Lego superfan compares 'disappointing BrickFest' at Birmingham's NEC to 'Willy Wonka' experience

Hannah says the exhibition was "bare" with minimal stalls and activities. Credit: Hannah Taylor

A Lego superfan has compared the BrickFest Live event at Birmingham's NEC to the 'Willy Wonka' immersive event, saying she felt "disappointed" by the experience.

Hannah Taylor, from Sheldon in Birmingham, was gifted the £40 VIP ticket to the Lego exhibition by her mum, and she was looking forward to spending the day at the event.

She told ITV News Central: "I expected it to almost be like ComicCon and the Expos, with various displays, maybe something from Lego themselves.

"I love collecting Lego sets and my expectation would be that there would be an opportunity to do that there."

However when she arrived, Hannah says she was met with a "bare" hall with "just a few tables".

Hannah says she was promised a huge Lego spectacle, but was met with a "disappointing" display. Credit: Hannah Taylor

"The first thing I thought when I got there was 'Oh my god this is like the Willy Wonka experience," she said.

"I actually asked one of the members of staff 'is there going to be anything else in there?' No, nothing.

"There was one exhibit of a few dinosaur sculptures. There were a couple of tables with some glow-in-the-dark Lego and some small clay pits with bricks," she added.

The VIP ticket allows visitors to enter the event earlier than other ticket-holders. Hannah arrived at 9am, and left just 30 minutes later.

"They say 'perks' - there aren't any perks. You get a little pin badge, there was a small bag with some flat pieces of Lego, a sticker and a lanyard, and that's it really. It's just a more expensive ticket to be honest," she said.

Hannah says the lightsabers "quite dusty close up, as though they hadn't really been cleaned". Credit: Hannah Taylor

"I think if you went to every table you could be done in maximum half an hour.

"I'm a shift worker so a Saturday is rare to me. The cost of living is not great at the moment. So it's just not fair. It's made me think about looking at reviews beforehand."

Inside the exhibition was a shop selling Lego. Hannah recalls how "the small sets they were selling were the ones you get on the front of the lego magazines, and you could see the bits of paint at the top of the packets where they'd obviously taken them off the magazines. You could tell it was going to be expensive."

The small lego sets that Hannah says looked like they had come from Lego magazines. Credit: Hannah Taylor

BrickFest Live advertises the event as an opportunity for "families to enjoy mind‐blowing creations from all over the world made entirely of this timeless toy.

The event advertising goes on to say "Children and adults will be amazed by life-sized LEGO® models and hands-on building activities assembled to set the imagination free. Brick Fest Live will also feature a marketplace where avid builders will be able find rare collectibles not available anywhere else."

In response to Hannah's experience, the organisers of BrickFest Live told ITV News Central: "Where many have given us positive feedback, we are aware that Brick Fest Live is potentially not delivering for adult level enthusiasts, and there are elements of the show that are not of satisfaction for this sector of customers.

"We’re reading all customer feedback and dealing with comments.

"We’re working quickly to pass customer feedback onto the creators of Brick Fest Live, so that they can take those observations on board, to deliver future events that live up to all customer expectations."

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