Jun 13, 2012

We are KidZanians! (Part 2)

(Daddy says Kai! again)

I guess if you have read my previous post about KidZania, you would have a pretty good idea what KidZania KL has to offer by now. 

But therein begs an important question - where does all these leave toddlers who are 3 years and below of age? Or more specifically, what can Ale do in KidZania while her 2 older brothers put in those gruelling hours of work?

As it turned out, there were lots of things to keep her occupied.


There is an exclusive section in KidZania called 'Urbano's House', where only kids below 3 years of age can enter. And the interesting part is that it is actually one giant indoor playground made to resemble the interior of a house.

And so Ale started off by playing with the toys in the Kitchen...


When she grew bored with those, she moved on to the Living Room.


There was jumping action waiting to be discovered in the Bedroom, where an inflatable bed beckoned.


But the most fun part of the house has got to be the toilet, where one can go have a dip in the soft balls bathtub!


Nursing mummies would be glad to know that there is also a Baby Care Centre for private nursing and diaper-changing.

I didn't get a chance to see the House for myself, as the wifey was the one accompanying Ale while I was tagging along with the boys. And the next tag-along had me reach a construction site, as the boys wanted to experience life as a Contractor.


15 minutes and 8 kidZos later, the boys wanted to try driving a car at the circuit. But since they were not of the minimum height requirement yet, they chose to be Petrol Pump Attendants instead.


Well actually, it was because the queue for that was one of the shortest. And it wasn't easy work either.

The boys had to learn to greet the drivers as they pulled up to the petrol pump, unscrew the petrol cover, fill petrol til it hits $1, screw back the cover and say 'Thanks!' to the departing driver.


At least the boys enjoyed it!

After that, the boys decided to go on their separate career paths again and off went Ayd to a dance school where he had to learn a dance routine under 10 minutes.


And once he had mastered that, he together with other kids, had to perform the dance LIVE in front of all the visitors at KidZania.


For one, Ayd simply loves dancing. Coupled with the fact that he thrives on performing in front of an audience, there was little doubt that he thoroughly enjoyed THIS job.

As for Ash, he opted for something more geeky.


In the Notebook Factory, his task was to design notebook covers and assemble notebook components.

As the 3pm hour loomed, the boys decided to go for a final job posting together - this time as a Telecommunications Engineer.


Their job scope? To go around various parts of the KidZania city to replace fiber optic cables.


I don't know if they really understood what they were being asked to do, but I sure know that they looked pretty cute in those engineer uniforms. Haha.

And since our session was almost up, it was time to head to the Bank to deposit their earnings!


Yup, it is every bit like a real-life bank - complete with tellers, note-counting machines and yes, even snaking queues! Parents are barred from stepping into the bank, so kids are made to be responsible for their own money over the counter.

Kids are given a starting 50 kidZos cheque every time he/she visits KidZania so at least the child doesn't start off penniless.


And just like an actual bank, kids will also be able to open their very own savings account and bank their hard-earned kidZos in. What's even cooler was the boys even got their own ATM cards, which they can use to withdraw from the 2 ATM machines in KidZania.


Suddenly, they have grown up so much.

We then headed down to the Departmental Store to let the boys decide what they would like to buy with their kidZos. And it was here that they got a shock when they saw the price tags on most of the items.


The average prices of the items sold in the Departmental Store was about 300-500 kidZos while the entire fortune that Ash & Ayd had amassed was only 110 kidZos EACH. So yes, totally way out of budget.

In a way, I was glad that the stuff at Departmental Store were priced so steeply. It had made the boys realise the true value of money, and that money doesn't fall out of the sky or is spat out of machines just because we ask them to. They had grown to appreciate the fact that they had to put in hours of work before they can receive the payout and this, I felt, was the greatest lesson that I would want them to take away from KidZania.

But in case you are wondering if the boys would ever get too spend their kidZos, the answer is yes. There is a smaller shop diagonally opposite the Departmental Store where everything is priced at 50 kidZos.


No wonder the place was packed to the brim with kids. Even kids can't resist a good bargain.

In the end, Ash spent 100 kidZos on 2 light wands, of which he gave one to his dear sister. Ayd wanted to do so too, but since his older brother was gifting one to Ale, he grabbed a pencil with his leftover money and said he would share it with Ash too.


And this act of sharing, was what really made the 5-hour session at KidZania truly memorable.

