Kidzania

Last year during the holidays, we had a new kids attraction open in town. They had been building it for over a year & it was being built inside our mall so we saw it often. It was kind of hard to miss because it literally had an airplane inside it:

They have other locations around the world, but this is the 1st location in the United States. And yes, that is a legit American Airline airplane! That is looking at it from inside the mall. It is set up like an airport & you have to go to the ticket window & through security to get inside. We didn't go over the holidays because I heard it was really crowded so we had it on our bucket list for this spring & summer but then Covid hit. They actually shut down in March & finally re-opened August 1 so we thought it would be a fun surprise for the girls right before school started. We went on a Sunday afternoon right when they opened at 12:00 & stayed until they closed at 6:00 - that's how awesome it was! When you walk in, it looks like a city:

 

Everything was so life like, including the working red lights & painted sky! We were told as soon as we walked in that the girls needed to find either the bank or the credit union to open their bank account:

Then they were told to go find a job so they could make money for their account. Before that, I heard from others who had been that they would make more money at their jobs if they went to college first so off to SMU we went!

They got to go inside for 5-10 minutes & then they came out with diplomas! So the whole point is to go around the city & work. Kids are allowed inside all of the business but parents are not, so we could briefly see what they were doing but not hear. They absolutely loved the independence! And after every job, they got paid & the money went directly into their account. And they did earn more for that college degree! First up, they went to work at the gym:

After they worked up a sweat, they went next door to the acting studio where they learned a dance:

Then we were invited to the theater where the parents got to sit in the audience while they performed for us:

Next up, fire school where they actually got to put out a "real" fire:

They pretty much stayed together until this point, they they each went their separate ways to work. Sometimes they met up, sometimes they did their own thing:

Sadie spent the most time at the hospital:

They were able to go together to the imaging center:

Then Sophie had to leave because she was not old enough to go into the operating room. Sadie was able to perform a surgery & this might have been one of her favorite jobs of the day:

After a long day's work, they were able to finally spend their money! They had real restaurants where you could purchase food (we didn't.....) or you could go to American Airlines & learn how to fly a plane in a real flight simulator:

In case you are wondering, yes, they are sitting inside the real airplane that I shower you earlier - it was pretty neat! You can even go in the cockpit & check it out:

Another way they could spend money was by climbing:

I wouldn't say they did absolutely every single thing in there, but they did most of it! They place wasn't busy at all so they hardly had to wait in any lines. It was kind of awesome! The only thing different since they re-opened is you have to wear masks at all times, which we are used to, and they don't allow costumes anymore. You used to get dressed up at all of your jobs, which isn't that big of a deal. The girls still had money leftover in their account so they had a store & before we left, they got to spend their money in the store. It was a pretty awesome day. We had been told to plan on being there for a while, but we never imagined 6 hours! The girls absolutely loved everything about it - it was fun, educational & very stimulating. I would highly recommend it to friends & family and secretly hope they get to go on a field trip there some time. That would be awesome!