizens and students
Free for under 4's

If you are a family visiting Cadbury world you can get a special rate of
£39 for 2 adults + 2 children
Or
£47 for 2 adults + 3 children

I personally think the admission prices are quite well priced. Most attractions these days are very expensive and not fair on families. Cadbury world may not have heaps of expensive rides and lots of rip off restaurants but you can expect good old-fashioned fun here without breaking the bank.

WHAT YOU GET FOR YOUR MONEY
Once you have paid your admission fee you can enter the shop, children's playground and museum as many times as you like. You can also visit Essence, the main packaging plant and food production areas and take a ride on Cadabra once.
You also get to park your car for free right next to Cadbury world. Which is very nice as most places charge quite a hefty fee these days for parking.
When we were thinking of Cadbury world I thought the freebies might be a bit sparse but they certainly were not. You are given 2 chocolate bars each when entering the main exhibition and a further 2 when you leave the packaging plant. You can also eat as much chocolate as you can in the demonstration area.

OPENING TIMES
The opening times at Cadbury world frequently change so it is always best to check either the web page or on the general booking telephone number before planning your visit. They usually open from about 9 till 4 and sometimes 5 depending on the time of year and the volume of people they are expecting.

OVERALL
I would certainly recommend this attraction to families, friends and couples. If you were not interested in chocolate then I would not bother but if you are and are looking for some sweet fun then this is the place to go. You are well looked after and you get lots of freebies what chocoholic would not love this place.

Summary: 100% reccomendation !