“Celebrate Bluey with us! Marathon of all the Bluey episodes! Meeting with Bluey & Friends. Face painting. Games & special Bluey treats,” the Facebook page promised.
More than 3000 people RSVPed for the event and many excited children were said to have queued down the street, looking forward to meeting Bluey on the day.
The “Bluey” character turned out to be what was described as just “a guy in a onesie”.
“Temu Bluey costume and decorations from Dollar Tree featured at Dirt Dog Las Vegas Rainbow! Thanks for ruining my 3-year-old’s day!” one person wrote on the Facebook event page.
“Total waste of time!! If you want to attract people to your establishment don’t false advertise. Bluey was a guy in a onesie. Long lines for nothing. Kids were super upset and so are the parents,” another parent wrote.
Others on the event page described it as a “scam” and a “joke”.
“The kids were distraught. Some kids were crying. Some kids were upset, crying on their parents’ shoulders,” a disappointed mother told FOX5.
Dirt Dog issued an apology on social media saying they were “overwhelmed with the turnout to this event”.
“We are truly sorry this event wasn’t the expected experience,” Dirt Dog wrote in a post on Instagram and Facebook.
“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.”
A few people have come out on social media to defend the restaurant, pointing out that this was a free event and saying that, as such, people should not complain.
Others have compared it to the infamous Willy Wonka Experience in Glasgow, Scotland.
