Cadbury's Bizarre Chocolate Ride
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- Опубліковано 17 вер 2024
- You might recall that in the past, I've spoken about Hershey's Chocolate World and its ride, the Hershey Chocolate Tour, which is fascinating. However, when I produced that video, I received a lot of comments from people saying that it reminded them of Cadabra, a ride located at Cadbury World in Birmingham. At the time I wasn't aware of this, but since Cadbury World was bought out by Merlin Entertainments and the ride was just closed, it's time to look at this strange, trippy dark ride that deserves a bit of a spotlight because of how unique it was.
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Worth noting the gorilla wasn't just a random advert, it was one of their most successful advertising campaigns in the UK and won multiple awards. I remember even covering it in Media Studies classes. Absolutely wild the impact it had.
I wouldn't have expected that lol
@@PoseidonEntertainment Just to add on how successful the advert was, my father told me about being in a bar and the advert starting playing on the TV. Everyone stopped their conversations to watch the advert in silence. Seems weird today, but somehow that advert captured the UK's imagination with a very simple idea.
This is gonna sound dumb, but sometimes as an American, I can't tell if English people are messing with us🤣 cause I can also see "the UK got super into a chocolate ad with a gorilla" being the sort of thing people would say to make fun of what Americans will believe lol
@@jessewalker-mcgraw1331 Honestly, I don't blame you, but it really is an iconic advert. Like, there was a large amount of debate on morning TV shows about whether it was a real gorilla or not and the song made it back into the UK music charts, it got so much coverage.
Cadbury had been in some pretty huge salmonella and allergy warning scandals, and somehow the release of this advert contributed to improving public perception and reversing the decline in sales.
To be fair, it went pretty hard.
Having grown up in the UK during the hayday of Cadbury marketing, especially it's incredible TV advert run in the 90s and early 2000s, Cadbury World has always felt like a mismatch of themes with varying levels of execution. I can only imagine how it must look to someone who doesn't understand a lot of the references.
Having visited a few years ago with my young son on a trip back to the UK, I was surprised at how well the first half of the tour held up (the jungle through to the video about how the chocolate is made, which featured some light effects not mentioned here. Heat lamps & moving benches) and was pleasantly reminded with how random and out of place Cadabra was. Little did I know it would be the last time I rode it!
Great video, thanks!
I liked how eclectic the exhibits were for Advertisement Avenue, but I didn't realize just how widely successful some of them were. When I was watching some vlogs of the tour, I at first believed that the gorilla animatronic was a quirky gimmick that recycled an old Rock-a-Fire Explosion figure, but I didn't realize that it was purpose built to emulate one of Cadbury's most successful marketing campaigns.
I went to Cadbury's World once when I was a kid and remember having a great time. Must have been 2007 at the absolute latest.
There was a cool hologram-style preshow for the ride - it was the first time I ever saw that technology used so it blew my mind at the time - and I distinctly remember the dark ride being especially surreal.
Thanks for covering it and giving me a hit of nostalgia!
Ah, I wonder if that pre-show had been gone for a while? I searched for videos of the ride as early as 2013 and never saw anything like that. It's interesting to know that it existed though.
I actually visited around 2007 as a small child and it all felt like a fever dream, the whole tour went back and forth between wildly impressive and super boring (my main memory is a really empty room with a photo op followed by a super long and boring hallway, lol). This video reminded me of what the rest of the place actually looked like - I did adore the playground!
If I had a nickel for every time Poseidon made a video on chocolate tour rides, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.
lol
Booooo
This joke was never funny. I hate Phineas and Ferb
It's weirder that their are two chocolate theme parks at all.
@@gunnymaru2900 I mean I like it
Great video, like always. I would love to see an video about Chessingtons "Bubbleworks", weirdest ride i know. It was themed to an german soda factory that is kinda magical. Later it got rethemed to an soap advertisement ride and run under the same name and today its themed to an childbook. Its worth to take a look into it :)
This sounds super weird and I hope someone covers it
I'm vaguely aware of what it was and I can see a video on it in the future. I'm traveling the UK next year though and Chessington is on the list of places to visit, so maybe some time after that.
