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Cadbury World - Merlin Take Over

the new dark ride looks ok, nothing amazing but far from the worst. It does feel very Merlinesque without a doubt.

The cadabra ride was far from amazing. It was dated and very niche, but had a strange charm about it when I visited. One can hope they utilise the old space for something like a walkthroug, as a second dark ride seems unlikely.

Let’s hope they don’t just mothball the space and leave it unoccupied for the forseable. However I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the case.
 
I agree Cadabra had a charm. Yes it was a very 90's ride but that was what I liked about it, no screens, moving animatronics and humour. Yes the ride system was simply but it was the jokes animation and practical props that made it. Everything new seems to be mainly screens now, if I wanted to look at a screen I could just stay at home and play a video game or watch tv, when I go to an attraction I want to see real things moving and impressive physical props people have created from their imagination. There are so few rides left after old Bubbleworks and Toyland Tours left it was about the only 90s style ride left.

I think I'd be far less negative about the new ride if it had been an addition over a replacement, especially since they are in different places.
 
I mean these kind of rides work for universal and I guess the demographic they’re going for, it’s a neat little ride it could be abit longer but seems to be a solid attraction. The new upgraded “have a go room” and “bournville experienc” looks outstanding and to a very good quality.


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TroySmith1 said:
I mean these kind of rides work for universal and I guess the demographic they’re going for, it’s a neat little ride it could be abit longer but seems to be a solid attraction. The new upgraded “have a go room” and “bournville experienc” looks outstanding and to a very good quality.


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Is it definitely an ETF ride? Seems expensive for Merlin. Although am I right in thinking the legoland US dark rides are ETF?

Given their recent link up with Garmendale I’d be intrigued to see if they bought any others to the UK

Dungeons perhaps?
 
Visited Cadburys World in October and was really quite disappointed!
They were re doing the advertising bit and the chocolately world part was out of action. It felt a little bit ok the short side for the same cost as the full attraction! The cabadraba ride was looking quite sad- a lot of animatronics not working.
It seems that their trip advisor reviews at the moment are really suffering due to the shortened experience https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attra...y_World-Birmingham_West_Midlands_England.html

I think the whole place needs some work doing to it- looks all a bit sad and like it needs some love!
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
It's been trash for many years, since before Merlin took over. The influx of Merlin Annual Passholders have brought broader public attention to the decrepitude of Cadbury World, mostly because they really like complaining on Tripadvisor.
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I think the problem at the moment is that it was in the past so bad it’s good- you know with the wobbly vibrating seats, the questionable chocobeans and tacky 4d experience. However I think it’s got to the point where it’s looking that tired that it’s so bad it’s bad.
 
I think some of the criticism against this new ride has been a bit harsh. It looks good when you consider it in the wider context of the experience. Where there's theming, it looks good, and the screens are just fine for what is a short ride aimed at engaging kids and families in playing a game. I could imagine Gangsta Granny at Alton Towers taking a form similar to this when it comes to being rethemed.

I like the idea of the space where Cadabra stood becoming a 'memory lane' ride/experience to offer something for those a little older.
 
I feel that Cadbury World was a bit confused before the Merlin take over, and it seems to be more so since. My understanding was that Cadbury World was a visitor centre attached to the Cadbury facility... it ballooned into something with a couple of rides and a playground along side a bit of a Cadbury Museum. Merlin proactively marketing the "new ride" and the way the communicate the site on their website makes it feel like it's a theme park - it isn't. It's a visitor centre at a chocolate factory. I feel that Merlin are setting an expectation with Cadbury World they can't achieve and that is the main reason why there seems to be an undercurrent of unhappiness at the moment.

On a side note - what is the point of having a trackless dark ride if you are just shooting at screens? You could put people in a room in front of TV's and come away with the exact same outcome.
 
ScottishChris said:
I feel that Cadbury World was a bit confused before the Merlin take over, and it seems to be more so since. My understanding was that Cadbury World was a visitor centre attached to the Cadbury facility... it ballooned into something with a couple of rides and a playground along side a bit of a Cadbury Museum. Merlin proactively marketing the "new ride" and the way the communicate the site on their website makes it feel like it's a theme park - it isn't. It's a visitor centre at a chocolate factory. I feel that Merlin are setting an expectation with Cadbury World they can't achieve and that is the main reason why there seems to be an undercurrent of unhappiness at the moment.
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I haven't visited in ten years but did go several times in the 90s and 2000s and it was always a multimedia visitor attraction, you see barely any of the actual factory and it always felt closer to Madame Tussauds than a simple visitor centre. Even back in the 90s the first exhibit was a recreation of Aztec temples. Then in the 2000s the second exhibit was set based on Bull Street showing the sort of shop the Cadbury brothers originally set up. There was then films about the history of the company and how chocolate is made. Looking at the website it does seem to align with the experience I last had there, a mix of sets, films, demonstrations and then if you want to there is the Bournville experience museum downstairs.

