Cadbury World, Bournville

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This latest review is by Ali who writes a fab blog over at My Life.My Love. Click here to read some more fantastic posts or follow the blog.

Ali is also definitely worth following on twitter @aliandlucky

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Last month the kiddies and I entered a fab competition hosted by Laura at Tired Mummy of Two. We had to get all creative with a scrummy bag, or 2, of Cadbury’s Marvellous Mix Ups. This was our entry and we won a fab, family day out at Cadbury World!

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What a brilliant day.

I didn’t really know what to expect but it’s safe to say that all of us thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It’s advisable to book your tour tickets because it had sold out on the day we arrived. There are other areas that can be enjoyed before or after the tour.

The tour takes visitors around a range of different experiences, learning about and trying out yummy samples of chocolate. The Aztec jungle is captivating as you learn about the origins of chocolate and throw a coin into the Aztec river.

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The second part of the tour takes you through chocolate’s journey to Europe and the history of Cadburys. I was absolutely enthralled listening to how John Cadbury originally started selling coffee, tea and drinking chocolate in his little shop in 1824, as an alternative to drinking alcohol which was frowned upon.

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He then developed the business with his brother and then in turn, his sons. To me, the family seemed so ahead of their time. Caring so much for their employees, they built a Village called Bournville, to give their workers improved living conditions. You can visit the estate during your day at Cadbury World but sadly we ran out of time so didn’t get to enjoy this. The tour then takes you through the story of how chocolate is made. We loved the surprise of our benches shaking as though we were the cocoa beans going through their journey of being transformed into yummy chocolate. On the tour you are able to see where the chocolate bars are packaged ready for the shop shelves but you are not permitted to take photos at this stage of the tour.

The kids loved using the Green Screen to super impose themselves onto a large chocolate surfboard. Hubby bought the photo as a phone cover.

Harley really enjoyed the Cadabra. The gentle car ride takes you through the wonderful world of chocolate. It also has a photo opportunity if you keep your eye out for it.

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We loved watching the ‘chocolate making’ part of the tour. It was great to watch the intricate details of white chocolate being drawn onto the big chocolate teapots. Inevitably, getting to taste the warm melted chocolate pots, was a highlight. I think we all opted for ours to be topped with Jelly Babies and marshmallows. Delicious.

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There is a super computerized, interactive area. The kids loved the mirrored walls and enjoyed unwrapping the moving chocolates on the floor, by jumping on them.

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The new 4D Chocolate Adventure was unanimously our favourite part of the day. The queue to enter the cinema moved very quickly, quicker than the waiting time signs stated. We had to access the adventure by being taken down (or maybe up?!) in the shaky lift! The kids were all so excited by this point and I have to say that the staff were fab and all added to the experience. We had yet to be in a 4D cinema, so the experience was completely new to us. It was amazing. We met lots of the famous Cadbury’s characters and the flying mini eggs practically landed in our laps! It was adorable watching Harley try to grab the chocolate as it dangled in front of him. Riding the chocolate rollercoaster was so realistic with our seats moving and crashing through the barriers off the end of the track was very dramatic!

We also enjoyed the outdoor play area and they could have stayed there for the rest of the day if the rain hadn’t decided to make an unwanted appearance.

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We enjoyed lunch in the Cadbury Cafe and found it very reasonably priced. There is also a food/snack station outdoors for convenience.

Connor was made up that he managed to see the Cadbury Gorilla play the drums, a lot of the dads seemed to enjoy that bit too!

I was very impressed with how baby friendly Cadbury World is. Part way through the tour you do have to leave your pushchair because of the steps but the tour takes you back round to pick up the pushchair on the way through. There is also dedicated space to leave the pushchair in the 4D cinema. There are areas to sit during the tour if needed, plus new baby changing and baby feeding areas in the main reception.

We really did, all have a super day. My top tip is to definitely book your tour tickets in advance and it is worth following Cadbury World on Twitter. It was so handy on our journey up because I was able to ask a query about entrance times and I got a helpful response straight away. So thank you, Cadbury World to whoever mans your Twitter account. It’s worth noting that your booking time is for the tour, yet you can enjoy the outdoor play area, the cafe and the 4D adventure before or after your tour.

I was in chocolate heaven with the generous amount of free samples that each person is given. Is it wrong to admit I ‘borrowed’ one of the kids chocolate bars too?!

We decided to stay over night in Birmingham to make it more of a short break and to split up the driving. Thank youPremier Inn, we took advantage of the super £29 a room offer. We had interconnecting rooms and the breakfast choices were delicious.

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Full of chocolate and scrummy breakfast, we had a truly wonderful and very purple time.

 

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Karen Beddow founded Mini Travellers in 2014 while doing what she loves most...going on holiday!

Mini Travellers is for parents looking for holiday ideas, destination reviews, days out and things to do with the kids. We also have family travel tips, activity ideas and all other things family holiday related. Take a look at some of our latest reviews for holidays and day trips in the UK.

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