A Lego event promising ‘mind-blowing creations from all over the world’ has been slammed by angry visitors.
Families paying up to £35 (AUD $67) a ticket for Brick Fest live – which branded itself the ‘world’s largest hands-on lego event’ – were met with a ‘bleak’ half-empty room.
The event at Birmingham’s NEC promised guests they would be “amazed by life-sized Lego models and hands-on building activities”.
But furious parents disappointed by the lack of attractions took to social media to express their anger.
It was even compared to Willy’s Chocolate Experience, the Glasgow event that made global headlines in February when police were called after families called it a ripoff and demanded refunds.
One mother, who did not wish to be named, said: “It’s as bad as that Willy Wonka experience in Scotland, hardly anything there, both of my kids were so disappointed.
“I heard some people making official complaints. We thought it would be a nice treat for the half-term. We all left so disappointed. It was terrible.”
She added that the event had been “as bleak as the pictures look”.
Lego enthusiast and YouTuber BlockPartyUK shared a video of his experience, which got more than 14,000 views in a day and hundreds of comments from visitors who felt let down.
One disappointed father wrote under his YouTube video: “Drove from Sheffield with my ten-year-old who was so excited to see rare lego, custom minifigs etc.
“Could’ve cried for him when we had walked around the whole thing and he asked where the Lego stalls were.”
Another added: “We drove over two hours from Leeds and as soon as we stood at the entrance I was amazed how bad it looked. Having walked round it was even worse.
“We spoke to the organisers and complained and were given an email to send a message to about getting a refund.”
The NEC website shows that tickets were priced at £18 (AUD $34) for general admission, £25 (AUD $47) for flex admission and £35 (AUD $67) for VIP.
An event description for Brick Fest live boasted that over a million lego bricks would be “on display and ready for play”.
It adds: “Brick Fest live allows families to enjoy mind-blowing creations from all over the world made entirely of this timeless toy.
“Children and adults will be amazed by life-sized Lego models and hands-on building activities assembled to set the imagination free.”
But families were underwhelmed by the few life-size models, a ‘Brick Pit’ to play in and piles of loose blocks for visitors to build their own creations.
Elsewhere was an inflatable slide and trestle tables to sit and eat. Steven Halsey, 70, from Corby, Northamptonshire, said the massive room dwarfed the sparse attractions on offer.
“I have more lego in my house than they have there,” he told Worcester News.
In a statement, Brick Fest live organisers said they were aware the event was “potentially not delivering for adult- level enthusiasts” , adding that there were “elements of the show that are not of satisfaction for this sector of customers”.