Purple Haze (Cadbury World)

Member Name: themoomin

Product:	Cadbury World
Date:	02/10/01 (673 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: YUM

Disadvantages: To chocolate?? Never! Oh all right maybe the ticketing system on a busy day . . .

There was a general feeling of disbelief at work when I announced that, for my Birthday, Mr Moomin was taking me to Cadbury World. ‘Cadbury World?? That’s for kids!’ and ‘Why do you want to go there?’ as well as ‘You’re completely mad, you know that?’ were some of the comments I got. However, never one to be swayed by popular opinion, and also having in my possession a ‘buy one, get one free’ offer sent to me by the nice folks at the Cadbury website, I shrugged off the howls of derision and went ahead and booked.

I’ll tell you all about the prices, booking info and all that stuff later one, but first let me tell you about Cadbury World itself.

Opened in 1990 (by none other than Mr John Major!) Cadbury World is on the site of the Cadbury Factory in Bournville, Birmingham. It’s approximately 1 ½ miles from the Moominhouse (and 4 miles from Birmingham City Centre) , so it’s fairly surprising that we’d not visited before! Anyway, at 10.50 am on Sunday 30th September, we set off for the Chocolate Factory, with me clutching the booking reference in one sweaty paw and the confirmation email in the other . . .

* * I should explain about the booking system. You can either book by phone, or over the internet. I had a look at the website booking info – it seemed fairly simple – you had to provide details of when you want to attend, a contact name/email, and the number of folks in your group. There was also a box for any other info – I guess to give notice of wheelchair users or disabled visitors. However, it was advised that you should allow 36 hours for a response, and that your booking was not confirmed until you received an email back. So I decided to use the ‘phone option! All the same information was asked for, and the operator was very pleasant and helpful. She booked us in for 11.10, asked us to arrive 10 minutes earlier to collect t
he tickets, and gave us a booking reference. All very easy! * *

. . . As we rolled up to the entrance in the Moominmobile, I could hardly contain my excitement. The smell of chocolate was on the wind, and I swear I caught a glimpse of an Oompah-Loompah or two through one of the hundreds of windows! The Car Park was fairly full, but we got a space with no bother, and the directions to get to it were well-placed and easy to follow. I noticed several disabled parking spaces, close to the entrance. Observant or what??! We passed the giant Creme Egg buggies, and entered the marvellous magical world of Chocolate . . . .

The ticketing system was a bit odd, I thought. We turned up 10 minutes before, as requested, but once we had our tickets we were told not to join the queue to begin the tour until the time allocated. No problem said we, and went to looks round (salivate over, more like!) the Cadbury shop. At 11.10 we went to join the queue, which to our horror was almost out the door!! Oh no! What we hadn’t bargained for was it being a Sunday – Doh! – and the place was packed. Still, the friendly staff got us all through pretty swiftly, and the crowds seemed to just melt away, leaving only me and Mr Moomin - laden with the first of our free samples - to enjoy the fun at our leisure.


CHOCOLATE THROUGH THE CENTURIES
We found ourselves in a dimly-lit giant forest, with mysterious looking figures and information plagues dotted all around. We came face to face with the Emperor Moctezuma (sic) and the original conquistadore Hernan Cortez. From the rainforests of South America, through to Victorian England, the history of the humble cocoa bean was played out before our very eyes.

From Victorian England we were transported into a modern-day auditorium, by means of automatic doors. Once seated, and the doors closed, we watched the story of the Cadbury firm, narrated by an animated bust of George Cadbury (really!) ab
ly assisted by his two sons. All actors of course, but very cleverly done, and the children watching were enthralled. Then another set of doors opened, and we went into a second cinema. This showed a funny Professor man telling us how the pod from the tree in the rainforest is transported to the UK, and how it is turned into chocolate. This was exciting as there were many special effects during the showing (no I’m not going to spoil it!), which had the children around us literally squealing with delight.



BUTTONS
Next was a section that contained several large TV screens, which showed us how different types of chocolate were made, by way of a video with a commentary. We watched in amazement as we saw millions of Chocolate Buttons being produced, and as batches of Turkish Delight bars were made. The speed the machines can go at is mind-boggling – especially for a non-technically-minded Moomin like myself.


