4D fun at Cadbury World

Today we arrived at Cadbury World in Bournville, we knew we had reached our destination as the smell of chocolate permeated the air. Ahhhhh.
We were here to experience the Cadbury World tour, ride the new £2 million 4D Chocolate Adventure and pick up some Mis Shapes for our colleagues (woe betide we forget that) from the largest Cadbury shop in the entire world!

Excitement mounted as we approached the Chocolate Adventure's entrance, we were worried we’d not reach the height restrictions but thankfully there aren’t any. You start the adventure by entering a lift; we won’t ruin the surprise but let’s just say it’s not plain sailing as you descend into the bowels of Cadbury World.  Along the way you are guided to your seats by some memorable characters, including a professor and his c-razy assistant; great interactive fun for the kids.

As we took our (motion) seats, donned our 3D glasses and the auditorium lights dimmed, I realised I was actually rather excited (I wasn’t going to be disappointed).  The rides narrative features some popular Cadbury characters - Freddo the Frog, Mr Cadburys Parrot and the Caramel Bunny (for the dads presumably).

The 3D on the ride was excellent, one of the best examples I’ve seen, the woman next to me bought into it entirely, even reaching to try and grab a bar of the chocolate dangling in front of her. Augustus Gloop sprang to mind!

And the 4th dimension - The motion seats, were perfectly tailored to the action unfolding in front of us, and as we went hurtling into a bowl of Cadbury's Dairy Milk and speeding down a rollercoaster I felt totally immersed in the situations on screen.

As we plummeted down a Crunchie Rollercoaster and were slung off the rails into the open sky I realised I had a large grin on my face and the screams of the children behind us indicated that this ride was a hit with all ages.  What are the age restrictions I hear you cry?  Well, there are none, as smaller children with a sense of adventure are able to sit on adult's laps.

As we left our seats, a little wobbly on our feet, I heard compliments all round, but the adventure was not quite over yet.  We entered a room of interactive digital games including one where you can create your own holographic bar of chocolate, (I created invisible and glow in the dark bars), and a game where chocolate beans record your messages and repeat them back to you, someone must have done something right as the Cadbury Joy-O-Meter went off and the whole room went bat crazy with flashing lights and messages.

We left very impressed and if that wasn’t fun enough we were then invited to experience the rest of the Cadbury tour.  The tour itself is a great assortment of entertainment, rides, demonstrations and Cadbury history through 14 zones of choclety fun.  Also new for this year The Chocolate Making Zone has been revamped and you can now choose from a mixture of toppings on your delicious pot of complimentary Dairy Milk chocolate.  I was also handed a Dairy Milk, a Wispa and some Cadbury’s Buttons to munch on my way around (unfortunately the latter melted in my hand) but tasted good all the same.

I personally like the way the tour runs through the factory, (which in itself is a gorgeous building, steeped in history).  I and my colleague spent quite some time watching a lady (unbeknownst to her) on the production line of Cadbury's Dairy Milk, willing her to eat some; she didn’t of course.

Next up, the shop, the largest Cadbury shop you’ll ever see - it’s like a purple world of confectionary perfection.  We found the aforementioned Mis Shapes (lest we forget) and stepped into the hot chocolately smelling air of Bournville.  This idyllic village that George Cadbury built for his workers is well worth a meander around after your visit.

Cadbury World is an excellent day out for everyone and if you love chocolate (and who doesn’t?) you’ll be in heaven. If you’ve been to Cadbury World before I’d say the new 4D experience definitely warrants a return visit, it’s a fantastic addition to what was already a great experience.

Now one last mmmmm of the Bournville air and back to work for some Mis Shape’s roulette.

To find out more about Cadbury World and the 4D Chocolate Adventure visit their website