Hundreds of parents demand refunds from ‘absolutely awful’ Fortnite festival in Norwich
Hundreds of parents have demanded refunds after visiting a Fortnite festival that was branded “absolutely awful”.
Visitors to the two-day Fortnite Live event at Norfolk showground near Norfolk were forced to queue for hours to enter the site on Saturday.
And once inside, parents said the computer game-themed event was a “shambles”, with depressing attractions and a shortage of staff.
Organisers Exciting Events had billed the festival as the “ultimate Fortnite Battle Royale” with “crazy competitions, awesome activities… and much more”.
Visitors were charged up to £22 for a ticket and a further £20 each for wristbands to take part in the attractions.
Justine Petersen, 44, from Bradwell, Norfolk, travelled 25 miles to the event with husband Martin and their nine-year-old son Richard, after paying about £40 for tickets.
She said: “We queued for about 45 minutes to get through the gates, then joined another queue to get wristbands.”
After having waited another hour, the family decided to walk around to see what was on offer.
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She said: “There was a climbing wall that could only fit about four kids on it, the sort of thing you would only see at a school fete.”
Another attraction included on an itinerary handed to families was the “Cave Experience”.
Mrs Petersen said: “It was some sort of truck with a tarpaulin over the sides, then they had stuck a grey plastic slide on the back.
“It wasn’t even slippery. The kids were using their arms to push themselves down it.
“In front of that there was a merchandise stall. There were baseball caps with cannabis leaf logos on them.”
She added: “We then went to the main building. There was a big inflatable llama with a crowd barrier around it, pushed against a wall.
“The main stage where they were meant to be having a dance competition was tiny.”
Mrs Petersen said there was also a “Dusty Diner”, a location from the game where players can collect resources.
She said: “It was two or three tables and a couple of ladies with tea urns and they had three or four cakes in front of them.
“Everything had a massive queue. There were thousands of people and only about six things to do.”
The disappointed family left within an hour.
Mrs Petersen said: “There were children upset everywhere. There was not a single person who seemed to be happy about what they saw. It was horrendous.”
@EDP24 fortnite live event. 1 climbing wall between 3000+ children. 4 go karts between the same amount, nobody dressed up as characters, people still queuing 2hrs after gates open. Absolutely awful #fortnite #fortnitelive pic.twitter.com/D8laYvzbpG
— #OfficalMarcSmith (@marc0835) February 16, 2019
Liam Buddle, 32, went with his three sons Tyler, nine, Riley, six, and Dylan, also aged six.
The father-of-three said he paid £67.50 for tickets and a further £15 on tokens that could be used for the activities.
The supermarket manager from Norwich said: “For me, the big disappointment was the lack of entertainment and the dreary look of the place.
“There was really nothing to do there and the things that were were there were of a poor standard for the money we spent.
“A lot of things were either not open or just completely not there. My children love Fortnite and after half an hour they were disappointed and wanted to leave.”
Event organiser Shaun Lord said the long queues were a result of staffing issues and claimed it had been a “fantastic show”.
Writing on their Facebook page, the organisers said that “so many happy children have enjoyed a great day at Fortnite Live Norwich today”.
They added: “However, these happy visitors have been accompanied by a mixed bag of feedback with the queues wearing thin on some visitor’s patience and we sincerely apologise to those visitors who gave feedback regarding the queues.”