@@PoseidonEntertainmentit's now the gruffalo
Video essays on Chocolate themed dark rides are now my favorite UA-cam subgenre
the gorilla playing the drums looks really silly out of that context but that advert has become ICONIC to those who were around to see it
It’s basically the same thing Knott’s did to Knott’s Beary Tales…destroyed the original and put in an ugly “screen” attraction
Pretty much and I probably should have made that comparison. Maybe I need to make a video on the plague that is screen shooters
Cadbury World has always been rather random, in my experience (a number of visits over twenty+ years). They used to give you an 'Aztec' chocolate drink in the first section (I believe this stopped because a lot of people didn't like it - it was quite spicy). There are usually random points around the tour where they hand out chocolate bars - I think I came away with five or six full size bars last time I went. There was also a station where you got a little pot of melted chocolate and could choose toppings to add to it (marshmallows, cookie pieces, small sweets, dried fruit, that sort of thing).
Cadabra never really made sense to me. I remember riding it when it was fairly new and being pretty confused - it bore no relation to anything else in the factory/tour/experience, the little bean people didn't appear anywhere else in the place (other than the shop, where you could buy your own chocolate bean person - made of chocolate, of course), and the whole thing was just a random entirely fantastical ride plopped into the middle of a tour which was otherwise a factual trip through the history of chocolate and Cadbury's, and the science/art of chocolate making. It was fun, but I could never understand the thought process behind it!
It's also worth mentioning that the video of how the chocolate is made casts the audience as the ingredients - when it talks about roasting beans, heat lamps in the ceiling come on, when the beans are shaken, the seats shake, and a few other instances. It can't be called a fully immersive experience, but it can be a bit of a surprise to people who've not been before!
That last part is a pretty fun idea, especially since these kinds of educational films tend to get really boring and often feel like cheap filler whenever I see them in a tourist attraction.
I remember on the factory tour I went on back in the late 90's they gave out samples of the fudge they put in fudge bars while it was still warm. It actually had a very different texture and taste, softer, less chewy and somehow not quite as sweet.
Apparently since the opening of the new ride, the tour only gives out two bars which people seemed upset about. I agree about Cadabra though, it really has nothing to do with the rest of the tour which is partially why I enjoy watching it. It's weird just to be weird.
I think the old ride's placement was also very weird and unique, where else do you get a dark ride sandwiched between two walk-through exhibits and an actual factory tour?
The Ride itself strangely reminds me of "It's a Small World" with its focus on small characters doing various activities in unconnected show scenes instead of following a concrete laid out story.
I remember doing this tour when I was younger, so sad to hear they have removed a lot of the flavour and fun from the ride, I know it was outdated, but sometimes there is a way of improving what works rather then removing everything for a cheaper effect
Yeah, I agree. I think that Disneyland's Fantasyland dark rides are the perfect example of how to keep old rides feeling fresh.
Cadabra was such a charming ride and it's a shame that Merlin took it out. Probably my favourite thing about it is that the TV in one of the chuckle beans' house is playing the Gorilla ad
Ah, I didn't catch that
That was interesting. Guess I’ll have to add it to the list of rides/parks I’ll never be able to experience like Nara Dreamland and the Back to the Future ride.
For Halloween I’d love to see you do a obscure horror attraction
Like what?
@@PoseidonEntertainment maybe something that is unintentionally scary, a halloween themed ride or just something with monsters in it
@@PoseidonEntertainment some examples i can think of are those disney haunted houses that appear sometimes (theres a fastpass facts video on them) or the universal halloween horror nights attractions
@@PoseidonEntertainment13th floor
I love this channel it would be nice if you could do a video on the jorvik Viking centre in york uk and it's dark ride people rarely ever mention it and it's really nostalgic for me
They call the cocoa bean characters "chuckle beans". No I do not know why.
Real big superstar saga fans
See, I knew that but for whatever reason I didn't write it into the script. Now I wonder why I didn't lol
@@PoseidonEntertainment I imagine there was already enough bizarre material to cover! Definitely the weirdest dark ride I've been on and I'm glad you covered it so others can share in the fever dream.
Great video! Screens are so much easier and cheaper for a company to maintain, but if it is all a ride has to offer, it feels a little pointless. Though not a ride, I was sad when Chuck E. Cheese switched from animitronics to screens.
