That’s right, the Chocolate Factory doesn’t just exist in your sweet dreams, the treat-filled wonderland is very real and has now opened it’s doors in Manchester. So why don’t you round up the family with promises of deliciously dreamy adventure, step through the doors of the Trafford Centre, and – after dodging around crowds and a bit of window shopping – enter a colourful world where all your sweet-tooth fantasies have been brought to life. This is the perfect excuse to indulge your inner child and explore a vibrant candyland with your family.
You’ll probably be familiar with the marble columns, high-street stores and Miami-reminiscent palm trees of the Trafford Centre, but you’ll no doubt do a double take when you enter the Chocolate Factory’s photo-friendly candyland. Found on Peel Avenue on the ground floor, the space will have been completely transformed; decked out with oversized sweets, mouthwatering cakes and a rainbow of deliciously vibrant pastel colours that are the perfect backdrop to a selfie or slo-mo video.
The Chocolate Factory promises to whisk you and the family away from reality for over 45 minutes, sending you all on an adventure through a series of magical rooms. You’ll want your phone camera at the ready, because what awaits deserves to be immortalised on your Instagram account: lollipops dangle from twisted tree branches, wings crafted from a kaleidoscope of sweets invite you for an angelic selfie and a street of giant gingerbread houses rival the ones even your wildest imagination could have conjured up when thumbing through the pages of Hansel and Gretel. There’s even a massive ball pit – glowing with an almost otherworldly fluorescent light – that is just begging to be jumped in.
Once you’ve finished your travels through rooms such as Cloudland, Chocolate Town and the Cupcake Room, it won’t just be the kids eager or a something sweet. You can all satiate your sweet-tooth when you enter the Chocolate Factory itself. There, you’ll find shelves stocked with all the delicious goodies you may have encountered – everything from gummy bears to multicoloured lollies await.
We all remember those days as a kid, when the mere mention of a sweet shop would set our hearts thrumming and fill our heads with daydreams of floating chocolate bars and cascades of powdery bon bons. Whether you’re looking for a chance to indulge those childhood imaginations or you’ve got a kid of your own with an insatiable craving for all things candy, the Chocolate Factory is the answer. Make sure you snap up a ticket fast, as they’ll no doubt be disappearing quicker than free chocolate samples in, well, a chocolate factory.