WATCH AND LEARN
Then it was on to the Packaging Plant. At the entrance to this part of the tour we were handed our second sample bars, which were hurriedly stuffed into the rucksack to be consumed later. This part of the tour is sometimes not open, but they will tell you at the time you collect your tickets whether it’s open or not. Luckily for us it was - and it was one of the best bits, I can tell you!! We saw giant bars of Fruit and Nut being packaged, first into the cellophane-type wrapper then into boxes. Although the visitors are behind a glass screen, for hygiene reasons of course, the viewing area is extensive and there are loads of things to look at and point out to each other. As the tour is self-guided, you can spend as much time as you like in here, watching the workers and thinking of those free bars nestling in your rucksack . . .

Can’t remember if the next bits are in the right order or not – sorry! It was all too much fun to take in . . . anyway, I know that at som
e point we came to the Demonstration Area where we were given a little cup of liquid chocolate. The challenge is to eat it without licking your lips – not a chance! Then we saw toffee pieces being hand-dipped (this was something the children could have a go at), and were forced against our will to have yet another freebie!! Of course we couldn’t refuse . . .

ABRACADABRA!
Then it was on to the Cadabra ride – a new addition to the tour – which is a gentle journey in a ‘Beanmobile’ through a magical land inhabited by chocolate beans. There were many things to look at, and I’m sure this ride was enjoyed as much by us grown-up Moomins as by the wee ones (some just babies) who were visiting! As an added bonus (??) a photo is taken of each car as it goes round, which you can view on a TV screen as you leave the ride, with the option to buy a copy as a souvenir if you should so desire. We didn’t.

Something else for the kiddies is the Fantasy Factory, where lots of lights and colours make a fantastical look at the chocolate making process led by Mr Cadbury’s parrot himself. Bizarre, but a lotta lotta fun!


CHOCOLATE SHOP
From there we were drawn through a final set of doors, to where the confectionary counters of the wonderful chocolate shop beckoned! You’d be right in thinking we spent money, as some of the products are a lot cheaper than in the shops. Oh and they’re still stocking that Limited Edition Milk Tray I told you about in July, so you know where to get it!

And there’s more! Back outside you can make your way round to the Cadbury Collection – a museum with loads of information about the factory environment, the work ethos of the brothers Cadbury, and the different types of product. There are old tins, boxes, photos, and display cases, and a 40 minute archive film of The Bournville Story, as well as a scale model of the site showing how it u
sed to be. Mr Moomin and I found this a very interesting exhibition, which was relatively quiet and peaceful after the hustle and bustle of the main tour.

Adjacent to the Cadbury Collection is a play area and fast food outlet, so everyone’s needs are catered for. There’s even some play equipment suitable for children in wheelchairs. Picnic tables are set up in this area too – but it was bucketing with rain when we were there so we went home and had bacon sandwiches!!

Phew. I think I’ve covered everything. I can’t tell you about the quality of the food places, or the toilets, because we didn’t use them – although there were plenty of loos around the site.

Oh yeah – the prices . . .

Adult - £8.25
Child - £6.25
Student/Sen Citizen - £6.75
Family (2+2) - £25.00 from 12 June
Family (2+3) - £30.00

As I said, we had an offer, so paid £8.25 for two. I’ll be honest and say we probably wouldn’t have gone if we’d had to pay full price, but there is a lot to see and do so it’s probably just us being skinflints (thanks to the teachings of Mr S Gee)! And you do get lots of chocolate, so maybe the prices aren’t that bad. Anyway, judging by the number of visitors when we went, the prices are okay!

Oooh – on reading this over I see I’ve forgotten a couple of things:

The section where you see how the famous Coronation Street credits are produced, and see the actual sets and characters used.

The Cadbury Land Show, where Dudley Sidebottom (sounding suspiciously like Noddy 'It's Chriiiistmas!' Holder . . ) and his friends need your help to find out what’s happened to all the milk in Cadbury Land.

TV ads for Cadbury from the last five decades!


Well I think that about wraps it up (haha)! Sorry this opinion is so long . . . . but there is so much to do at Cadbury World t
hat I think it deserves it!

To conclude – kids of all ages will love it, and there’s stacks of stuff for adults too. We spent 2 ½ hours there, and could have spent longer – according to the leaflet the average tour takes about 3 hours.
Althought the prices may seem expensive, if you didn’t eat at the restaurant, and resisted spending all your pocket money in the shop, it’s actually good value for money.

I’d go again!!



24 hour information line – 0121 451 4180
Booking line - 0121 451 4159
Website - www.cadburyworld.co.uk

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