I think the reason that any single dark ride would fail to convey the Wonka factory and its story is that Wonka’s factory within the story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is actually closer to a whole theme park or at least a whole land, offering several different attractions. The river boats are a ride on their own. The 3D experience with the TV is its own thing. The “washing machine” is its own attraction… This is why a single dark ride for Wonka’s doesn’t work. These chocolate making themed parks are actually closer to Wonka’s than any one dark ride could be.
That was a really interesting video to watch. I genuinely found some things about the museum tour to be awesome, and it sucks to see its dark ride being replaced like that.
As a brit I'm tickled pink that this is getting a full video
Tally ho pip pip
Btw it's pronounced Birmingumm or just brum for short
Thanks so much for producing content about these weird dark rides with creepy and/or retro charm!
Ever since riding Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, I have detested screen rides. Universally inferior to practical effects.
FJ has a lot of physical sets and components though. I agree it would be better without screens, but it's pretty good as a product of its time.
So happy there is Poseidon Entertainment video about somewhere I've actually been to!! :)
I’m a simple man.
I see the Cadbury Caramel Bunny, I click.
Voiced by Miriam Margolyes
my man
I really loved your video on the Hershey Chocolate Tour that you created a few years back, so I am happy that you produced this video about Cadbury World. Merlin Entertainments has been making interesting moves within the attractions industry, so I can't say that I am surprised with their acquisition here.
Thanks as always, Poseidon! Great analysis as usual.
I went to cadbury world a few times growing up and even twenty years ago most of the characters they used were out of date.
although I remember there was this ride it was very forgettable and I honestly remember the history parts and seeing the actual factory a lot more.
The biggist thing people here will talk about when you mention CadWorld is how they used to give out so much free chocolate and now they don't. Seeing how they have changed it makes me very sad.
There is also a really good 4d theatre experience there as part of the visitor centre. Last went in 2021 so am gutted the cadabra ride is gone. Merlin can be hit and miss with their ventures so hoping that long term this is positive
Back in Year 7, there was a trip to Cadbury World. I was so excited, I brought in my slip, but forgot my money. The teacher in charge told me if I could get the money by lunchtime, they'd reserve my spot as I brought my form in, and it was first come first served.
My mum brought the money. I excitedly took it to the teacher, and they told me I was too late.
I was absolutely crushed. And felt extremely betrayed.
So sadly never got to experience this.
School sucks. I had a similar thing happen with a trip to Warwick Castle. Bought in the money for the trip, but hang on, it has to be inside an envelope! Get back to class! Hated school so much, much prefer being an adult.
1:02 Speaking of Alton Towers, I would honestly love a more-in depth analysis of that park since it has some really dark themes, particularly for seven of its eight ‘Secret Weapon’ rollercoasters.
The good and the bad, like how dreadful the food is nowadays (rollercoaster restaurant excepted).
Afton?
I'm going in summer of next year, so I'll probably cover it then
I actually had no idea this ride shut! I'm glad I managed to accidentally go before they made major changes!
I have to say though, going just before the ride shut I did find it quite underwhelming and odd and barely any of the animatronics were working. The queue for the ride was quite long too, I can't remember exactly how long we waited but it was definitely wrapping round far enough that some were opting to skip it.
The tour definitely gave away far less free things than it apparently used to, with two full size chocolate bars being given on entry and otherwise just receiving a small chocolate drink. I'm not sure when the gift shop changes were made, but when I went it had a section for "seconds" where you could buy Cadbury made chocolate and sweets that were incorrect for incredibly cheap! (from our experience it seemed mostly that the chocolate hadn't tempered correctly and so was dull instead of shiny)
I don't think you mentioned it, but there was also a further exhibit you could access from the outside area that had more history of the village itself and wasn't part of the main tour
I heard that as soon as Merlin took over operations, the quantity of candy given out was quite reduced. Also having watched through older videos of Cadabra, it was in a shockingly bad state when it closed. I don't think it was ever a spectacular ride even when working as intended, but I appreciated how strange it was.
