*Advertorial Review*
Those of you that have followed me for a while will know that I love nothing more than Chocolate.
That being said my confession is that I have never visited a really local attraction to me all about Chocolate!
Cadbury World is based in Birmingham. And shows the history behind one of our most iconic chocolate brands in the country and for that matter all over the world!
Recently we were invited to visit Cadbury World and with Joshua’s Birthday coming up, what better way to spend some family time.
Arriving At Cadbury World
No matter where you are coming from with Cadbury World is easy to get too. Birmingham has some amazing travel links and it is really well sign posted around Birmingham itself.
There was plenty of free parking, which was nice as so many attractions these days charge for parking too!
Character Breakfast
We were invited to the Character breakfast and pre ordered ours before arrival. I ordered an English Breakfast, Ollie a sausage muffin, Joshua a waffle breakfast and Jacob a pancake breakfast. These both arrived with banana, cream and chocolate sauce! Obviously they went down really well.
There was tea, coffee, hot chocolate and fruit juices available too as part of the breakfast.
Arriving for breakfast it was nice to see that the tables were reserved for each family. There is no need to push or rush to get through reception to the cafe conservatory. It was a calm and well organised affair that worked well with the kids. It also wasn’t long before the Characters came and joined us.
Each character visited every table. And it was so nice that the staff were happy to help take photos of each family/table too. They were more than happy to stand and talk to the kids for a few minutes too which we thought was super nice.
Inside Cadbury World
Having had a character breakfast we had on wrist bands that meant we could fast track through reception. After getting through we went to the first part of the self guided tour. This explained the history of chocolate. Which was interesting but it was fairly busy so we did move quickly through it.
Attractions
There are lots of lovely aspects to Cadbury world. We all rode in Cadbra car and watched chocolate beans dance. There was warm chocolate pots and got to choose our own toppings. We got to see how chocolates were made in moulds. And even saw some personalised chocolate shoes being made and decorated.
The kids loved the African Adventure play area itself outside and the Aztec Jungle inside, and the purple planet.
The good thing about Cadbury World and taking children of 2 different ages was that each area doesn’t take too long time wise so both boys were kept entertained.
4D Chocolate Adventure
Now this part of Cadbury world needed a special mention.
We as a family have done lots of attractions in the past. Including many 4D shows! I can however tell you that this was by far the best one.
It starts on a lift and we headed to several areas that explain a little more about the process of chocolate. Along with telling us the full Cadbury story and where it began.
We moved through the attraction into set areas and then into the final bit which was the cinema.
Up to this point it had been a good little part of the trip. However the 4D movie itself really was the icing on the cake.
We were given 3D glasses and headed to our large comfy seats and were not disappointed. We had thought Jacob who was 3 would be unsettled with this element. However I am pleased to say he loved it just as much.
During the film the moving seats barely remained still. There was some rollercoaster action in there and flying too.
I can honestly say we never stopped laughing. We loved every minute of it. In fact we even considered lining up for the next one to go through again!
With session times on the hours every hour from 12pm there was plenty of times to choose from and the queue wasn’t bad either!
Cadbury Shop
Last off was the worlds biggest Cadbury shop. Obviously no trip would be complete without more chocolate!
The shop for us was a mixed bag. Some items were really well priced. Others seemed a little more expensive than some High Street shops. However we stocked up on Freddo’s ready for our Easter hunt later this month (we are using those instead of eggs)
Both the kids both came out with souvenirs to treasure and we managed to get this all within the family gift shop spending limit. So that certainly kept us all happy.
Easter Programme At Cadbury World
During most of April (up to the 28th) Cadbury World have a programme of Easter entertainment and live experiences for all ages.There is a Mr Cadbury’s Parrot and the Missing Mini Eggs Show – which are located in the outdoor marquee but we unfortunately missed these because we didn’t bring appropriate outdoor clothing to remain warm enough.
Final Thoughts
When we arrived we were confused as to which car park we could park in as we drove past the main carpark and ended up in the overflow car park. Be aware when you pull into Cadbury World through the gates the main car park entrance is just on your right. Don’t panic if you miss it and end up in the overflow car park. Both car parks are super close to the reception and the outside play areas. So it really doesn’t matter which you use.
There was plenty of things to do both inside and out. If the weather is cold and wet make sure you do take a coat. Even if you leave it in the car while inside. As you can pop back to the car before doing the outside attractions.
Timings for things means that actually Cadbury World wouldn’t necessarily be an all day event. We had a Character Breakfast at 9.30 and left early afternoon. We could have extended our stay by using more of the outdoor play parks but stupidly I didn’t have a proper coat! – hence the note about coats above. You can also take a picnic if you wish as there are covered seating areas outside you can use.
Talking about Character Breakfasts. This was a fantastic element to the day and it really did start the day off well for the kids.
The conservatory held a reasonable amount of people without being too busy. Both kids and our family in general got time to have a proper photo or 3 taken and the kids got to talk to the characters and interact.
We had a brilliant time and kicked ourselves that we hadn’t been sooner.
Thanks for having us Cadbury World.
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