In spite of the fact that Cadbury World is less than an hour away, I haven’t been there for many years and the children; who are all addicted to Cadbury chocolate (who isn’t?) were very excited on Sunday as we set out to experience the wonders of the Christmas Celebration weekends.
As you arrive through the doors, you can see that Christmas has definitely come to Cadbury World with a huge Christmas tree that looks like it is made of chocolate (I think that would just be too tempting if it was), a cracker exploding with chocolate bars and the Chuckle Beans popped out for a photo too.
Our first stop of the day was a visit to Father Christmas who has flown all the way from the North Pole to see children in his magical grotto. Father Christmas was lovely and even managed to get a smile out of the ‘boy who is too old to see Father Christmas’. We all had our photo with him, which I liked as I don’t think I have ever had my photo with Father Christmas before and the children were all given a gift. You have to pay an additional amount for the photo and there are a range of gift options too.
Snow White and The Chuckle Beans is the Cadbury World Christmas pantomime and it is a funny and engaging panto that we all enjoyed. At only 40 minutes, it is perfect for little children and the cast were really funny; especially Muddles; Snow White’s companion, who was very entertaining and not forgetting the Chuckle Beans who also make an appearance in the show.
There was a great deal of talk about chocolate in the car on the way and as soon as we got out of the car, the children all took a deep sniff and declared that they could smell chocolate in the air. Not surprising as Cadbury World is the factory where the now world-famous chocolate is produced and packaged.
Even without the additional Christmas attractions, there is plenty to see and do at Cadbury World. The Cadbury World Experience is a tour through different interactive areas that take you on a tour of the history of chocolate and Cadbury. Starting in the Aztec Jungle where the cocoa tree was central to Aztec culture, you discover who was the first person to bring cocoa beans back to Europe, next stop is a life-sized replica of Bull Street where the first Cadbury shop opened. The Cadbury story is a fascinating one and both boys found it interesting to hear how the company started and grew and how Bournville village developed as a result of the Cadbury factory. Next was the science behind the chocolate and a very interactive film where you literally get shaken like a cocoa bean as you learn about the processes that cocoa beans go through to become chocolate.
You then do a tour of the factory and walk through all of the different areas and thanks to huge glass screens you can see the machines and people at work from the packaging through to the making and designing. The highlight of this part of the tour for the children (and the adults) is that not only do you get given bars of chocolate, but in the demonstration area, they do the intricate designing and show you how chocolate is tempered and put into moulds, you are presented with a little cup of heavenly melted chocolate and a choice of sweets to add to it. We all enjoyed this little bit of chocolate as we watched chocolate teapots and shoes being given the most amazing designs with white chocolate and admired some of the handiwork that is on display.
The Cadabra ride is a fun ride for children through a world of rather noisy chocolate beans and then you head off down memory lane as Advertising Avenue gives you the chance to reminisce about the many Cadbury adverts over the years and we had a long discussion about how Curly Wurly bars are so much smaller these days.
Outside, there is so much more to explore with an amazing 4D Chocolate Adventure which was one of my favourite bits of the day. The adventure starts as soon as you get in the lift (watch out for the naughty parrot) and you dive into a pot of chocolate and take a high-speed ride on a chocolate roller coaster. It is so amazing and so realistic and is the perfect thing to keep the bigger kids happy.
There is also a brilliant outdoor play area; the African Adventure Play Area which is split into two age appropriate zones and gives you a chance to take a breath while the kids run around, climb and whizz down the tube slides. There are also a couple of table tennis tables which caught my sons attention and they enjoyed a quick game before lunch.
No visit to Cadbury World is complete without a visit to the shop. It is amazing. It is the biggest Cadbury shop in the world and there are products there that are unique to the store along with lots of familiar products and some good bargains to be had too. The boys spotted the chocolate football before we had even gone into the shop and at 1.5kg, that is a serious amount of chocolate. Knowing how football obsessed my sons are, I had to buy that for them but I am not quite sure how we are going to eat it yet.
Cadbury World is a fantastic family day out. We spent the whole day there and all thoroughly enjoyed it. Whether you are looking for a festive day out or a day out for the whole family to enjoy, there is something for everyone at Cadbury World and I can’t recommend it enough.
The Christmas Celebration Weekends are running on selected weekends during November and December and prebooking tickets online is recommended to guarantee tickets . Find out more about Cadbury World here.
We were given free admission into Cadbury World for the purpose of the review. All opinions and images are my own.
This looks like an awesome day out! Love those photos and think I can smell chocolate in the air here now! Cadbury’s is my favourite brand of chocolate too and you’re making me think it might be worth the journey up from Brighton 🙂
Anya from Older Single Mum and The Healer recently posted…Is Integrity Dead?
It sounds fab! It’s been a few years since we last went to Cadbury World, but we’ve always enjoyed it. The extra Christmas attractions must make it into a really busy day!
Sarah MumofThree World recently posted…Guide to being a football mum