Cadabra is now a cadaver
As someone in the UK, the Dairy Milk Drum Gorilla ad was everywhere and is a widely known thing around here, so its always funny and feels weird seeing people not familiar with the ad react to it for the first time
The Chucklebeans car ride was my childhood. Without the CGI projections.
Also the attraction based on Dudley Sidebottom (voiced by Noddy Holder) adverts where you literally just sat in a chair and pressed a button when prompted.
It was replaced by chocolate making attraction based off the then recently introduced Marvelous Creations. No idea what's there now.
I've been to cadbury world more times than i can count and the cadabra ride was always my favourite part of it. such a shame they got rid of it. They were doing a giveaway, if you gave them your details and your favourite memory of cadbury world you were in with a chance of winning one of the chuckle beans from the ride
First time coming across this channel. Not sure if you have ever heard of or done a video on a Theme park called Blackgang Chine on the Isle of Wight in the UK. That has the weirdest houses/animatronics and theming. Check out the crazy history of it. Its got some stories to tell. (Theme park falling into the sea, tales of the smugglers for example)
I do like the stranger side of parks and this place seems to really fit into that. I probably won't do a video on it, but I added it to the "idea list" for the future lol
I went to Cadbury World 2 years ago and got to go on Cadabra! I had no idea it closed down but everything about it was so weird and literally made no sense but we all loved it. I still have a photo of the chocolate things w eyes on a sign that says “CHOCOLATE PLEASEEEEEE”
It's surprising that as a non english i know how popular that Cadbury Gorilla playing Drums commercial is, even tho i learned from a comedy spot in a random wrestling clip.
I went here for a highschool trip in 2014, the train ride was actually really fun despite doing nothing 😂❤
Went to Cadbury's World for the first time last year after my annual trip to Alton Towers. Did the dark ride and found it a very odd one, but do enjoy a good dark ride when I can find them. Could tell when I went in October that they were in the process of getting the new ride ready as they had element's of the walking tour closed off.
Yeah, it'll be interesting to see what the tour is like when Merlin in done making changes
god i was just thinking about this last night cuz cadbury world was so weird when i went over a decade ago
Hey, Poseidon! I love your critiques. You should talk about Disney's Dixie Landings (Port Orleans). It might be a little bit of a touchy subject, but I think you're one of the few creators that could do it justice. I have no idea how Disney got away with that in the 90s.
What's there to say about it though? It's definitely insensitive by today's standards, but I don't see how it would make for an interesting video.
I’m gonna miss the old version of the ride.
i live about 15 mins from cadbury world. it's alright, i haven't been since cadabra closed.
anyway, funny story, they wouldn't let me and my family buy one of the photos they take of the riders because my brother did a certain gesture that many cultures find offensive (hint; its a type of salute). i don't blame them for not letting us get the photo, at the time my brother was completely unhinged, and not in a good way. that was a very fun trip
A society of walking talking cocoa beans sounds right up my alley (I’ve made up stories about walking talking coconuts and mangos). Shame the world wasn’t given more scale with the new ride. Trackless vehicles give so much freedom for highly detailed and immersive attraction design, and a Toy Story Mania clone was the best Cadbury could do?
Yeah, everything about the new ride is just outright stupid. What's the point of making it trackless?
its been a while since Poseidon has posted and this is a shorter video, I'm curious what he is working on :)
also I live right near Birmingham and its snazzy to see a video about a UK theme park, I hope we get an Alton Towers video at some point although maybe that is wishful thinking.
@@gmtp1428 I'm going to Alton Towers in June of next year, so there will definitely be a video then.
@PoseidonEntertainment Ooooo I'm really looking forward to that, I hope you enjoy your trip, I'm heading off to Alton in October for scarefest and hopefully project ocean, the new flat ride, might be done by then.
The ride most definitely will be done by the time you go I believe
Man, this is a blast from the past! I’ve ridden it twice I think, but no memory of the specifics.
A shame that I never got to go on the Cadabra ride as a kid due to my parents not being able to afford it, but I did come out not wanting to eat Cadbury chocolates for months lol. Kinda sad that they covered up the factory part because that was my favourite part of the tour, also BIG UP BRUM!!!
Damn, even chocolate factories can’t get away from 4D gentrification.
Super fun video, I like the short ones!
