Visitors to the Cardiff Halloween Festival are drawing comparisons between the event and last year's Willy Wonka-themed immersive experience in Glasgow.
The Cardiff Halloween Festival is described as South Wales' biggest family Halloween festival, offering spell-binding shows, spooky games and immersive decor.
The event is taking place at Alexandra Head in Cardiff Bay through 31 October.
Via the BBC, some visitors have complained about the event, with one saying the entrance looked like a "Covid jab queue" and another comparing it to "Chernobyl".
"Tents not open, no Halloween atmosphere, very few props. We left after 15 minutes," said another.
Brych Rees, a teaching assistant from Merthyr Valley, told BBC News that the decorations were "really sparse" with "a total lack of atmosphere".
"If the organisers want any kind of continued patronage then severe and immediate improvements are necessary to Cardiff's answer to the Willy Wonka experience – aka Cardiff Halloween Festival," he said.
"No Halloween atmosphere, very few props"
Kirstie Bevan, from Neath, told BBC News: "It just reminded me of the Willy Wonka experience in Scotland."
Lydia Darby, from Dudley, West Midlands, wrote on Facebook that the event was "hectic, unorganised and poorly maintained".
Some reviews of the event have been more positive.
One guest wrote: "The boat trip to and from is a good touch, the fire show was top notch and couldn't get the kids out of the show tent dancing most the day loved it will be back again next year."
The Cardiff Halloween Festival has responded to the criticism in a statement, saying it is "truly sorry to those who left feeling disappointed".
Due to "severe weather in the 24 hours before opening", some of the event's zones "were not quite ready as they should have been, or had been relocated without the correct messaging", it said.
"Since then, we’ve been working tirelessly both on site and behind the scenes to enhance the experience," the festival's organisers added.
"We’ve completed those areas, strengthened the atmosphere across the island, and reviewed our operations so that the rest of the week delivers the fun, family-friendly Halloween event people look forward to."
