A UK event dubbed the “Fortnite event of the year” ended in tears this weekend, as the thousands of attendees were left with nothing to do but queue for very dull rides.
Fortnite Live Norwich, organised by a company called Exciting Events, promised a weekend packed with family-friendly rides, attractions, laser tag and playable Fortnite, but its patrons are now asking for their money back on the company’s Facebook page after the event’s shockingly poor execution angered attendees.
Ticket prices ranged from £12-£20 ($15-$25 USD), and guests were then expected to pay to play Fortnite at the event – despite it being the game’s free-to-play Battle Royale mode.
Speaking to The Guardian, parent Oliver Phillips said: “The attractions were pretty rubbish. It was the sort of thing you see at a school fete.”
He also added that the advertised “cave experience” was just a “trailer, no bigger than a car, with a tunnel through it.”
@EveningNews @EDP24 you should look at shambles and complete rip off today at Norfolk Showground for Fortnite live … shocking organisational shambles or cynical rip off?
— Jill Elliott (@JillElliott77) February 16, 2019
Another parent told The Guardian just how disappointed her children were with the event, saying: “[My children] were really looking forward to it given they play online.
“They’ve done nothing apart from queue. I’m really angry and gutted for my son.”
Some people were more than just a little angry at the event, which ended up costing some people hundreds of pounds in travel expenses.
One woman said: “It should have been a fun day out – but the whole event was a shambles. My kids spent most of the day in queues.
‘It was like Fyre Festival’ – hundreds of families demand refund over Fortnite festival flop https://t.co/IdnN0OSNDA pic.twitter.com/V8LtsfESjl
— NORFOLK (@DailyNORFOLK) February 16, 2019
“Fortnite is all about hunting people down and killing them. I felt like doing that to the people who organised it. There would have been hell to pay if they had not agreed to pay refunds to people who bought wristbands.”
Of the approximately 2500 attendees there was a huge number of children at the event, despite Fortnite having a rating of age 12.
Featured Image Credit: Epic Games