“I never thought I would get to fly a plane! I also never thought I would be so excited to wear a captain’s hat!” Exclaimed one amazed twenty-something year old bazaarite the day KidZania Kuwait invited us to check out their Winter Festival. If you think we were excited, you should’ve seen the kids! Everywhere you turn at KidZania, you see a smiling child rushing excitedly to their next activity, or a group of kids through a clear glass door intently focused on the dummy they’re operating on, or working at the radio station, bottling Aquafina bottles, or even making pancakes at the Kuwait Flour Mills and Bakeries Co. KidZania offers 80 different activities for children to engage in – including flying a plane – and the kids love it because it gives them a sense of independence. Coupled with elements of icy decorations, the park is truly a winter wonderland.
Kids just can’t stop talking about this place! It’s a child-centric city that caters to children up to 14 years old and is designed to provide the ultimate in role-playing activities for kids to help them fulfill their dreams and take the magical world of make-believe to another level. The KidZania facilities are stemmed with the ethos of children running the world, instead of adults – zupervised, of course.
While keeping their regular traditions, KidZania changes it up a little this month with their annual Winter Festival. Held from December 10th to January 23rd, a visit to KidZania means your child can enjoy a winter-themed ambiance and activities mixed with their “work-life” experiences, ranging from wintery attractions such as a gigantic snow globe to a street show that happens throughout the day. With FroZen passes, purchased at an additional cost of admission, they can enjoy the perks of accessing certain activities and without having to sacrifice their KidZos, which means more savings!
This year’s Winter Festival is described by KidZania Kuwait’s Governor Fernando Medroa as “bigger and better” than the previous. He says, “We’ve been working on the Winter Festival since the summer, and we’ve used ideas from the CongreZZ members to implement wintery features to the festival” The CongreZZ makes up 20 kids who are the voices and faces of KidZania Kuwait each year – they speak on behalf of the kids of Kuwait and contribute ideas to improve the city. “KidZania has a government, an economy and a congreZZ. The objective here is for us and the kids to take care of our city, just like it was a city in any country of the world.”
Governor Medroa is extremely skilled in the Leisure and Entertainment industry with a resume that boasts ten years of eclectic experience with Euro Disney in Paris and a General Manager position at the Six Flags theme park in Belgium preceding his 2011 relocation to Kuwait as Vice President of Leisure and Entertainment at M.H. Alshaya Co. “At KidZania, the memorable experience is all about the interaction with the Zupervisors and how well their role-plays are explained,” says Medroa. “Customer satisfaction is key and the kids should get the most out of their visits.”
They’ve succeeded in doing so, building a whole culture including a language and five different characters dubbed “RightZkeepers” that have deep meaning, and for the Winter Festival, the RightZkeepers are decked out in full winter-gear to help celebrate the theme, and even appear in the special winter-themed show where they interact with penguins and polar bears in the Antarctic. “We want the children to learn about environments they aren’t exposed to,” says Medroa, as the Winter Festival is designed to educate children about different seasons, especially the winter climate, lifestyle and wildlife that don’t exist in Kuwait.
Other fun wintery activities the festival features are cross country skiing (for ages 6 and up), visiting the FroZen MaZe to hunt for a sticker that will reward them 5 KidZos, and a bone chilling visit to the ‘Ice House’ that contains creative ice sculptures ranging from a camel, to a throne, and many more. The Ice House, a concept inspired by KidZania CongreZZ members themselves, is a room set between -10 to -20 degrees, and kids are provided with down parkas and gloves to accommodate their visits. “In addition to what we already have going on, we have some surprises planned for the Winter Festival – but you’ll have to visit us towards the end of January to see!”
The experiences a child will have at KidZania is what makes the park so memorable, and Kuwait is lucky to have an establishment like this one that’s molding a better generation for a better tomorrow. It’s not too late, Kuwait – you have till the 23rd of January to plan a trip to KidZania with your little ones for the day, and put a smile on their faces that only a day of fun and educational activities can achieve. We hope to Z-U there!
KidZania is located in Level 1, The Mall-The Avenues. Call them at 2228 3180 or check out www.Kuwait.KidZania.com. Follow their Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram accounts @KidzaniaKuwait. Plan your trip today!
