Special Features
KidZania
KidZania in the Dubai Mall is a children’s entertainment theme park where children can play at being doctors and nurses, gas station attendants, artists, teachers, firemen and women, mechanics, pilots, construction workers, bank tellers, and all the other jobs that kids want to be when they grow up.Children get to drive cars to work, earn money and spend it on petrol and pizza. Opening date of Kidzania might be late 2009 (opening "shortly" according to a press release 07 October 2009 from Emaar).
KidZania is a Mexican theme park concept that was first established in Mexico City in 1999, with international KidZania (or KidCity / KidZity) locations including Mexico (Cuicuilco, Sante Fe - Mexico City, and Monterrey), Chile (Santiago), India, Indonesia (Jakarta), Japan (Koshien and Tokyo), Portugal (Lisbon), South Korea (Seoul), UAE (Dubai).
- KidZania location in Dubai Mall is level 2 next to the Sega Republic indoor theme park (where adults can play at being children). For parking, look for building P2 and park on the Reel Dubai cinema level car park.
- Total area of KidZania Dubai is 80,000 sq feet, with life-size (children’s life-size) buildings, shops, and roads.
- Children can choose from up to 70 different roles to play, and get to dress up as their chosen occupation.
- Kidzania money system uses KidZos as the official currency.
- Facilities include an airport (Kidzania International Airport), ambulances, bank, cars, fashion catwalk, fire engines, fire station, hospital, offices, pizza restaurant, race track, radio station, theatre (Metropolitan Theatre of KidZania), university.
- HSBC, a large international bank with a Middle East division in Dubai and the UAE, has partnered with the developer, Emaar Properties, to provide simulated bank activities and jobs. Unknown whether kids can pretend to be financial advisors and repossess their parents homes if the KidZania financial system crashes.
- A Kidzania University is part of the concept where children can obtain a KidZania degree which enables them to earn more money.
- Emirates Airlines have partnered with Kidzania to operate the Kidzania Airport.
- Kidzania Dubai first announced in July 2005 as a $20 million (AED 70m) project, back when the Dubai Mall was expected to open in mid-2007.
How to play at KidZania
- Children enter through Kidzania International Airport complete with check-in desks and X-Ray machines, and operated in partnership with Emirates Airlines.
- On arrival, children get a 50 KidZo cheque which they have to take to the bank (operated by HSBC) to exchange for cash, or an ATM card to use in Kid Zania.
- Kids can then choose to spend money or earn money or both (or neither). When they run out of money, they’ll need to find a job.
- Leftover Kidzos can be saved in a bank account, and will even earn interest according to a KidZania press release, which means kids should be able to learn about the difference between marketing and reality in the world of banking.
