Wannado City! When Disney is not an option!
Written: Jul 24 '05 (Updated Jul 24 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: An educational experience!
Cons: Parents need to pay to do nothing!
The Bottom Line: Where your kids can go from being a doctor to a pilot to a movie star!!!
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| tiffer0220's Full Review: Wannado City |
So, the kids are out for the summer, you are about to go out of your mind, and you know you can't go do Disney in a day....what else is left to do? Wanndo City! That's what!
Wannado City is a role-playing theme park exclusively for kids. If you are the type of parent who goes to theme parks for yourself rather than the interest of the kids, this park is definitely not for you. Be prepared to stand around inside the park while your child is having a grand ole time deciding what career they want to pursue. And as a parent, you get to pay 16 bucks to stand around and do nothing!
We've been to wannado city a dozen times, and each time it has undergone a new change, added something new, took something great away, and each time it has increased its prices. But nonetheless, it is still worth a trip and worth every penny.
Wannado City is located at the Saw Grass Mills mall in Fort Lauderdale and is very easy to get to if you can follow directions. When you enter the park, you and your entourage are all given GPS bracelets and the kids are given a voucher for 150 wongas. Wongas are the currency that the kids use inside the park. One time when we went the day after thanksgiving, the line was outside and halfway around the wall, but it only took about 15 minutes to get inside. Not too bad of a wait, yet. Then like any other theme park, they line you up and take your picture and tell you when to pick up the pictures. But enough about this petty stuff.
Once inside Wannado City
When the kids enter the park, they go to the State Farm Bank with the $150 wonga voucher an open up an account. Once they open up their account, they have this account forever. Each time the kids earn money, they can deposit it, or if they need money for various activities, they can withdrawal it. The kids are given a cloned ATM card and they just thought this was the greatest thing. I did have to explain to them that the ATM card can only be used inside Wannado City and not outside in the real world.
I have 2 boys and they each found their own things to do at the park. The first thing my youngest guy wanted to do was be a dentist. He did this activity 3 times in a row. The kids are brought into a "dentist office" and given jackets like DDS's wear. They are then brought into the patients room where a rubber dummy is lying on the chair with his mouth wide opened. They have the bright lite over the patient and rubber tools, it actually did look like a real dentists office. The guy leading the pack tells them something, what I don't know because parents are outside looking into the window watching. Then the kids all take turns with the rubber tools poking and prodding around the dummys mouth.
My oldest sons favorite thing was being a pilot. They have an actual Spirit airline fuselage and a cockpit. The airplane activity is not a come and go as you please, they have certain times, every 20 - 30 minutes, where they allow the kids to partake in this. If you get their and it's already filled up, they will give you a ticket for the next departure, but you have to be there on time or they leave without you. Inside here, my son sat in the cockpit with the captains hat on and steered the plane. They have a real stimulator inside and if you crash you crash. That was my sons highlight, crashing the plane!
Other activities my kids did were crime scene, where they send you out with clues all through out the city to find out whodunit. You can be a police officer and arrest kids for running, littering, loitering, or anything else you see fit. They are given a ticket book and a badge and they can give the kids the option of paying some wongas for their fine, going to jail, or going to see the judge at the courthouse where you will have another kid representing you. Oh, and the parents can get arrested too!!! At the jail, you can break out because the bars on the window are rubber!!
There is also a fire academy where the kids learn to be a fireman and then go out on a wannado city firetruck and answer a fire call on the other side of the city. Here they have pyrotechnics set up so that the building is on fire and the kids hook up their real fire hoses and spray the fire down with real water. The kids all line up holding the hose and they take turns on the line being the frontman of the hose. The ambulance also rolls out with the firetruck, so the kids take either the firetruck or the ambulance to the fire and then take the other one back to the fire house so each kid gets a turn on both rigs.
While I can sit here and write about each thing my kid did and all that it entailed, it's easier to just give you a glimpse of everything thats in store for your visit.
Theres Publix, where ironically, the workers at Publix get paid more than the doctor. Kids can shop and work at the publix. Theres an emergency room where kids can be a doctor or a pediatric nurse, theres a newspaper for investigating reporting where the kids write a story and then they print out the newspaper for you to take home with the kids article in it. There is also a dinosaur dig, a jeweler where kids can make a bracelet or earrings, a bakery where the kids bake a cookie and get to eat it, there s a pathology lab, a beauty salon where kids do each others hair and nails, my kids wouldn't do this no matter how much I begged. They also have a dance club where they do a dance contest, a fashion show where again, the kids are the models, a circus where the kids are in the show, a movie set where the kids are the actors and a CNN set where the kids report on television. All this, just to name a few.
Nothing is for free
For each job your child selects, they will get paid in Wongas at the end of their shift. Each activity can take from 10 minutes up to 30 minutes depending on what activity it is and how long of a wait it is. We've never had to wait for more than 15 minutes in line to get into something. They can use the Wongas through out the park for various things like making a bracelet, going to the amusement park with kid sized rides, using at the art academy, which I don't recommend because all they do is draw on a piece of paper with crayons, do the rock climbing wall, or just save them for the next trip.
What's for Mom to do?
On my first trip to the park, I didn't realize they had a parents lounge. But you bet I found it on my second trip. They have a small cozy lounge where you can get coffee and some bakery items and sit on a big comfy couch and relax. They also have computers with internet access, a television and board games. It's supposed to be for parents only but you know there are parents who have to bring up their crying 2 year old. Me and my mother would take turns going up to the lounge because I am uneasy about just leaving both my kids in the park with no adults down there. The lounge is an awesome place even just to take a 15 minute breather away from running kids and/or from neurotic parents.
Other Information
There is a food court inside the park. We ate at Johnny Rockets and besides being over-priced, the food was not good. I'd recommend leaving the park and going inside the mall to eat. You can leave the park and re-enter by just going to the exit and telling them that you will be returning. They will take your bracelets off and place them in an envelope with your name. When you return, give them your name and show them your receipt and they will put the bracelets back on.
They have photographers through out the park and will take the kids pictures doing all different things. The kids are then handed a ticket. You go to the gift shop with the tickets and they pull up the pictures on the screen for you. I have pictures of both my kids doing almost everything, thanks to the photographers, but since us parents cannot go inside the cockpit of the airplane, or sit in the firetruck to get the picture ourselves, these photos are great.
The Bracelets I keep mentioning
The bracelets that everyone wears are great and Disney should use something like this. The bracelets all have a GPS on it that coincides with your party. If you want to see where your child is and how long they have been somewhere, just run your bracelet under one of the 10 scanners through out the park and all that information will display. They also can't get out of the park unless they are with one of the adults in your party.
Pricing Information
These days the cost for kids ages 3-13 to get into the park is $29.95 and adults pay $15.95. Kids under 3 are free. Right now they are offering an awesome pass where kids can go 3 times for $59.95 and parents for $19.95.
The park is generally opened from 10 am to 8 pm through out the summer but it's best to check the hours before you go. Sometimes they offer a split session where you pay and either go from 9 am to 3 pm or from 3 pm to 9 pm. I wouldn't recommend the split session because now you are put on a time limit of how much you can do in those few hours.
Overall
I highly recommend Wannado City to parents with kids ages 5-11. Under 5 may not get the full benefit of the park and over 11 may get too bored. This park is great in teaching kids about different careers and teaching them about money. And just remember, Mom can get payback by going shopping at the adjacent Saw Grass Mills Mall when the kids are done inside the park!!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tiffer0220
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Member: Tiffany
Location: Florida
Reviews written: 278
Trusted by: 743 members
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R.I.P. Bo 10/17/94 - 2/28/08 Our bodoggie...
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