'Did I mention eating lots of chocolate?' - Our review of Cadbury World with the character afternoon tea
It's the six weeks holiday, summer is well and truly under way and you tell the kids you are going out for a day centred completely around their favourite thing – chocolate!
A trip to Cadbury World (or Chocolate World as my children now call it) is well worth a visit.
The ingredients for its success are quite simple – it involves eating copious amounts of chocolate, interactive rides and experiences and a 'have-a-go' chocolate area. Oh, and did I mention eating lots of chocolate?
The screams of delight as we approached the Bournville-attraction were something to behold and this time we had something extra to be excited about because we were booked in for the Cadbury World character afternoon tea.
It is a quintessentially British afternoon tea with a tasty chocolate twist because you get a visit from the iconic Cadbury characters Freddo or the Caramel Bunny.
Guests can enjoy a range of sandwiches and crisps and a selection of Cadbury cakes, including rocky road, chocolate muffin and a brownie.
The afternoon tea character option costs extra but it's a lovely treat to break off for in the day. My kids loved getting a photo opp with the characters and they particularly enjoyed all of the chocolatey treats as part of the children's special afternoon tea. There was so much food, we didn't manage it, but the staff were more than happy to wrap it up for us to take away.
What we like about the attraction is that it's not far from home (in the Black Country), it's perfect for little ones (we have two under 6s) and it doesn't take up the entire day. You can probably do the entire day and the afternoon tea in about four hours. Another thing to mention is the shop, which is the largest Cadbury shop ever, which sells goodies at amazing prices. We got an absolutely HUGE slab of dairy milk for just £5.
The school holidays are very busy, the queues are long and a little frustrating but where isn't like that in the middle of August? Next time we probably would pick a quieter time of year to visit, but the busy nature of the day didn't spoil our fun.
A real highlight was getting a small cup of melted chocolate with a treat topping. It was delicious and we stopped for five minutes of quiet tasting to enjoy the wonderful taste and smells coming from the factory.
Elsewhere, there’s plenty to learn and discover through a self-guided tour of Cadbury World’s chocolatey zones - little ones (especially the ones we were with) haven't got much patience for the educational side of the day, but there's a lot to learn if you have the time to immerse yourself in the history.
A real highlight was the 4D chocolate adventure zone where you can experience the sensation of riding on the Crunchie rollercoaster and diving into a pot of Dairy Milk – it’s truly brilliant and all members of our party, adults and kids alike, enjoyed it.
The 'have-a-go' zone is also really fun - the kids got stuck in working on piping skills and drawing their names in chocolate.
Available from £29, anyone who purchases the character dining experience will also be able to enjoy entry to Cadbury World itself .
For further information or to book tickets, visit cadburyworld.co.uk/tickets/character-afternoon-tea/
