Willy's Chocolate Experience
| Event | |
|---|---|
| Event: | Willy Wonka Experience |
| Participants: | Billy Coul House of Illuminati AI-Generated Content |
| Date(s): | 24th February 2024 |
| Type: | |
| Fandom: | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory |
| URL: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
This article or section needs expansion. |
Willy's Chocolate Experience, also known colloquially as Glasgow Willy Wonka or the Willy Wonka Experience, was a scam event in Glasgow, Scotland based around the eponymous chocolate factory from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The event was a disaster, and went viral after reports documenting it cropped up on social media and news outlets.
Marketing material for the event was overwhelmingly generated by AI, as was the script the cast allegedly had to use. Willy Wonka became 'Willy McDuff', the Oompa Loompas were instead 'Wonkidoodles', and an entirely new evil chocolatier character was generated called 'The Unknown'.
Memes surrounding the event began to arise, involving characters such as the Unknown and an Oompa Loompa residing over a single chocolate station. It was compared to similiar disaster events such as Dashcon and Fyre Festival.
History
Willy's Chocolate Experience was set up by House of Illuminati, one of several companies Billy Coull had created mere months leading up to the event. Coull had previously set up a suspected food bank scam in 2021, and had released a number of AI-generated books on Amazon in 2023, the subjects of which included, among other things, anti-vax conspiracy theories.
Spread
[fairywalrus]
feel like based on the unfortunate fates that befell each of the golden ticket kids in the original charlie and the chocolate factory novel the glasgow ai generated wonka experience was true to the text as anything in leaving a bunch of children in tears and frightened to their core[1]
The Unknown
One of the more popular characters to come out of the event was The Unknown, one of the AI-generated characters portrayed physically in the form of a black cloaked figure with curly black hair and a silver mask.
Meth Lab Oompa Loompa
Ai Art
Comparisons with Dashcon
Fans compared the disastrous event to Tumblr Dashcon, with several memes created as a result (see side image).[3]
Other
Initially, one of the actors playing Wonka himself, Paul Connell, was generally looked upon favourably by both those who went and those who didn't. However, he has since become a Milkshake Duck after he was accused by a former pupil of his of grooming her.[4]
Similiar Events
Copycat events/recursive fandom?
- https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/glasgow-willy-wonka-experience-los-angeles-event-rcna149468 -- "“Willy’s Chocolate Experience LA," a one-night-only pop-up, stayed true to the underwhelming decor of the Glasgow event, complete with AI-generated art."
Similiar Disasters
- Brick Fest Live - Lego fest in the UK
- Pokéverse - Pokémon con in the Philippines
- Dirt Dog Bluey Event - Bluey event in the USA[5]
Fanworks
Recreations
- Wonka Experience VR by Starport55 - VR recreation
Fanart
- Sweeter than chocolate by Aloc - Crossover with Our Flag Means Death
Resources & External Links
Videos
- Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Fiasco (Mar 2024) by Wait in the Wings
- The Deep Lore Of The Glasgow Willy Wonka Experience (Mar 2024) by Izzzyzzz
Notes
- ^ A reference to the concept of "firing gunshots to lower the rent", Archived version has been a popular meme/in-group view of tumblr culture since at least November 2022 (example 1 example 2).