Top Tips for visiting Kidzania with Kids of different Ages.
Ever wondered if Kidzania lives up to its name as being one of the top attractions for kids in London? Are you thinking about taking a trip to Kidzania with kids that are different ages? Or are you wondering if there is enough to do to keep older kids occupied at Kidzania? Here are our Or maybe your’re thinking of taking a 4 year old to Kidzania? We visited Kidzania, London with our kids aged 4,6,9 and 12 so keep reading for top tips on how to make the most of your day out at Kidzania whatever the age of your kids.
A review of our Kidzania Day Out
Do you ever wonder what jobs your kids will be like when they’re all grown up? I like to sit and wonder what jobs they’ll have and what they’ll choose to do! So we jumped at the chance to visit Kidzania, London to see what jobs our little ones would choose! Kidzania is a unique day out experience as it’s totally centered around the kids – it’s an indoor mini-sized city where children can feel like the ‘grown-ups’ and try out different careers for themselves! Kids can pick a “career” such as policeman, fireman, doctor then carry out jobs and get paid in Kidzania money. I thought it was interesting to discover that school trips can visit – it would also be a great place to learn about different job roles!
Top Tips for Visiting Kidzania
Kidzania is something a little different as far as days out go with kids in London – and your kids will have a great day out here but it’s worth being a little strategic to make sure you can do all that you want at Kidzania! Here’s our top tips for visiting Kidzania to make sure you get the most out of your day!
How to organise your day at Kidzania
Kidzania can be quite overwhelming at first – there’s so many great jobs to choose and when you walk in – you are faced with so many different and exciting activities to do.
- My first top tip for visiting Kidzania is to try to and decide what you want to do and see before going. Check out the website for the activities that are available and try to ascertain what jobs your kids would like to do. The 4-hour time slot goes really quickly.
- My second top tip about visiting Kidzania would be to advise your child to be a courier (this was my kids favourite job anyway) first because then they get to have a good look around KidZania and pick the jobs they most like the look of.
- Tip three – be flexible. Remind your kids they will need to be flexible – it’s best to nip in and do any jobs that have a short queue. For example, our kids were in a queue for the cabin crew job but saw that the newsreaders didn’t have a queue and so we nipped in there instead!
- If they have some spare kidZos at the end of the day, children can save it in a KidZania bank account for their next visit or spend the money in the shop at the end. One word of advice is that the shop is VERY expensive and so it might be better to spend the KidZos on the activities such as necklace making or gift card design which were better value for money. Check the website to see which activities are running on the day you visit.
- Booking tickets online in advance is the most cost-effective way to visit Kidzania. Here you will also find special offers and deals. You can also pre-book parking at Westfield which saves time too.
- Wear comfy shoes and light layers. It does get warm in Kidzania as they are
- It does get warm inside when busy and as the kids are very active, it’s best for them to wear comfortable clothing and shoes that they won’t get too hot in. Therefore, travel light avoid taking to many bags, coats and extras for the most enjoyable experience.
- Arrive up to 15 minutes before your scheduled time to allow time to get through the main entrance and to the departure lounge reception. On arrival children will each be given a debit card with 50 Kidzos and a hairnet, to be worn for some of the food and drink activities.
- Take two adults! If you can, take another adult with you. We had to leave Mr M in a cafe with all the coats etc….. whilst I went around with the kids (he was in his element). And sometimes you need to queue at different places or trek around to suss out the shortest queues so two adults are very useful!
- Try to wear layers. Big bulky coats are annoying to carry around so try to wear lighter layers.
- Bring snacks and water. We found the eateries at Kidzania were busy until about 2pm and the kids didn’t want to stop for lunch anyway because they were having so much fun – so aim to eat a later lunch and take supplies with you.
- The food was great at Kidzania. We ate at Firehouse which was yummy and perfect for kids but there is also a Costa Coffee for sandwiches and much needed Caffine. The firehouse serves pizza, hot dogs and pasta – the portion sizes are large! And they have kids portion sizes too which makes it economical.
Things to do for kids aged 4-6 at Kidzania
If you’re thinking of taking a 4 year old to Kidzania – there are lots for 4 year olds to do at Kidzania – they will love it! Probably kids younger than 4 aren’t going to get as much out of it as they won’t be able to do all of the activities. Taking a 4 year old with an older sibling will work well so they can go into do the activities together when parents aren’t allowed! But most activities for the younger ones have glass windows so you can see them all the time. Adults and children are all given an RFID bracelet so you can easily track the children and find out where they are. Children aged 0-7 must be with an adult at all times, whereas kids aged 8+ can go around and explore this mini city on their own. If you have a toddler with you too, there is a small soft play area for them too and they could join in the disco and I think they’ll have fun wandering around but won’t be able to do many of the activities.
Best activities for 4 year olds at Kidzania are:
Our kids aged 4 and 6 loved these jobs: Fire & Rescue Unit, The Hospital and A&E, the Shell garage – being a mechanic, being a courier and Police Department and the Supermarket shop assistant. We didn’t get a chance to try the window cleaners or cereal bar makers but they looked a lot of fun!
Things for kids aged 10-12 at Kidzania
If you’re wondering whether taking an older child to kidzania is a good idea – our 12 year old really enjoyed her day at Kidzania. She liked being able to go off with her brother and have free reign of the place but I’d make sure you have a friend or sibling to go with to make it more fun. There are lots of activities at Kidzania that are geared towards older kids.
Best activities for 10-12 year olds at Kidzania are:
Things for older kids to do at Kidzania. Our 9 and 12 years favourite jobs were: Becoming a Journalist, TV newsreader and weather person, H&M fashion designer, getting a university diploma and British Airways Aviation Academy.
Is Kidzania COVID safe?
We visited in 2020 during the COVID pandemic. Kidzania felt a very safe place to visit. All staff, adults and even kids had to wear a mask unless they were exempt. There were fewer people allowed in and one way systems to follow so there was plenty of space to social distance. All of the equipment the children touch during the jobs were wiped down. This did mean that there weren’t any less queues unfortunately – as it took time between each group of children to have the sides wiped down etc…… However, there was no queue whatsoever to enter Kidzania which I’ve heard is unusual!
Other great days out for kids in London
Hope you have a great time if you visit for Kidzania – we really enjoyed our day! If you’re planning a day out in London, you might like to read our One Day Itinerary in London and best activities to do with Kids in South London. We love living in London with kids – there’s so many family friendly things to do and here are a few of our favourite museums and art galleries in London for Kids: Transport Museum, Sea Life Centre, Tate Modern and Museum of London Docklands.
*We were invited to visit Kidzania in return for a review. All words, photos and opinions are my own.*
