A shockingly cruddy “Willy Wonka” experience went viral when the unsanctioned event in Glasgow turned out to be far different from the way it was advertised online. And the surreal technicolor online Wonka photos filled with errors on the website advertising the event sparked speculation that creators whipped up the promotional site with AI-generated images.
The site, willyschocolateexperience.com, is filled with overheated promises that the event will make your “chocolate dreams become reality,” including an “enchanted garden” filled with “giant sweets, vibrant blooms, mysterious looking sculptures, and magical surprises."
It also offered an “imagination lab” stocked with “mind-expanding projections, optical marvels, and exhibits that transport you into the realm of creativity,” and a “twilight tunnel” promising “captivating projections, enigmatic sounds, and surprising turns.”
But the numerous typos didn't appear to just to be a spin on the creative nomenclature of Rohald Dahl, who once gifted the world Vermicious K’nids. Instead, these phrases have the hallmarks of large-language image generators failing to understand basic English.
“Enchering entertainment,” reads one image, promising “catgacating live performances,” “Cartchy tuns,” “exarserdray lollipops,” and a “pasadise of sweet teats.”
The reality was much, much more surreal, with parents posting photos and videos of lackluster sets, dingy lighting, and characters nowhere close to anything they’d seen in any iteration of the Willy Wonka universe.
(A small-print disclaimer on the bottom of the website event did warn that “Any resemblance to any character, fictitious or living, is purely coincidental. This experience is in no way related to the Wonka franchise, which is owned by the Warner Bros. company.”)
One video posted on a Facebook group discussing the event shows kids crying as they’re scared by a character called “the ender.”
“Does anyone actually know what this was … I’m still baffled and I don’t know if it’s me being daft I don’t remember this in wonka the kids were crying …”
Tickets for the event sold for £35 a pop, and according to members of the r/Glasgow subreddit, the event was being pushed heavily on Facebook. But when parents showed up with their excited kids they were shocked by just how shoddy the experience was, leading some to call the police and demand refunds.
“apparently this was sold as a live Willy Wonka Experience but they used all AI images on the website to sell tickets and then people showed up and saw this and it got so bad people called the cops lmao” summed up one poster on X.
Everything about the event seemed about as far from the way it was advertised as possible, with posters on X highlighting photos of a depressed Oompa Loompa and 2-D backdrops in lieu of actual immersive experiences.
“I can't believe we've got to the point of email spam in real life,” posted one redditor on an r/CasualUK thread about the event. “Literally just full of spelling mistakes and AI art and somehow still tricking people into spending their money on it.”
The image advertising the Twilight Tunnel seemed to be a clear example of the bizarre spelling mistakes that the current crop of AI image generators haven’t managed to shake.
From Dim Tight, to Dodjection, to Vivue Sounds, Dippractions, and Ukxepcted Twits, people online were convinced that the images were made with AI.
Unsatisfied visitors are already organizing to get refunds for the tickets on a Facebook group called “house of Illuminati scam.” The company behind the event is called House of Illuminati, and according to members of the group, some banks have been quick to refund money, as news of the event has been reported across the world.
“I disputed the payment and the bank put it in my bank within seconds,” posted one person on the group.
“Raised a dispute with Halifax—received a text within 3 minutes to say money was being transferred to my account,” commented another.
Other posters reported that their banks were dragging their heels, saying the refunds would have to wait between a week or a month to be verified.
But some parents said it wasn’t about the money and that many kids who were looking forward to the event ended up seriously disappointed.
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