Thanks, once again to KidZania for inviting us down. My kids had a blast!

My final thoughts about KidZania? I really like the concept and was pleasantly pleased with how professionally the entire place was run. My only bugbear was the long queues at some of the job centres and that quite a fair bit of time has to be spent on waiting. But the staff at the various establishments, or 'Zupervisors' as they are known, were utterly enthusiastic and helpful. And they helped to make the sessions interesting for the kids, whether they are 4 or 14 years of age.

So I guess we would be back again soon then. Because quite frankly, the boys didn't have enough time to try out as many jobs as they would like!

Head on to our Cheekiemonkies Facebook page album for more KidZania photos HERE.

Useful Information

Location: 
Curve NX (18 Jalan PJU 7/5, Mutiara Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya) Click HERE to view MAP.

Operating Hours:
Mondays to Fridays - 10am to 5pm
Saturdays, Sundays, Malaysian Public & School Holidays - 10am to 3pm (1st Session) & 4pm to 9pm (2nd Session)

Pricing:
Baby (0-1 years): FREE | Toddler (2-3 years): RM 35.00
Kid (4-17 years & Malaysian): RM 55.00 | Kid ( 4-17 years & International): RM 75.00
Adult (18 - 59 years & Malaysian): RM 35.00 | Adult (18-59 years & International): RM 50.00
Senior (above 60 years): RM 30.00
CLICK HERE to buy tickets online.

For more information, please visit http://www.kidzania.com.my/ or http://www.facebook.com/KidZaniaKualaLumpur.



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9 comments :

Anonymous said...

Thank you very much for sharing. You certainly have a writing gift. My family and I enjoyed both your Kidzanian blogs very much. Besides, we were planning to visit this place soon, so your very detailed descriptions coupled with the supporting photographes and highly important tips would certainly be very useful. You certainly have 3 gorgeous kids!

Cheekiemonkies said...

Thanks so much for your kind words and support! Have fun at KidZania! :)

Anonymous said...

Would you mind if we asked you a few questions?

1.Can parents see what the kids are doing eg when the kids are operating on a patient as a surgeon / drilling teeth as a dentist?
2.Can parents take photographes of their kids working eg when they are doing Endoscopy in the KPJ specialist centre?

BTW, had been looking at your other posts the past few days, and I must say I really enjoy them. Keep up the wonderful stories -- will look forward to new posts from you :)

Cheekiemonkies said...

Hi,

1. Parents are not allowed to enter any of the job establishments. They are only allowed to stay outside and view through the glass windows.

2. You are free to take photos from the outside. But there'll be a KidZania photographer who will be taking pictures inside which you will be able to purchase later.

Thanks too for your kind words! :)

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the information! And keep those great stories coming :)

Cheekiemonkies said...

Hi,

Sorry that I accidentally deleted your comment. :P

My answers are as below:

1. What did your kids do to kill time while waiting for their turn? I understand that the queues may be more than an hour long....


They just stood or sat in the queues during waiting. But we waited together with them all the time though.

2. Did your kids have to slide down a pole during their role as a fire-fighter? The reason I am asking is because I was told that my 3 year old can tag along with his 11 year old sister -- and I am wondering if it's safe for the 3 year old to do so without the presence of an adult. Did Ale tag along with her brothers during any of the tasks they were doing?

No, Ale can't do any of the jobs as she is below 3 years old. Parents cannot accompany for any of the jobs. At the various job stations, there will be signs stating the min. age requirement as well as the min. height requirement, if applicable.

We didn't go for the Firefighter job so we can't really say.


3. Is is cold in Kidzania? Do we need to bring warm clothings?

Nope, it isn't cold inisde. Normal tee and jeans should suffice.


4. Were there any healthy food options available or there only fast food available?

Chinese food like fried noodles, or rice is available as well.

Hope it helps!

Anonymous said...

That was certainly useful. Thanks a million :)

Anonymous said...

Hi kelvin
are 3+ years old allowed to participate in the activities? I was going to purchase the 3 years old tickets, then was wondering if I do so, will my child be allowed to participate in the activities? should I purchase the 4 year old ticket instead?

Cheekiemonkies said...

Hi,

There will be signs outside the various job establishments that will indicate the minimum age allowed for the jobs.

But do note that for all jobs, parents are not allowed inside at all. So if your child is still quite clingy then perhaps you may want to reconsider.

Hope it helps!

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