KidZania explained

KidZania
Former Name:La Ciudad de los Niños (1999–2006)
Type:Family entertainment center
Founder:Luis Javier Laresgotti
Xavier López Ancona
Location Country:Cuajimalpa, Mexico
Locations:30
Industry:Entertainment venue
Homepage:kidzania.com

KidZania [1] is a Mexican privately held international chain of indoor family entertainment centers currently operating in 30[2] locations worldwide, allowing children to role play adult jobs and earn currency.[3] [4] It receives at least 9 million visitors per year.

Overview

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 4 through 14, work in branded activities from bottling Coca-Cola, working in a Crest-sponsored dentist office, working at a McDonald's restaurant, painting with Corporação Industrial do Norte, washing hands with P&G's Safeguard soap, and using airline tickets from American Airlines, Fly Dubai and Saudia.[5]

The children earn kidZos (KidZania's currency) while performing the tasks, and the money is kept in the KidZania bank for children to spend at the gift shop and on KidZania's activities. Inside every KidZania facility around the world, children wear electronic bracelets that allow parents to keep track of their kids remotely.[6] The currency symbol for the kidZo is a capital letter Z with two horizontal strokes across the middle,[7] which resembles the Ukrainian hryvnia sign (₴) but with sharp corners.

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan owns a 26% share in KidZania India and helps promote the brand in India.

History

KidZania was created and developed by the Mexican entrepreneur Xavier López Ancona, the current KidZania CEO.[8] [9] 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").[8] Corporate sponsors funded 55% of the initial investment.

Shortly after the first center's successful opening, Luis Javier Laresgotti and Xavier López Ancona became split on how to continue the business. In August 2001, it was announced that López would lead La Ciudad de los Niños and establish locations in California, Mexico, and Spain. Laresgotti and his partner company Grupo Mágico would establish locations in Miami and South America, paying La Ciudad de los Niños 0.25% of the locations' revenue for the next 5 years. López's plans to open a Monterrey, Mexico location were postponed as he tried to establish Kids City locations at a Los Angeles mall and at the Palisades Center, both of which fell through.

Laresgotti and Grupo Mágico were able to begin construction on a center at Sawgrass Mills under a different brand, Wannado City, which opened in 2004. In 2003, La Ciudad de los Niños filed a lawsuit against Wannado Entertainment for infringing their intellectual property, and rejected Grupo Mágico's attempts to settle the lawsuit. Shortly after Wannado City opened, Wannado paid a settlement to La Ciudad de los Niños to end the lawsuit, and was forbidden from opening Wannado City locations in Mexico.

In 2006, La Ciudad de los Niños rebranded as KidZania to better suit itself for international expansion, and opened its second location in Monterrey. The following year, KidZania hired entertainment strategist Andrew Darrow as executive vice president. Cammie Dunaway, previously of Yahoo! and Nintendo, joined in late 2010 as the chief marketing officer.

KidZania at Westfield London, cost £20 million to build.[10] In partnership with British Airways, it was operated by Joel Cadbury and Ollie Vigors through their Longshot Ltd company.[10] [11] [12]

KidZania characters

The mascots of KidZania are called the RightZKeepers. According to the site’s story: They represent the rights that all KidZania patrons have, and together, they share an extra sixth right, the Right to Be.The following are the mascots that KidZania has adopted over time:

Locations

Current locations

Upcoming locations

Per Kidzania Coming Soon List [15]

Former locations

Awards and recognition

KidZania was voted the World's Top Family Entertainment Center by the IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) and 2009 Global Leisure Operator of the Year.[19]

From 2011 to 2015, KidZania has been recognized as one of The Best Mexican Companies (Las Mejores Empresas Mexicanas), a recognition promoted by Banamex, Deloitte México and Tecnológico de Monterrey.[20]

See also

External links

19.3611°N -99.2802°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: KidZania Global Overview. KidZania. 13 December 2017. 8 August 2022.
  2. Web site: KidZania – Get Ready For a Better World®. 2020-12-10. kidzania.com.
  3. News: Gender and class gaps start early in UK, KidZania data show. Financial Times. 2 April 2017 . 23 January 2018.
  4. Web site: KidZania and a New Generation of Entrepreneurs in Mexico. www.forbes.com. 23 January 2018.
  5. News: Playing Grown-Up at KidZania. https://web.archive.org/web/20110522122020/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_22/b4230085996598.htm. dead. 22 May 2011. Rubinstein. Dana. 19 May 2011. Bloomberg Businessweek. 20 May 2011.
  6. Nathaniel Parish Flannery, KidZania and a New Generation of Entrepreneurs in Mexico, Forbes, 18 July 2012
  7. Web site: What are KidZos? About Us KidZania London . KidZania . 12 October 2023.
  8. Rebecca Mead, When I Grow Up: The theme-park chain where children pretend to be adults., The New Yorker, 19 January 2015
  9. Jude Webber, Lunch with the FT: Xavier López Ancona, Financial Times, 1 August 2014
  10. Jonathan Prynn, KidZania: New £20m ‘mini city’ inside Westfield mall will let children 'work' for treats, London Evening Standard, 16 July 2013
  11. Stuart Jeffries, KidZania: the mini-city where children are in charge, The Guardian, 26 October 2014
  12. Christopher Thompson, Longshot to back UK KidZania, Financial Times, 26 February 2012
  13. Web site: KidZania Singapore to shut down for good after four years in Sentosa . straitstimes.com . 16 June 2020 . 16 June 2020.
  14. Web site: Interactive indoor theme park KidZania to return to Singapore in 2024 . 2023-06-12 . CNA . en.
  15. Web site: Kidzania Coming Soon . 2024-06-14 . kidzania.com. en.
  16. Web site: Kidzania Manila Homepage . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160417203857/http://manila.kidzania.com/en-ph . April 17, 2016 . 3 February 2016 . Kidzania.com.
  17. Web site: 22 July 2020 . After 5 years, KidZania Manila to cease operations . 22 July 2020 . news.abs-cbn.com.
  18. Web site: KidZania London Closure 2024 . 2024-01-03 . KidZania.
  19. Web site: Former Nintendo and Yahoo Executive Recruited to KidZania as U.S. President, Global Marketing Head . https://archive.today/20130131211510/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/10/prweb4602934.htm . dead . 31 January 2013 . Prweb.com . 4 October 2010 . 3 February 2016.
  20. Web site: Empresas Reconocidas – Las Mejores Empresas Mexicanas . Mejoresempresasmexicanas.com . 3 February 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160206144706/http://mejoresempresasmexicanas.com/reconocidas.php . 6 February 2016 . dead .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "KidZania".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.