ScottishChris said:
On a side note - what is the point of having a trackless dark ride if you are just shooting at screens? You could put people in a room in front of TV's and come away with the exact same outcome.
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See Toy Story Mania at Disney Hollywood Studios, Disney California Adventure and DisneySea, that ride was even released as a Wii game but is still incredibly popular in the park as the overall package does work well.
 
jon81uk said:
I haven't visited in ten years but did go several times in the 90s and 2000s and it was always a multimedia visitor attraction, you see barely any of the actual factory and it always felt closer to Madame Tussauds than a simple visitor centre. Even back in the 90s the first exhibit was a recreation of Aztec temples. Then in the 2000s the second exhibit was set based on Bull Street showing the sort of shop the Cadbury brothers originally set up. There was then films about the history of the company and how chocolate is made. Looking at the website it does seem to align with the experience I last had there, a mix of sets, films, demonstrations and then if you want to there is the Bournville experience museum downstairs.
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I agree, but my point stands. People seem to be expecting something more like a theme park... which it isn't. Someone even pointed out that they have even added this to their website FAQ's:
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They also have statements saying that you won't see chocolate being made or actually receive a factory tour. It certainly seems like some of the visitors are very confused as to what the place actually is.

jon81uk said:
See Toy Story Mania at Disney Hollywood Studios, Disney California Adventure and DisneySea, that ride was even released as a Wii game but is still incredibly popular in the park as the overall package does work well.
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I get your point, but my personal view is that these types of rides don't make much sense, as there is no real reason for you to be moved - they could just switch what is on the screen. Maybe I am too old school and feel that screen based tracked/ trackless rides are very lazy and not very appealing.
 
I haven’t been to Cadbury’s World for year, but I absolutely loved it when I was a kid. My Grandma went she was a kid, although I doubt it was called Cadbury’s World back then. It was completely free, you walked around the factory between the machines and were given a free Milk Tray at the end. Of course, there are lots of reasons why they could never do that now.

I suspect one problem is that if my memory serves me correctly, the factory doesn’t run at weekends and bank holidays (although that might have changed). Of course, that’s when the bulk of visitors want to come. So for a long time, actually seeing the factory has been a small part of it.

Cadbury’s has been a much loved British institution, but the Kraft takeover has soured things a bit, and now Cadbury’s World is outsourced to Merlin, it’s probably hard to make it feel authentic. Most kids probably won’t notice, but it might be harder to engage the adults.
 
ScottishChris said:
They also have statements saying that you won't see chocolate being made or actually receive a factory tour. It certainly seems like some of the visitors are very confused as to what the place actually is.
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Thats been in the FAQ ever since it opened 34 years ago, its never been a factory tour but people have always expected it to be, its always been a midway attraction really. I can remember back on my first visit expecting to see more of the factory than you do. But 30 years on people still think it is a visitor centre with a factory tour, not a multimedia midway attraction.

The theme park thing in the FAQ is possibly newer due to the acceptance of the Merlin pass, but also I'd expect those people to be familiar with the Dungeon attractions which are not theme parks either. But generally people are idiots, the Dungeons has a lot of explanation in its FAQ too about what the experience actually is.
 
Funcone said:
I haven’t been to Cadbury’s World for year, but I absolutely loved it when I was a kid. My Grandma went she was a kid, although I doubt it was called Cadbury’s World back then.
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Its never been called Cadbury's World, it is just Cadbury World. Been there for 34 years now
 
jon81uk said:
Its never been called Cadbury's World, it is just Cadbury World. Been there for 34 years now
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Thanks. Yes, I've not done any research into the history of it and how the tours morphed into the current format, but presumably increases to health and safety, increases to the number of people visiting, the desire to monetise it and the problem with the factory not running at weekends and school holidays meant a new format was desirable compared to a more traditional factory tour.

Edit: According to Wikipedia there was more recently a sister 'Cadbury World' in New Zealand that did feature a factory tour.
 
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