Please do a video on the Gold Coast in Australia. I grew up visiting specifically movie world and it is genuinely great!!
The scooby do spooky coaster was an amazing blend of coaster+dark ride. Unfortunately it’s been refurbished to be awful
I sort of remember this ride. I know we had a magnet on the fridge with our photo on it.
I also specifically rember there was a part of the experience where there was a garden scene and tin of roses chocolates. Kids were encouraged to go up to the tin where a prerecorded voice line shouted "Oi! Get your hands off my Roses!". That still gets quoted to this day in my family. Was it part of the advertising exibit?
I remember that also, it was part of the advertising area I think. You would put your hand inside the box and hear it.
7:12 My god, they actually make the proverbial chocolate teapots.
At the advertising part there would be an arm chair with a fake tin of roses that would trick people into grabbing one and a voice would say "Get your hands off my roses" when touching the inside.
At last a ride I’ve been on! I visited Cadbury World a couple of times in the late 90s for school trips etc, and have fond memories of the Cadabara, although many of the characters featured haven’t been used in Cadbury’s advertising for a long time. Also my Grandad used to work for Cadbury’s so we could use the factory shop.
Merlin’s ride looks like an abomination and not being able to see the factory innards kind of defeats the object of visiting.
I agree. In fairness, I guess it's currently in a transition period, but I don't have confidence in Merlin
Huh. We don't get a lot of Cadbury stuff here in the U.S. The main thing I remember about Cadbury is an ad for the creme eggs with the "Cadbury Bunny", which was a rabbit that clucked like a chicken. I don't suppose that appears anywhere in Cadbury World.
The Cadbury (Caramel) Bunny in the UK is something else entirely...
Cadavra's replacement probably wouldn't be that bad if it was a dark ride/screen shooter hybrid, like that one ride from your Ferrari parks video.
Cadabra look like an AMAZING ride in my opinion, and it's upsetting the ride was so neglected and removed for a lazy screen-based ride. At least the screens in Advertising Avenue had purpose. I might be a bit biased, because I adore anthropomorphic food mascots, and I enjoy seeing them brought to life. Seeing the anthropomorphic Cadbury Fruit And Nut bar is always fun, I love her design and I wish she had been used more. Though there's bias on my part as Will Vinton Studios designed her. Speaking of Will Vinton, I wish he could've been able to create his Claymation Station park, as the idea is super unique and interesting. Maybe the park could've had an attraction that taught people about the process of Claymation, and/or a ride similar to Cadabra with the California Raisins, the M&Ms Spokescandies, and other sentient food characters?
..there is a dragons den episode with cadbury's grandson pitching a chocolate business. they are really impressed
The way that Americans pronounce the "ham" in names like Birmingham and Nottingham will never cease to amuse me.
Burr-ming-um or Brum. Much easier!
As a Brit, I think the only good thing merlin entertainment do are madam tussauds
It's not really for me, but I think as an attraction, the one in Orlando is done well. I really like Sea Life as well. It was surprisingly better than I expected, although I've only been to the one in Orlando so I don't know how others are.
@PoseidonEntertainment ahh the closest one to me is in Blackpool, and that's pretty decent, very large and well done with themed areas and such
I would have loved this..
Great video! I have never been to Cadbury World so I guess it depends on an individual's taste; but from what I viewed from the video it looked like the first version of the Cadbury World Dark Ride was more entertaining. The theming on Cadabra from what I saw was fine as it it did not need to be totally redone maybe upgraded. From seeing videos the new ride looks to be such a downgrade in my humble opinion.
Cadabra wasn't too strong, but there's something about a slow moving dark ride through hand-crafted scenes that I think is just appealing to most people. The new 3D ride is just so forgettable and from reviews I've seen, most people seem to agree that it's not engaging.
what does the cooing noises the cocoa beans make sound like!? its killin me not knowing
Love your videos but I think sometimes I miss them on my sub box because your thumbnails don't have anything that tells me its you. Please add your logo to your thumbnails, thank you and keep up the great work
I've experimented with it, but every thumbnail I tried it with became too noisy and I think would actually drive viewership down. I'm probably going to experiment with a new thumbnail for this video, but I appreciate the feedback
I was by myself. I really didn't have any interest nor intention of visiting the factory or the park, but there I was. By this point in my life, I had visited Disney so many times that it had altered my opinion on parks, however I witnessed a young family simply enjoying ice cream together. My pompous pretense dropped and I almost wept. Some people will never be able to afford the big park, so the smaller ones are their Mecca. That little family was the best part of that trip. Enough so that thirty years later I'm still thinking about them.
