My other half is a Brummie and we do go to Birmingham quite regularly to see family but it's usually only for the day, the last time we went we promised Squiggle that we would take him to the chocolate factory, and during this visit we kept our word.
The admissions procedure has changed since the last time I went ( some 12 years ago ). Cadbury World is very busy and booking is not only advisable I would say it is necessary, especially if visiting in the afternoon. We arrived at 11 am and the next available tour was at 3.20 pm. When we went for dinner at 12.30pm the attraction was fully booked up. Tickets can be booked in advance on their website.
So we bought our tickets and then decided what to do for the next 4 hours. I was worried that there wouldn't be enough to keep us entertained but I'm glad to say I was wrong.
Outside of the factory are 2 children's playgrounds with a refreshment stall, the new 4D Chocolate Adventure and also The Bournville Experience. The Sooty Show was also there as extra entertainment, for a short Summer stint ( I believe it's The Rainbow Show for the next couple of weekends ) and shows were being held every hour on the hour.
First we let Squiggle loose on the African adventure playground whilst we planned what to do. He loved it, climbing up and down the nets and across the rope bridges then going down the slides. There are 2 playgrounds to cater for all ages of children.
Next we went into the 4D Chocolate Adventure. We entered the special lift and met Mr Cadbury's Parrot who caused a bit of mischief - Squiggle thought this was funny. The lift doors then opened and we saw that we had arrived at the cinema, we took our 3D glasses and found a seat. I'm not going to spoil it for people by telling you anything more than can be found on the Cadbury World website, but it's a 4D cinema experience ( which means 3D visual with motion seats ) which lets you meet a whole host of Cadbury characters including the Caramel Bunny, Freddo Frog, Mr Cadbury's Parrot and ride on the Crunchie Rollercoaster.For the full experience I would recommend sitting near the middle.
Squiggle thought it was brilliant, I thought it was brilliant and Mr H. thought it was brilliant - so a big thumbs up from us.
Then we decided to check out The Bournville Experience. It gives the history of the family, factory and surrounding area. I found it interesting to learn how the Bournville village was built for the factory workers and how the Cadbury family influenced their Quaker ethics onto the workers. Did you know that Quaker's don't drink alcohol and even nowadays there isn't a single pub in the whole of Bournville!
There is also a sneaky peak into the packaging area, where all the boxes of chocolates are loaded up on the pallets. We watched boxes and boxes of Wispas being loaded up onto pallets before being picked up and taken away for delivery.
Finally we joined the queue for the Sooty Show. This was taking place in a marquee outside The Bournville Experience, we took our seats and the children sat on the floor before being delighted by the antics of Sooty, Sweep and Soo, who showcased some of Sooty's latest inventions. I'm not sure who loved it more, the children or the adults, everybody joined in ( grown men were singing and waving their arms ! ) and it brought back much loved childhood memories, although I'm not sure Sooty and Sweep were ever that naughty when I was a child!
After a spot of dinner in the restaurant we joined the queue and were ready to enter Cadbury World.
Click here for part 2.
* We visited Cadbury World and paid for our own tickets. I have not received anything ( yet** ) in return for writing this post. I just wanted to share our day out with you all
** If by any chance Cadbury's read and like my post and wish to send me a box of afore mentioned Wispas as a thankyou then I will gladly devour them!
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