Leap week was a gift, was it not? Not only were we given the gift of an extra day, but we were given the gift that kept on giving – and that was news of the farcical Willy Wonka Experience in Glasgow in all its technicolour (and muted grey) glory.
The short version of the story goes something like this. Parents saw an event advertised in Glasgow that sounded like a nice thing to take the kids to. A Willy Wonka Experience, featuring immersive exhibits, treats, and scenes of wonder. The booking page is packed with images of lollipop forests, giant eggs, oversized desserts … and a clownish teddy bear with a bottom half that needs a 180°.
Folks booked tickets based on the premise. It was going to be ‘enchanting’ and ‘captivating’ – adjectives used repeatedly in the advertising – and who wouldn’t want that? A steal for £35 and a nice way to spend an afternoon.
But attendees have come away using different adjectives: ‘abandoned’ and ‘empty’ being the ones at the more polite end of the feedback. What was promised and what was delivered was so mismatched that children cried! And voices were raised. And the police were called. A spectacular fail in the promise of the premise.
But there’s a case to be made that the event could succeed, even in a month of Sundays, but only if the premise is tweaked.
You need only look at ‘Dismaland’ to see an appetite for the mediocre. Back in 2015, Banksy opened a temporary theme park in Weston-super-Mare that was positioned as being ‘unsuitable for children.’ They got 150,000 visitors in five weeks. Impressive numbers!
And today alone, 988 people have signed a change (dot) org petition for the reopening of Glasgow’s Willy Wonka Experience.
People would visit for the irony. If you go expecting ‘encherining entertainment’ – which is actually what the AI art promised – you won’t be disappointed.
Mr Coull, the man behind the Wonka event, seems like an entrepreneurial fella. Perhaps he’s watching the reels, scrolling the Photoshops, raising his eyebrows at the memes, and is thinking of that one inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean.
“You are without doubt the worst events planner I’ve ever heard of.”
“But you have heard of me.”
Authors, take heed. Readers review books based on the promise of the premise. When the story and its positioning are aligned, all is well. But when they’re not, oof. Particularly important to writers of children’s fiction, one might say. No one wants tears before bedtime.
CherryEdits 