I have heard of KidZania for some months now and I kept thinking I should go check it out with my son but only managed to do so last week. Frankly, I have this expectation it is just another indoor playground of the likes of Jungle Gym or Kidsports aplenty around the city and I'm in for a pleasant surprise.
To put it simply, it is an indoor themepark for kids. The concept is mighty fresh and brilliant. In this city of kids - KidZania, the children get to do what they always dream of, which is to play adults. What's it like to work like daddy and mommy, what's it like to have your own money, bank account and ATM card? What's it like to walk in the convenient stores to buy without asking parents to pay or to walk in the nail salon to have a manicure while paying it from the money you earn. Its a whole city with real economy going on in there!
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In order to go into this city of kids, you need a boarding pass |
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And then board a plane driven by this pilot ... OK, just kidding |
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And then, voila, you're in KidZania! There, they fasten a detector on your wrist at the immigration |
Since I didn't realised that KidZania is so much fun for the kids and so much thrill for parents to see their little kids working like an adult donning uniforms and all, I totally didn't bring along a camera. That of course didn't stop me from taking pictures with my I-phone, about 100 in fact! So I'm combining some of the photos with collages to give an idea about this fun themepark.
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After a day of 'hard work', they earn the money! |
They can use the money to buy toys or eat sushi or ...
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... catch a play! |
Overall, it is a very commendable theme park concept for kids. They learn while they play. KidZania Kuala Lumpur is the 11th KidZania themepark around the world. Highly recommend for kids between 6 - 12 years old.
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KidZania KL Ground Level |
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KidZania KL Upper Level |
The fees for locals are RM55 for kids and RM35 for adults. On weekends and school / public holidays, there are 2 sessions per day; morning 10am-3pm or evening 4pm-9pm. Frankly, there is no way the kids could cover all the 90 activities, actually not even near a quarter of them. So a second or third visit is definitely expected.
Location : Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Date of visit : July 2012.