Chocolate World Expo

Don’t waste your money on these tickets! No matter how early you get here the line is miles long and it’s doesn’t get much better inside. The way the expo is orchestrated does not make the experience enjoyable. The crowds of people and the rudeness of people is overwhelming. Instead of having waves of people come in at a time or have it take place over two days everything and everyone is jammed into the museum at once. Also forget about bringing a stroller. It’s chaotic and not worth the time you will spend on line outside. The samples are so small and that’s if you wait long enough at each vendor. Overall not worth my time or money and anything you do like be prepared to spend even more money.

Not worth your time or money! You’re not going to get enough samples for the cost of your tickets. Yes, you still have to pay for everything when you get in! It’s extremely crowded between the people and the strollers, it’s impossible. What a waste of time!

Not worth the money. Disorganized and too much clutter. Barely any samples given. It’s suppose to be a «chocolate expo» and I generously say there was slightly more than a handful of chocolate vendors. Experience was a total bust.

Overcrowded, poorly laid out, cluttered, no free samples, the list can go on!
After paying for the tickets, we figured we’d be getting a bit more. We didn’t realize that it would be $X to enter and then $X to actually do more than just walk around (or into people) for an hour.
Left with a bad taste in my mouth (pun intended).

My wife and I bought tickets on Saturday, and we’re kind of glad we did. The line for walk-​ups was HUGE. It reminded me of the crowds outside of an Apple store the night before a phone release. Yeah, that mad.
Inside, it was packed. No way to disguise it — there were too many people descending upon the vendors at once. I am not sure that there’s even a way to make it more «fair» to people.
FWIW: It wasn’t the size of the venue that was the issue. It was the sheer number of people believing that this was a candy party, running around and trying to rack up the max number of freebie samples. Part of it had to be the kids — they’re hard to deny a bite of chocolate to, but they don’t have the cash to buy these pricey treats.
Next year, we’re passing it up. Deep inside, we were hoping less for «retail» vendors and more «wholesale» for those of us who actually make chocolates. This was about coming in with wads of cash and buying finished products. Nothing for those of us who wanted to sample raw chocolate for making into finished products!

I went to the Chocolate World Expo at the Nassau Cradle of Aviation Museum on 03/​02/​2014. Overall I was not pleased. It was a good thing that I got my ticket online because the cash line had over a hundred people waiting on it. The $ 17 I paid online for the ticket was over priced considering I had to then pay for every item inside. There were very few samples. The title of the event was misleading being that there were various different items being sold such as honey, wine, salad dressings, nuts, tomato sauce, etc. If you are prepared to spend additional money within and expect to walk around in a very crowded environment then come early because vendors began running out of things. I just had a different expectation and hopefully this will be helpful to future patrons.

Heard about this a week in advance and I was so excited to pick everyone up and head over there! Oh the chocolate goodness.
I didn’t know we could buy tickets online or else I would have brought everyone tickets. Once we got here, good thing I had my NCC permit still, I parked in NCC student parking lots. The line was almost down the block to the children’s museum next door.
This event was a great idea, but needs better planning for next time. It needs to be at a larger location with more parking.
I didn’t really get to enjoy much chocolate since all the kids running around were grabbing all the samples. You could barely get close to the really good stands. I sadly didn’t get to buy the super awesome chocolate brownies I wanted.
It would be great if they could get more vendors and increase the space for the chocolates, in such a layout where people could get at least one sample.
I hope next year would be worth it because this year was pretty dull.

I was so excited to hear about the Chocolate World Expo (CWE). I even scored some tickets from the Long Island Unilocal Team (thank you Drew), but my anticipation fell very short. The Chocolate World Expo had all the good intentions, but like my anticipation it fell short. It seem to be a Halloween Party gone wild.
Before arriving, I read the FAQ and listen to their advice of «if you don’t like crowds; arrive at 4 PM or later». I think everyone did the same. Every kid on Long Island must of been in attendance with mom and dad. I expected a «Disney» clientele which is wonderful, but the event has out grown it’s location.
Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City is a wonderful facility. It seems to have anything and everything with aviation. Very cool location for an Event, but the CWE was way to big for this particular location. It was packed with tables side by side in various rooms and levels. Crowd flow from one vendor to another was very difficult. Congestion was similar to the LIE during rush hour.
My heart goes out to the Vendors, they had the look of «No Mas». They were just overwhelm with the crowds. They were beat, done, fried, tired, spent; I felt for their situation. It appeared that the majority of the vendors were under staff. An event that starts at 10 AM to 7:00 PM is a long day. Remember their is setup and break down time. Your looking at a 14 hour day.
I had about 5 or 6 different treats and the samples I did try were delicious. I wish I was able to identify them, but each vendor was so crowded that it was grab and run. Sic situation. Samples were small, very small.
Considering I was only there for less than 30 minutes; I had a good time, but was disappointed with operation. Would I return yes. I like chocolate. No, I love chocolate.
I am sure the powers that be are planning for next year’s event. One, you need a bigger space. Two, you may have to go to sessions. One in the morning and another in the afternoon. You need a break in between to give the vendors a break to re-​energize. Three, an APP to identify vendors, samples, etc.
Long Island Cares had a table and I am a strong supporter. Food banks are important part of the community and I hope they raised lots of funds.
Overall, this is a great «concept», but there is some work to be done to make this an «awesome event». Concept and actual event does not always spell success.