Yesterday we finally had a chance to visit an attraction we have wanted to visit for a long time – KidZania Bangkok! – and we were not disappointed at all.
I have been hearing about KidZania for a couple of years. We thought about visiting the one in Kuala Lumpur twice, but once the kids were too young and the second time it was school holidays and I was worried about wait time. On our Bangkok visit, we were not going to miss out again. We were going to KidZania!
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What is KidZania?
KidZania is basically a world for kids! It is a chain of family entertainment centres which are not only great fun, but highly educational (edutainment). Kids basically get to perform a myriad of different jobs, they get paid and then they get to use this money to pay for things such as food, experiences and toys. Its role playing at its best.
Everything in the KidZania world is scaled to be child size. There are buildings, a KidZania currency (which children can get from a bank), small fire engine, hospital etc. At each experience, the kids learn something while also trying out the profession for themselves. Adults can only watch from a distance.
It’s aimed at kids 4-14 although there are activities for younger ones too.
There are currently 18 KidZania centres around the world with many more opening this year and next. They are on every continent (except Antarctica and Australia, grrr!), so if you can’t make it to KidZania Bangkok, you may be able to enjoy the experience elsewhere. More information here.
Click here to buy discounted tickets for KidZania Bangkok.
KidZania Bangkok
KidZania Bangkok is the largest indoor KidZania in the world and large it is! It is easy enough to walk around, even for little legs but there are over 50 experiences on offer. We spent the entire day there (10am-5pm) and didn’t even cover half.
The check in area on arrival
Our visit started with checking in at the airport counter for Air Asia. We were given boarding passes and were soon on our way through to the KidZania world.
The kids were also given cheques for 50 kidZos (the KidZania currency) which they exchanged for cash at the bank. They also could have opened an account and received a debit card that they could use to withdraw the money at an ATM!
Cashing in their cheques at the bank
There were so many different experiences that it was hard to pick one to start with – we ended up at the Fire Station. This was amazing. The kids wore jackets and helmets, had a talk on how fire starts and fire safety and then the alarms went off – there was a fire!
The kids receive their fire training at the Fire Station
The group of them went off in the fire engine to a building fire. Each kid had a fire hose like apparatus which they sprayed on the building to put out the fire. They then rode back, finished their shift and were paid.
It was incredibly well done and we loved watching the whole thing. The kids were so happy and couldn’t believe they had been paid!
Putting out the fire
Next up the kids worked at a petrol station and helped wash some cars and fill up the tank of some kid size cars. We were getting hungry at this point so they made some cheeseburgers at McDonalds!
Z checks that he is filling the correct amount of petrol into the car
We had an amazing day – the kids also worked at a 7/11, became police officers, performed an endoscopy, bottled some coke, roasted and packaged peanuts, performed dental work, had make overs (yes Z too), put on a dance show, did pilot training and became sushi chefs.
The experiences were amazing and the attention to detail was superb. They walked out of every activity happy and excited and they especially loved being paid.
Some of the activities, such as the ones that involved food, cost some of their kidZos. It was a good way for them to understand how money works in regards to working and spending. It also meant that their meals for the days were covered since they worked for them themselves 🙂
Our little sushi chefs
There were so many other experiences including putting on a magic show, performing surgery, being a secret agent (and climbing up a wall), being a courier, getting a driver’s license, getting a university degree (which also allows you to get paid more), the list goes on and on.
From what I could tell, the staff all spoke Thai and English. The kids never had any problems with communication and someone always spoke to them in English.
Best age to visit?
As mentioned above, KidZania is designed for ages 4-14 and this is what I would recommend too. Mr 3 did everything Miss 5 did just fine, but I think he would have struggled had she not been there to help (remember adults can’t enter the experiences). Plus, we also got him the 4 year old ticket to help ensure he had no problems with access.
These age signs are very useful – they also tell you how long the experience lasts and how much the kids earn (or it costs) in kidZos
Some attractions are for 6 year old plus. These are ones that require a higher ability and they did not look as suitable for Miss 5. We did not feel like we missed out at all since we didn’t even get around all the activities we wanted to do anyway.
They both had a fantastic day and I would not hesitate to take them again at this age. However, I think the older they are, the more they will get out of it so I definitely highly recommend it for older kids too.
There are also toddler play areas which looked superb and the younger kids can do some of the activities. If your kids are 8+ you can leave them to run around by themselves while you enjoy the awesome parents lounge.
The kids?
The kids had an absolutely amazing time here. They loved it all – so much so that they had no real favourite, although they seemed to especially like the Coke bottling plant as they know how much their parents like coke and they took great pride in being able to make us one.
Z bottles some coke
They seemed to lap up the whole experience. I have never seen them concentrate so hard for so long. We have also never been able to stay at an attraction for a whole day like this before – they were just so engaged we did not want to waste a minute of the experience.
They also learned so much. It is very interesting to hear how Miss S has talked about money since leaving. I think it has given her a much better appreciation for how we have to work for what we have.
Our verdict
As you can probably tell, it wasn’t just the kids who loved it!
Watching the kids in the fire station
I love the attention to detail and all the unique experiences. Since this place is really just about the kids, I was worried how bored I might be, but I was not bored at all. The majority of the time we could watch them through the windows and we lapped up watching them learn. It was also incredibly cute.
I was slightly concerned about all the commercialisation – there are sponsors so there are company logos everywhere. However, I also think this helps make the experience. The fact is that we live in a commercialised world and the kids were extra excited to make a McDonalds hamburger and work at a 7/11, more so than they would have been to just make a generic burger and work at a generic shop.
My only complaints are the entry price – I can understand it costing a lot for kids to enter, but I think charging 500 baht for adults is a bit much – and the fact that it costs a lot of kidZos to buy anything solid at KidZania. The cheapest item we could find was 160 kidZos. Working all day, they did not earn that and it lead to some disappointment at the end when they expected to buy something. In contrast, all the experiences cost very little kidZos so get them to enjoy themselves more as they go around instead.
These things were minor in the scheme of things though and we loved this place! However, I was quite jealous – why was there nothing like this when I was a kid? I truly found KidZania Bangkok amazing.
Read more things to do in Bangkok in our complete guide to Bangkok.
You can find out more information about KidZania Bangkok here including opening hours and ticket prices. Click here to buy discounted tickets for KidZania Bangkok.
Have you been to KidZania?
Tags: Thailand Travel Blog
