Connecting the dots...

Kidzania is a whole new kid’s world in "R City Mall - Ghatkopar, Mumbai". This is Ajay’s second visit to this indoor amusement park for kids. It is not your typical park with rides. Kidzania allows children to experience a model of the real world in a fun way.

Kidzania addresses many parental worries like educating children in handling money, looking at various civic services, the need to respect every form of labor, making career choices etc in a fun way.  They introduce children to all these concepts through role playing keeping in mind the curiosity and innocence of the child.

Adults are not allowed inside unless accompanied with a child. I am glad that i could accompany my son and experience this amazing place.

The experience starts from the time you enter. Boarding pass is issued to enter the world of Kidzania. Then, each child is given 50 KidZos. KidZos is the currency used inside Kidzania. By doing service oriented roles like doctor, dentist, fireman, courier delivery person etc, a child gets to earn a certain amount of KidZos. On the other hand, by doing fun oriented roles like rock climbing, dancing etc., a child ends up spending kidZos.

"Yes Bank" has a small establishment inside Kidzania. A child can deposit the unused KidZos at the bank for future visits. The bank also issues an ATM card to withdraw KidZos. This is as real as it gets !! Ajay has a stack of KidZos which he has saved for his forthcoming visits. So, a visit to Kidzania is not expected to be a one time affair. The repetitive aspect of visits to Kidzania is what makes it more interesting for the children. There are over 60+ activities inside kidzania.

One gets 5hrs of time to spend either from 10am to 3pm or 4pm to 9pm. So be prepared with a good pair of shoes for all the walking/running between stalls or doing roles like courier and dubbawala delivery !! There are lots of benches for tired parents to rest. For a parent whose child is at least 8yrs old, Parent’s lounge (if i am right also has a spa) can be used. Though i personally feel adults can equally enjoy strolling around and watching the kids going about their activities :-) Ofcourse there are restaurants inside blended well with the stalls…i had to actually clarify whether this was a real one or another role playing activity !!!

The entry timings and the pricing details can be found on their website.  It is best to book the tickets online to avoid the queue at the ticket counter.  http://mumbai.kidzania.com/en-us

Now, lets go inside the world of KidZania…Since this was my son’s second visit to KidZania (the first one with my friend’s family), he started with the repeat of all the activities which he did on his first visit !! :-)

From the moment we entered, Ajay took almost 10minutes to decide on a particular activity. Now, standing in queue is something a child of this generation is rarely exposed to. So, Ajay kept hopping from one activity to another trying to find an activity with smaller queue.  It is a test of patience for parents and the kids !! Finally he realized he has to be patient and wait for his turn in whichever activity he chooses.

He wanted to do start with the activity "Climbing".

Ajay was given a safety harness and a helmet. From the above photograph, you can see that children are being prepped before they start the climb. Ajay got cold feet after he climbed to about half the height of the building !! This is a paid activity.

The next stop - "Building construction". Since there was a 10min wait for this activity, he had the choice of “Window Cleaning” service. He decided to do “Window Cleaning” since he would get paid for this service activity :-)

Ajay was given a spray bottle and a wipe. Kids actually cleaned their portion of the window, working from the top and moving down to the bottom in a motorized lift !! 

Next stop was "Coco-Cola Bottling Activity" which was a paid activity. We had given the KidZos to Ajay. After entering any activity, the parents have to wait outside. Then the staff inside each activity, gets the money from the kids :-) In this activity Ajay got to do - filling the concentrate, then the fizz, sealing the bottle and finally the sticker on the bottle. Each child prepares his/her own bottle.

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Until now, he had done 2 paid activities and 1 service activity. Now, Ajay wanted to earn some money. Looking at his map and the activities around, we located a “Radio Mirchi’s 20min program” activity which will earn him KidZos. They actually get to be a part of a program which is broadcasted live on their internal audio stream !! An older kid will understand the technical details the staff was trying to explain…but at the end of the activity, Ajay was excited he was part of the Radio program and asked us - - "did you hear me singing" ? :-)

Ajay really wanted to do the fire station activity. In between the other activities, we kept checking it out but there was always a long queue. Most activities have a restriction on the number of kids allowed for each session. Fire station is one of the most popular activities among the kids. 

Oh mine finally we had a 20min rest, while Ajay was inside the "Radio Station". While we were waiting, we noticed some kids running around with a real camera and capturing pictures. We pulled one of them aside and enquired what activity this was. It was “Studio”, where a child is given a real camera to shoot 8-10 no. of pictures (only statues and activities) and earns KidZos for the same. So, Ajay’s next activity was “Studio”. 

Nearby this “Photo Studio” was one of Ajay’s favorite - Hyundai’s "Street Driving". But there is a height restriction and Ajay just about made the required minimum height !! But before this activity, Ajay had to first apply for a License from “Hyundai Driving School” . Yes, a License like in the real world. They have to go through a safety tips program and a driving test on a simulator in the Driving School :-) I was told that each kid is rated from one star to 5 stars depending on their driving skill on the simulator. Ofcourse both the Street Driving and Applying for License is a paid activity. At the end of the activity, Ajay was given a driving license which is valid for 2 yrs !! After getting the license, then he could do the “Street Driving” activity. Unlike the real world though, no kid is denied a license :-)

Despite the fact that Ajay was totally tired, he still wanted to try Police and Fire station before leaving. Being a service, both of them will earn him kidzos.

At "Kidzania Police Department" - A list of clues is given to the group of kids and the case has to be solved. We saw the group hopping from one shop to the other.

Our last stop for the evening was "City of Kidzania Mumbai Fire Department" - As soon as the kids enter, they are shown a small movie on fire safety. Then in their uniforms the kids are given a ride in the Fire engine, to put out a well simulated raging fire in a hotel building !!! With loud siren and glaring lights, the fire engine is definitely the center of attraction.

With this activity it was the end of our evening at Kidzania. Ajay has already made a list of things to do during his next visit.  He insisted that we give him a wallet to keep his driving license and kidzos. Will write more about other activities, after our next visit to Kidzania….Cheers :-)