The police were called at an “immersive” Willy Wonka experience in Glasgow, Scotland, which was abruptly cancelled after numerous attendees expressed their vehement disappointment about the event.
The experience was meant to be a celebration of Wonka, last year’s Timothée Chalamet-starring prequel, complete with chocolates galore, dancing Ooompa-Loompas, and special audio and visual effects. Produced by organizers House of Illuminati, the event was billed as a “journey filled with wondrous creations and enchanting surprises at every turn” that would take “45 minutes to an hour” to walk through, complete with a chocolate fountain.
Instead, attendees arrived at a small, sparsely-filled warehouse in an industrial section of Glasgow to find plastic decorations, a small bouncy castle, and a surprising lack of chocolate. The BBC confirmed that Scotland police officers were dispatched to the event and “advice was given.” Tickets for the event cost up to £35, and many who purchased tickets traveled long distances and were barred from entering upon arrival.
According to “house of illuminati scam,” a Facebook group set up by disappointed attendees, both the event itself and the behind-the-scenes production were cause for concern. An actor hired by the company posted that the event was a “complete last minute shitshow” and mentioned that everyone’s contracts were signed in “erasable ink.” Another actor shared the scripts she was hired to learn, but claimed that she was told to “improvise” on the day of and alleged that the scripts were “AI generated.” An attendee lamented the lackluster production, saying “When [I] went in there [were] [no] lollies, chocolate fountains… He [cannot] even spell shop right ‘shoppe’ like get a grip . House of illumshite”
Dozens of attendees noted crying children, a lack of communication regarding refunds, and a crowd of people at the venue’s entrance being denied entry. A spokesperson for House of Illuminati wrote on Facebook that “Today has been a very stressful and frustrating day for many and for that we are truly sorry. Unfortunately, at the last minute we were let down in many areas of our event and tried our best to continue on and push through and now realise we probably should have cancelled first thing this morning instead.” They’ve also pledged to provide “full refunds to each and every person that purchased tickets.” However, House of Illuminati have since deleted their post, instead sharing a screenshot with refunds in process.
Meanwhile, members of the Facebook group have identified Billy Coull, the director of House of Illuminati, as the primary culprit for the shambolic event. The Daily Mail reports that Coull is a self-published author who used AI to generate the event’s imagery, and came under fire a few years ago after he cancelled a “Santa’s Grotto” event in Glasgow once toys and gifts had already been donated. Some Facebook users have openly described Coull as a con artist, while others allege that he’s maybe just a terrible businessman.
Police were called to an ‘immersive event’ inspired by Willy Wonka in Glasgow after furious parents complained about the quality of the event. pic.twitter.com/hqpgeNB9uk
— STV News (@STVNews) February 26, 2024
Actually in awe of how grim this is. Fucking outstanding pic.twitter.com/8sAeyfrDeG
— Nooruddean (@BeardedGenius) February 27, 2024
this picture from that Willy Wonka thing in Glasgow has absolutely ended me this afternoon pic.twitter.com/03C5m8eBaN
— Jmo (@jmo21) February 27, 2024
