Kids thought they were going to meet Bluey at a restaurant in Vegas. Instead, they got a long line and a man in a onesie.

• A Vegas restaurant hosted a free "Bluey" event. Kids and parents were left disappointed and angry.

• One Facebook user said the titular character was played by a man "in Bluey pajamas."

• The event led to a barrage of criticism online. "False advertising at its finest," one person wrote.

A restaurant in Las Vegas hosted what some people described as an "extremely disappointing" "Bluey" meet-and-greet event that left kids upset and their parents angry.

"Thanks for ruining my 3 year olds day!" one person wrote on Facebook.

A Dirt Dog restaurant promised screenings of the Australian kids-TV series, face painting, games, giveaways, and snacks, as well as the opportunity to "meet Bluey and friends."

But when parents took their kids to the free event at the restaurant, part of a national hot-dog chain, on Saturday, they weren't impressed with what they saw.

Some visitors said on social media that they had to line up in the sun because the event was flooded with "Bluey" fans, only to discover that the titular character was being played by a man in a onesie, which one Facebook user called a "Temu Bluey costume."

"Bluey is a guy in Bluey pajamas," one person wrote. "It's not an actual character costume." Another person said that the man in the outfit didn't wear the hood and sat in the restaurant "with no emotion."

"When I saw him I just ignored him. I was mad," a child who attended the event told FOX5 Vegas. Her mom told the network that kids were "distraught," and some were crying.

Many people pointed out that the costume more closely resembled Bluey's dad, Bandit.

"We are truly sorry this event wasn't the expected experience," Dirt Dog Las Vegas wrote in a social-media post. It said that it was "overwhelmed" with the turnout and would improve its operations "so we can ensure nothing like this will happen in the future."

Social-media users said that the restaurant was too small to host all the people who showed up, leading to long lines that one Instagram user said "wrapped around the building."

Facebook users said that the only face paints offered were whiskers and paw prints. One user said that the paint job looked "like a 2 year old did it."

Taj Wilder, who works at Dirt Dog, told FOX5 Vegas that the restaurant had expected "maybe 50, 60 people coming out." If staff had expected such a big turnout, she said they would have put better controls in place.

Some Facebook users said that they didn't see any of the promised games and activities, while another user said there were just board games at some of the tables. The screens playing "Bluey" episodes, meanwhile, had no volume, and some TVs were playing sports instead, some of the users said.

The event led to a barrage of criticism on social media.

"This was horrible and a waste of time," one person wrote on Facebook. "You pissed off a community of parents," adding that their daughter was "super disappointed."

"Long lines for nothing," a person wrote. "Kids were super upset and so are the parents."

"This was a joke," another person wrote. "I can't even tell you how many little children were upset. Why would you do that to kids??!"

"This event was EXTREMELY disappointing," someone else wrote. "False advertising at its finest."

Some people said they wouldn't return to the restaurant after their experience at the Bluey event.

"I would rather eat a hot dog at Sams Club, Costco or 7/11 rather than give them my money ever again!" one Facebook user said.

But not everyone was disappointed. Some commenters on Facebook and Instagram said they were grateful that the restaurant put on the free event.

"Bluey," which has aired for three seasons so far, has been a huge success for its Australian production company Ludo Studio by appealing to kids and parents alike. Richard Haigh, a managing director at Brand Finance, told Bloomberg that the franchise could be worth up to $2 billion and could rival "Peppa Pig."

In February, a Willy Wonka-themed "Chocolate Experience" in Glasgow, Scotland, went viral after attendees said it featured barely any of the attractions they were promised and a made-up character called The Unknown made some kids cry.

Read the original article on Business Insider