Willy Wonka builds a capitalist training centre on top of Westfield

[frogwoman]

So the architecture of KidZania isn’t just a simulation of the real world. It’s a preparation for it. Cadbury, who has a touch of the Willy Wonka about him, explains why. Children can learn to fly a BA aeroplane, deliver letters dressed as little DHL drivers and make Innocent smoothies. At the Renault engineering centre, they can learn how to change tyres; at H&M’s academy, they will be taught the rudiments of fashion and design; and at the Dorsett Hotel, they can be managers, front-desk staff or housekeepers. Your child could even become an oompa loompa – sorry, an expert chocolatier – at the Cadbury factory.

ffs

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

It needs burning to the ground. Utterly loathsome.

 

[SpookyFrank]

WTF would Renault know about engineering?

 

[Roadkill]

Bournville. Still no pubs or off licences.

What, even now?! That must be unusual: plenty of other model villages have got themselves a boozer or two over the years. Certainly, there's a cracking real-ale pub in Saltaire nowadays.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

WTF would Renault know about engineering?

Quite a lot.

 

[SpookyFrank]

You wouldn't know it to drive one of their 'cars'.

 

[SpookyFrank]

We should send in some more suggestions for jobs kids could do. They could manage a Bangladeshi sweatshop with Primark, build a factory on occupied Palestinian land with SodaStream or attempt to exterminate the Jews with Ford.

 

[Orang Utan]

What, even now?! That must be unusual: plenty of other model villages have got themselves a boozer or two over the years. Certainly, there's a cracking real-ale pub in Saltaire nowadays.

There's a bar called Don't Tell Titus in Saltaire!

 

[BigTom]

What, even now?! That must be unusual: plenty of other model villages have got themselves a boozer or two over the years. Certainly, there's a cracking real-ale pub in Saltaire nowadays.

In 2007, locals succesfully campaigned to prevent a tesco being granted an off-licence: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/6495921.stm
I'm sure there was a more recent one as well, not a tesco but a corner shop, actually in the village trust area, but I can't find it so maybe my memory is just wonky.

We should send in some more suggestions for jobs kids could do. They could manage a Bangladeshi sweatshop with Primark, build a factory on occupied Palestinian land with SodaStream or attempt to exterminate the Jews with Ford.

The good thing about the last suggestion is that if Ford don't go for it, we can approach all manner of other companies, like IBM, instead.

 

[J Ed]

We should send in some more suggestions for jobs kids could do. They could manage a Bangladeshi sweatshop with Primark, build a factory on occupied Palestinian land with SodaStream or attempt to exterminate the Jews with Ford.

A kids' intelligence agency where kids collect and spy on every other kids' interaction including gathering naked pictures, oh wait that's what happens anyway except it's adults collecting the naked pictures including pictures of children.

Could also have a kids' mining operation

 

[wiskey]

Loads of my friends have taken their children to this around the world. Definitely the Seoul and Dubai ones and my friend who lives in Malaysia has been to one.

Surprised it took so long to get here.

 

[trashpony]

Loads of my friends have taken their children to this around the world. Definitely the Seoul and Dubai ones and my friend who lives in Malaysia has been to one.

Surprised it took so long to get here.

I'm not surprised it's in those places where naked consumerism is so worshipped. Bit more shocking here IMO

 

[not-bono-ever]

Cadbury sold out their choc interest to Kraft years ago

 

[8ball]

I'm not surprised it's in those places where naked consumerism is so worshipped. Bit more shocking here IMO

I think it's more about them being somewhere contained where they can do stuff while their parents get on with the naked consumerism. It has more emphasis on sponsors than average, but kids toys and games involving working factories, little towns and the like have been around for a long time.

It's not substantially different to the sanitised view of the technologized world of grown-up life that I was fed through the various-shaped windows of Playschool as a kid (many of you will have visualised the bottle factory while reading the first part of this sentence).

 

[Jeff Robinson]

 

[brogdale]

tbf.... to those of us from "AdultZania" (aka Croydon) it all looks quite familar.

 

[Awesome Wells]

Let's have a look through the shite window!

 

[fogbat]

I hope they've got Peter Andre in to write the anthem.