| Type | Family Entertainment Center |
|---|---|
| Website | kidzania.com |
KidZania is a Mexican chain of family entertainment centers currently operating in 10 locations allowing children to work in adult jobs and earn currency.
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Every KidZania is themed as a child-sized replica of a real city, including buildings, shops and theaters, as well as vehicles and pedestrians moving along its streets. In this city, children aged 2 through 14, work in branded activities from bottling Coca-Cola, working in a Crest-sponsored dentist office, working at a McDonalds restaurant,[1], painting with Corporação Industrial do Norte, washing hands with P&G's Safeguard soap, and using airline tickets from American Airlines and Emirates.[2] The children earn KidZos currency while performing the tasks, and the money is kept in the KidZania bank for children to spend at the gift shop and on non-free KidZania activities.[1] The blending of marketing has led The Morning News to dub KidZania as "advertainment", stating "there is little that's pretend, and the play revolves around following instructions from the adult Zupervisors."[1]
Children also make up the governance of KidZania, with a 14-member group.[1]
KidZania was created and developed by Mexican entrepreneur Xavier López Ancona, current KidZania CEO. The first KidZania opened in September 1999 in Santa Fe Shopping Mall in Mexico City, and was named La Ciudad de los Niños ("The City of the Children").
Corporate sponsors funded 55% of the initial investment.[1]
In 2004, KidZania purchased Wannado City, a similar park in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was closed in January 2011, never having been profitable.[1]
In 2007, KidZania engaged veteran entertainment strategist and dealmaker Andrew Darrow as Executive Vice President to expand the operation.
Cammie Dunaway joined in late 2010 as the global chief marketing officer.[2]
There are several centers scheduled to open under the same franchise structure in Dubai,[3] Santiago, Malaysia,[4] India, Egypt, China, Philippines,[5] Brazil, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Turkey[1] in the near future. The Kuwait location contains the fuselage of a DC-8 aircraft for activities and a Chevrolet-sponsored area.[6][7] Also, KidZania Cuicuilco is scheduled to open as the third corporate owned center, and the third location in Mexico; second in Mexico City. Franchises are expected to open in the United States in 2013.[1]