A Low-Budget Bluey Event Reportedly Left Kids in Tears

Parents were not impressed with a Las Vegas restaurant’s free promotional party.

A Bluey-themed event held by a Las Vegas location of the hot-dog restaurant Dirt Dog is in the running for the latest Wonka Fyre Fest. If you recall, a Scottish “Wonka” experience went viral earlier this year for its slipshod quality with badly costumed actors and almost no set decoration in the massive space. Like that event, Dirt Dog’s Bluey party had a massive turnout of people who were apparently disappointed to discover that the Bluey actor was a restaurant employee wearing a blue onesie. The children in attendance were not impressed. “I was mad. He looked unexpected,” Sophia, a child who attended the event, told Fox 5 Las Vegas. “We could see his beard.”

Parents also had complaints about the amateur face painter as well as the  lack of catering and  capacity issues. As one parent, Stephanie Hernandez, told the TV station, “The kids were distraught. Some kids were crying. Some kids were upset, crying in their parents’ shoulders.”

There are a few key differences, though, between the Bluey Bummer and the Wonka Experience. Most important, the Wonka Experience charged families €35 a head and seemingly used AI-generated images to advertise the event. On the other hand, Dirt Dog threw a free Bluey promo party, where it sounds like they promised guests a Bluey, a face painter, and sweet treats. According to Fox 5, one of the restaurant’s employees personally baked 125 cupcakes, more than enough for the “maybe 50 to 60 people” they were expecting. Taj Wilder, a marketing spokesperson for Dirt Dog, said that although the event had about 3,000 RSVPs, that’s usually not reflective of actual turnout. The restaurant just didn’t count on the power of Bluey. “Now knowing who Bluey is, we would have planned ahead and would have had security,” said Wilder.

In response to the criticism, the restaurant posted an apology on their Facebook page. “We are truly sorry this event wasn’t the expected experience!” it reads. “We were overwhelmed with the turnout to this event. We will continue to improve on our events so we can ensure nothing like this will happen in the future.” Wilder says the restaurant is working with their Los Angeles marketing team to throw a bigger and better event. Hopefully they manage to track down an actual Bluey costume?