So, at about 11am, we still haven’t decided where to bring the birthday princess. Ice skating? KidZania? Port of Lost Wonder? I googled KidZania and showed to the kids and Daneen immediately said she wants that. I checked the ticket price and it costs SGD58 for a child ticket. Woah! Let’s see if they have any discounts or promotions. Hmmm… There’s 15% off for advance purchase if I use Maybank credit/debit card. Oh wait! There’s National Day discount for purchase at the counter. Child ticket only cost SGD51. Ok we’re all set! Since it closes at 8pm, we can still make it. Off we go…

Since KidZania is not located at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), I’ve decided to drive there. I don’t think the parking fee will be as expensive. Oh my goodness the entrance fee for car to Sentosa is SGD7! Ok ok… still not so bad. I parked at the Beach Station and the parking fee is SGD5 for the first 5 hours and SGD1 for subsequent hour. Parking after 5pm is only SGD2 per entry. Good thing we arrived about 3pm so the total parking fee is only SGD7.

We followed the signs to KidZania and once hubby finished smoking we queued to purchase the entrance ticket. Alas the SGD51 National Day promo is only for weekdays but fortunately I have a Maybank card so I still get 10% discount for both adult and child tickets. Once tickets are purchased, everyone was given a boarding pass and wristband. Each child is given 20Kidzos in cash and an ATM card with 30kidzos credit. Yes you guessed it right! It’s the currency of KidZania!

I absolutely love the whole concept of KidZania. Once entered, it’s a miniature city for kids. It’s a city where kids have to work to earn money and use the money to buy things that that they want. They also have to pay to learn new skills to upgrade themselves. This is where they will be independent.

So, first thing first, they have to go to the bank (sponsored by Maybank) to activate their ATM cards. No parents allowed! This is the time I realized that I’ve been letting my children to be too dependent on me. It was really tough to let them do things by themselves but finally I let them go. I told them to tell the bank tellers what they want and need. I cannot help them at all. I looked at them from afar and tried to lip-read what the tellers were asking them, hoping that they understood and replied correctly.

As monstrous as they can be, they tend to be shy with someone new. The teller attending to Daneen found out that it was her birthday and everyone sang for her. It was really sweet! Now that the ATM cards have been activated, time to have fun!

I’ve always wanted Daneen to be a pilot when she grows up so we went to Mezzanine where the Aerospace activity is. The person in charge asked whether they want to be a pilot or cabin crew and when I asked Daneen, she chose cabin crew instead. Ok that will do. Dini chose that too. There’s activity in progress at the moment so we have to join the next session which is at 3.30. Time check: 3.05pm. Alright let’s wait for a while.

It’s time! The kids entered and Nazar and I were told to wait outside. He will call us in about 15 minutes for us to enter. Once we were called, he asked us to follow him. My heart melted upon seeing them donning the Qatar Airways cabin crew uniform. They were simply adorable!

They greeted us like we were passengers and asked us to choose either fish or chicken from the menu. Then, each of them was asked to read a paragraph notifying us that we’re landing at Hammad International Airport and thanking us for flying with Qatar Airways. Awww… My sweethearts…

They became CSI officers, newborn nannies, doctors at accidents & emergencies, fire fighters, optometrists, pump attendant, and they even got their driving license!

I recommend all parents to bring your children here instead of an indoor playground. Yes the entrance fee is more pricey but they get to engage with new people, learn new things, explore job options, upgrade their skills, and be independent. My kids learnt how to make candies and they got to keep them!

How fantastic is that??? Oh that’s not all. They get to use their Kidzos at any KidZania worldwide! This is really cool!!!

Time to go home… Nazar and I promised them that we will return for Dini’s birthday to cover the rest of the activities that they didn’t manage to do. Between us, I’m more excited than they are!

 

Teana

I'm a Senior Travel Consultant at FCM Travel. Chat with me to find out more on how I can help you optimising your company's travel needs.