Kicker: Magical disappointment

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Last week, families in Scotland plopped down $44 per ticket for an immersive Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory experience. Ads on social media promised optic marvels, lots of candy, and chocolate fountains!

The kiddies showed up, but the moment wasn’t magical.

PAUL CONNELL: You could say it was a world of imagination in that you had to imagine it was not a dirty old warehouse.

But it was a dirty old warehouse, says actor Paul Connell, hired to play Willy Wonka, and he apologized for what the event turned out to be.

Sparse decor and, most pitifully, the actors were instructed to give each kid a single jellybean and quarter cup of lemonade.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: No chocolate?

REICHARD: None! Event organizers really dropped the ball. But in the spirit of Oompa-Loompas, Connell and the other actors carried on even after realizing they’d likely get no pay:

CONNELL: However, they're going to put this event on with or without us and children are going to be coming through. Let's just stick around. Let's do our best to make sure that the children have some kind of experience.

BROWN: The show must go on!

REICHARD: It’s The World and Everything in It.

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