I'm so mad Merlin is ruining Cadbury World, and this comes from an American! [In fairness, while I hear Hersheypark is still good, I can point out they've been making mistakes with the current version of the chocolate tour ride, even if I do like that the mascots are included, and the removal of the 4D interactive Mystery Show.] While I'm sad Cadabra was removed, I'm outright FURIOUS Advertising Avenue was removed. Advertising history is very interesting and doesn't get the respect it deserves, and for Merlin to try and faze out Cadbury's history like that makes me wish Cadbury would pull the rights from them. I hope they at least keep the projection of the anthropomorphic Cadbury Fruit And Nut bar, because I love her design, and she was made by Will Vinton Studios, which makes her super interesting to me. And is also bittersweet given that Will never did get to make his Claymation Station Park. Does anyone from the UK know if the Anthro Cadbury Fruit And Nut bar is used anywhere else in the park?
I do believe that Advertising Avenue is still there, but I think its been cut down to about half of what it was. If I understand correctly, what's still there is unchanged but it just leads to the new ride. It doesn't make sense, but at least it's not all gone.
Merlin used to have really cool and themed attractions, but they aren't that Merlin anymore.
That bird scared me so much
If i became a choclateer like wonka and made my own factory, my dark ride would feature gimme chocolate by babymetal being sung by animatronics to advertise the product
What if we got a sluggish darkride based on the willy wonka experience
Incredible
The Cadbury World bean room incident.
What?
Finally
a very chocolatey video 🍫😊
Can you make a video talking Underlandt at Liseberg it's a better dark ride then anything at Disney?
The Cadbury bunny....
Cooked!
2:13 please tell me that’s still there
I believe it was removed
What is that it’s the unknown
Love Phill Collins ❤
A ride called “Cadaver”
… you know, for kids!
Whats sad about Cadabras Demise is that the new Trackless Dark Ride isnt even where Cadabra was, its in a completely different part of the Factory. Merlin shut Cadabra down for literally no reason aisde from possibly just so they can get Guests to pay attention to their new mediocre dark ride. Sad.
They definitely did not want to maintain the effects on Cadabra either. Watching through video, I was surprised by how much wasn't working in its last few years, even before Merlin came in.
The new ride is not good!
I thought Hershy theme park was the only one of its kind in the world. I was horribly mistaken
Hey could you please make a deepdive in to warner bros movie world germsny it has a amazing history
birm-ming-gum
Here and Hey🎉
#DisneyDiva ❤
Anyone else fed up with Toy Story Midway Mania clones?
Yeah, to the point where I think that it might make for an interesting video. Toy Story Mania is great, but almost nothing that has followed it has been good.
Merlin botched the whole thing it seems
Used to work for a Merlin attraction, (not this one, but I assume the management style was similar) and can confirm, they’re total cheapskates. (Although my manager there was the nicest one I’ve ever had, so that’s something at least)
@@jeffreymodesitt3345 I bet they make six flags look generous
That's what I've heard. A lot of people have said that you get a lot less chocolate throughout the tour too.
@@PoseidonEntertainment I think if they wanna make everything way simpler, turn the entire tour into a ride
Bae, wake up
A new chocolate themed Poseidon video just dropped
Unpopular (Or Popular, idk) Opinion, Cadbury chocolates are WAY better than Hershey chocolates. If you ever been to the UK, you will understand.
The butyric acid in Hershey's is an acquired taste to say the least. Also, dairy milk has a bit more sugar so it's sweeter.
Cadbury is sold in the US lol. Pretty much anything is better than Hershey chocolate
But I think you had something on Knotts stuff.😊
Merlin are awful.
Still hoping for Kingdom of the Dinosaurs lol😂❤.
Cadbury is just ok, but it is infinitely better than Hersey's puke flavoured chocolate.