There's a sweet treat in store at The Trafford Centre after The Chocolate Factory finally opened its doors.
Our Manchester Family was among the first inside the new attraction which arrived on Friday and will staying until the end of April.
The experience takes small groups of visitors on a walk-through 'guided tour' of the 'magical world of chocolate'. The idea is that you collect ingredients from each room as you go along, take them to the factory to make the chocolate and then deliver it to Chocolate Town.
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There are things to see and do as you make your way along, the highlight for my lot being the ball pit inside the Mixing Room, in which we had to search for the cocoa beans hidden among the balls. Clearly they have no recollection of the years they spent rolling around at soft play.
As with many events these days, there's a big focus on how Instagrammable it is, and there's no denying the backdrops of most of the rooms - with lollipops dangling from trees and oversized sweets - make for some great photo opportunities.
There is fun to be had amongst the posing though and the swings and seesaw of Chocolate Town help bring out the child in adults and young ones alike.
It's not a huge operation, the event itself is inside the former Hamley's toy store opposite Boots on the ground floor of the mall, but it's big enough to justify being called 'an experience' and it's certainly a fun way to spend an hour with kids of all ages.
Sadly there is no Willy Wonka, but Milky Way and the other characters showing you around are just as wacky in their own way.
There are some samples to taste enroute - you can make up your own mind about the 100% chocolate - but don't be expecting a full bar to take away.
I knew a chocolate river was out of the question, but I was expecting a bit more than a pot of chocolate rocks and sprinkles, a taste test in Cloudland and a few squares of the chocolate we'd 'made' during our visit.
What you do get is tasty though. It's not Cadbury, but it's not your cheap chocolate either.
And in the final room of Chocolate Town, you can grab as many sweet packets as you can with the free Haribo grabby machine.
The event, from events company Fever, is open every Friday to Sunday until April 10 and then every Saturday in April, opening 4.30pm to 7.30pm on Fridays, 10.30am to 7.30pm on Saturdays and 12pm to 4.30pm on Sundays.
Tickets cost £13.50 for children aged two to 12, £17.50 for adults and children 13+, or £43.50 for a family of three and £58 for a family of four (max two adults in the family bundles). Groups of 12 or more can book for £15 each.
Book online via the website here.
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