KidZania Review

If you have children or nieces and nephews, there’s a big chance you’ve been to KidZania and experienced the fun it has to offer, if you haven’t, then where the heck have you been hiding? this place is one of the best play and educational areas in London, some may argue and say the Best and after going last week I can certainly see why.

Kidzania is a huge entertainment complex, designed to look like a town, where kids are in charge, they have the opportunity to work in different job roles, acting out their adult job role fantasies and finding out what jobs they are best suited to. Whilst getting paid Kidzos, the currency in KidZania, which can then be spent at the KidZania shops throughout the complex.

Your ticket will cover a four hour session, in that time your child can wonder around and choose some of the 60 real-life role playing activities, which includes a firefighter, a hairdresser, a surgeon, a chef, the list is endless. We started off at the job centre, where my niece was able to fill in a questionnaire and find out what jobs were best suited for her. We got the results and there was no surprise there, she is such a girlie girl, that she scored: hairdresser, beauty therapist and shop assistant.

So off we went, to hunt down the shops for her to work in, but your not limited to just those job roles, you can choose any role, you like the look of. So as we went in search for the beauty salon, we came across a painting class. For some of the activities offered at KidZania, you have to pay a small fee in kidzos, so six kidzos later, my niece was happily painting a monkey with some of the other children. My niece also took part in making chocolate in the Cadburys factory and learning more about how they sourced their chocolate.

Time for the jobs, and I must stress, these are not like adult jobs, I mean they are, but they are taught in a fun and educational way to get the children excited and involved. Some of the jobs my niece went for was a hairdresser, a firefighter and a shop assistant, where she enjoyed stacking the shelves and serving customers at the till. She also excelled at the Baby hospital, where she changed the baby’s nappy, then lifted the baby doll and swaddled it, carefully holding its head with care. She earned 8 kidzos, which she saved to later spend in the shop, getting herself some stationary.

We went on a Sunday and it must have been a fairly quiet Sunday, as we didn’t queue much and it wasn’t crowded, which was a real bonus! Of course in the four hour session, my niece couldn’t participate in all the job roles, below is a list of jobs to look out for which looked like a lot of fun:
Police officer
Actor
Surgeon
Cabin Crew
Dentist

There are a lot of food places within KidZania, so no need to leave and return, losing all that precious play time. The food is reasonably priced as well, which is good. We went for burgers and chips on the day.

KidZania, gives the opportunity to see what your children are capable of learning and achieving, within a fun and safe environment. There is plenty to see and get involved in, those four hours fly by, so be smart with the time you have. I would recommend if you have one child, to bring one of their friends along as well, so they can enjoy the experience together. When the kids participate in an activity, adults can only peer through a glass window, so its a good way for the child not to feel alone when they are on the other side especially if there are under 5.

All in all it was such a fun and exciting day where we both had a lot of fun, my niece was like a kid in a candy shop, she loved seeking out new job roles when walking around, she even got on the dance floor and let her hair down, after all too much work and no play…

Book in advance for cheaper tickets.

Website: http://london.kidzania.com/en-uk
Written by Nyla S.