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Kidzania - is it worth it?

8 replies

pisspants · 11/10/2019 07:56

Just looking at things to do in half term for my kids who are 13 and 10. I know some of their friends went to kidzania a year or 2 ago and loved it. It'd be about £55 for them both to get in, which for 4 hours doesnt seem too bad but just wondering if it is actually worth that? I'd love to hear your experiences. I think Oct half term is roughly split in half down the country with some areas starting week of 21st and others the following week, we're the first week in case it makes a difference business wise- I'm not sure when London schools are off?
I'd love to hear your opinions before I book, thank you

OP posts:
xyzandabc · 11/10/2019 08:09

No. I've only been once and it was on an inset day, so probably not as busy as half term. 3 kids, 10, 8 and 5. It was hell. I'd also say most of it would be a bit young for a 10 and 13 yr old.

Just the queueing, queueing, queueing. 40 mins for a 5/10 minute activity. If there are only 4 people at a time allowed on an activity, and there 20 people in the queue already as an adult you can do the maths and work out how long you will be waiting, then maybe choose something with a shorter wait time. But the kids just didn't get it and those without adults with them were hardly getting to go on anything as they'd wait, then get bored, move to a different queue not realising that one was just as long.

No child management by staff, pushing in especially by school groups with not a teacher in sight, arguements, adults queueing in place of their child who was in another activity which I thought was particularly unfair.

My kids thought it was ok, the 5 yr loved it but I had to guide him the whole way as to which queue he should get in and keep an eye out for which queues were shortest of the things he might like in a tactical way.

They probably got about 6 activities each but that's cos we stayed until closing and it got much quieter in the last 45 mins or so, so they were able to jump on stuff with hardly and wait.

Had I just left the 10 yr old to find her own way round, she would have just wandered aimlessly for a couple of hours not deciding which queue to commit to.

If you're in London, there are far better things to do.

Grasspigeons · 11/10/2019 08:13

We didnt enjoy it but i think we paid more than that which did impact. There was a lot of queing and it was very busy. Your kids need to really like role play and be very confident with new adults and other children to get the most out of it. I remeber thinking it might have been better with a small group of friends rather than just my two.

GrandmaSharksDentures · 11/10/2019 08:22

My 7 yr old went a few weeks ago & absolutely loved it, he went with someone else so I have no experience of it. He told me that there were lots of queues for the best jobs (fire fighter etc) so he & his friend did lots of the "little" jobs & got to do a lot. He is very confident with new adults & in new situations which probably helped his enjoyment of the whole experience

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WhatAGreatDay · 11/10/2019 08:40

Your 13 year old is too old for it. Your 10 year old is borderline.

I went on an inset day with a 10 and 7 year old and it was still really crowded (some school and nursery trips). There is a lot of waiting in queues, because you have to wait 20 minutes for the experiences and they only take a set number of children (around 6-8) per session so you might miss that session and have to wait another 20 minutes. There were a lot of parents who turned a blind eye to their children pushing in on the queues. You really have to keep an eye on the pushing in.

It's fun for ages 4-7 really and it is expensive and there is a lot of queuing.

crazylady7 · 11/10/2019 08:51

I homeschool my 11 year old son, weve been many times, we went a few weeks ago but with a big group of home schoolers also (we do all sorts of trips together). As we homeschool we are signed up for all sorts of group deals etc, so we got it dead cheap, and we can go during school time so it is pretty quiet, apart from if you hit a time that is popular for school trips. I still would have paid full price though even so, my son loved it. There were a lot of it that he had no interest in whatsoever, but you can pick and choose what you take part in. Completely depends on your child i'd say, and i'd say 11 max age wise.

underneaththeash · 11/10/2019 09:15

I think they're both too old. My 8 year old was bored last time within a couple of hours, although she'd loved it the year before.

DreamingofSunshine · 11/10/2019 09:51

London schools around here are off 21 October.

pisspants · 11/10/2019 19:33

thanks everyone, think we'll give it a miss then. Probably head to Greenwich and to the observatory/planetarium via the river boat instead

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