Thursday, December 5, 2013

Kidzania Pacific Place: Jakarta, Indonesia Series 8


Kidzania and Wendy’s
Pacific Plaza, Jakarta
(Jakarta Indonesia Series 8)

Stray

Just as the kids thought that the fun is over in Ancol,
they were wrong- as we surprised them with a visit
to Kidzania, Jakarta at the Ritz, Carlton, Pacific Place.
Kidzania is a very popular indoor kiddie theme park
with several facilities all over the world, and Kidzania Jakarta
 is one of their very few branches in Asia,


…making it a must visit theme park for families with
young kids traveling in this major Indonesian city.


The kids had a late brunch at the breakfast buffet
and I picked them up at the Manhattan Hotel after
attending a half day session of a medical convention
at the nearby  Ritz Carlton Mega Kuningan.


We took a Silver Bird Taxi from the hotel that took
us to the fabulous and very upscale Pacific Place Mall.


This very beautiful mall is located just as the base of
the Ritz, Carlton, Pacific Place, and I was amazed
that this upscale facility opened two hotels in Jakarta.

Play

The entrance to Kidzania  was decorated with
a real Air Asia Jet and was made to appear
 like an airport immigration section ,

 

…and guests are welcomed by people dressed like
immigration officers making you feel that you
are entering and visiting a totally new country.


The entrance leads to the main town square,
that had a Town Hall, a theatre, a huge tree,
and lots of park chairs and tables.


It  serves as a waiting area for parents, as adults
are not allowed inside the various kiddie attractions.


The town square also serves as  a place
for kids to rest  and eat while taking a break
from the all day playing at the theme park .


Kidzania is real working miniature world where kids
 can pretend and play the roles that they want to be.


They can learn to become fashion models
in a miniature fashion school where they are
taught how  to dress up and  walk in the catwalk,
got to acting academy or learn to perform magic
 tricks  in a real miniature magicians work shop,


...and later,  they all get to perform in the 
Town Theater in front of real the audience.


They also get to play to become drivers, 
race car drivers and even gasoline attendants.


Name what you want to be, Kidzania 
will provide the kids a working world,
for the chosen pretend profession.
My son initially wanted to be a fireman
as they get to ride a real fire truck,


…and get to extinguish a hotel on fire
using real working fire hose,


 ..but there was a very long line of kids
waiting for their turn to become one,


…and since there were a lot of pretend professions   
to choose  from,  the kids  decided  to choose to
play on the less crowded make-believe jobs.




That’s a real word lesson number one for them-
go to a less crowded profession as it is easier
to get a job.  They easily got themselves to play
pretend as soap makers in a Soap Making Factory.



The two kids got so immersed in their
soap making job an got to enjoy more as 
they were the only kids playing in that area.



After the soap making session was over
they were paid Kidzania money, the official
currency on the theme park, which they could
initially keep and save then use later that day.


That’s how it goes in Kidzania- work on a
certain profession, and get paid for doing so.
Kids could pretend working on real functioning
supermarkets either as grocery clerks, managers
and cashiers, and get paid for it,

 

…or be a shopper, for those who had saved enough
and spend what you have earned in the theme park.


One can also become a dentist and get to work
with realistic dummy patients  meant for training
dental students and get paid for doing so,


We returned to the Fire Station as my son
wanted to play a firefighter as he came as
a firefighter in their school’s  Halloween party
and was awarded best costume then,


…but there were a lot of kids on queue
wanting to become one,

 

We skipped the firefighting thing so they later queued
to the Pocari Hospital nearby as the line was tolerable,




Where they get to become doctors
and patients at the emergency room,




My son who played doctor got paid for his job,
while his sister who  posed as his patient did not.


 

They later went to try some blue collar jobs
and enjoyed  becoming house  painters,






…and construction workers.







They also became digital animators.

 




One could become a banker, a bank despositor,
a chocolate factory worker, a florist, a beautician,
a window cleaner, a tea or towel factory worker,
a journalist, a taxi reservation officer, a baker- 
you name it- they have it.



There were just too many professions to play
but there were too many kids and too little
time as Kidzania closes early at 6 PM.

 

I also suggested that they become tourists  and hop
to a tourist bus, or take the taxi around the park,


…but they didn’t want to as they have to
pay up the services with some of the money
that they have earned earlier.


They said they wanted to save and earn more
money so they  could buy souvenirs on the
Kidzania Department Store before we leave.


They also get to become guests in  somebody’s
living room and were taught how to  play a
musical instrument appreciate music by the host.



They reserved the best for last
by becoming airline pilots,



…and got to fly and land an Airbus
in a real flight simulator.


One could also become a passenger
or a stewardess on this real Air Asia jet.



All the make believe professions that the kids chose
 paid them well with Kidzania money,
which they later  spent for food and souvenirs at the
theme park Supermarket and Department Store,


…all manned by kids pretending to be sales clerks
cashiers and supermarket employees.


It’s a real world out there. The theme park is a real working 
Kiddie World, with their own township, hospital, 
dental clinic. theater factories, shops, supermarkets,  
chocolate factory, department stores and even a towel factory.
You name a profession- they have it,
and the park even have its’ own currency.


In Kidzania , it isn’t only fun games-
and it is not only about having fun,


… it teaches the children how to live in a real world,
 how to work,  earn, save and how spend wisely.


Kidzania is not an ordinary theme park.


It is a park with life’s lessons
to be learned as a theme.

Feast

After a half day fun in Kidzania, no one got hungry
despite the fact that,  aside from the late breakfast that
my wife and the kids took at the Hotel Manhattan,


..and the light snacks that I had at the Ritz Carlton while
attending the  morning sessions of the convention,
we did not have anything to eat until we left
the theme park at 6 o’clock in the afternoon.


It was only after we saw the Wendy’s Restaurant,
(the very first restaurant that caught our eyes)
that we realized are all very hungry and famished.


It has been a while since we last dined in Wendy’s 
and I was thankful that we found their restaurant at 
the Pacific Place Mall as their huge American Burgers,


…and Delicious Combi- Meals are what
we needed to ward off our starvation.


I gobbled up their huge classic burgers.
I don’t have to say anything or to review
Wendy’s Hamburgers as just like McDonald’s
and Burger King, I could never say no to
these delicious, classic all- American burgers.


Everyone else ordered yummy Chicken Burgers,


…except for my son who wanted to eat a full rice meal,
so we got him a Homestyle Chicken Meal,
but later found the dish too spicy,


…so we ordered a classic Wendy’s Cheese Burger
and he needed no scolding and persuasion from
us  to eat his meal as he was very hungry. 


For Kidzania alone, Pacific Place Jakarta
is worth visiting again and again and again.



2 comments:

  1. This is very tasty meal. I like it. It seems very healthy too.

    Regards,
    Komatsu Parts

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it was a very tasty meal, but healthy?

      Nahhh. Its fast food and not healthy at all. (lol)

      Delete