Wannado City was an indoor role-playing amusement center at the Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, Florida, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was a property of Grupo CIE. Billed as "where kids can do what they wanna do", it was a child-sized representation of a metropolis where children aged 2–14 could participate in different careers and other lifelike activities. "Luis Javier Laresgoiti Fernandez" created the concept five years prior (1996) when he opened a similar park in Mexico City named "La Ciudad de los Niños", now known as KidZania. Luis sold his shares and left Kidzania to open Wannado City at Sawgrass Mills Mall in Florida. Luis left Wannado City to start a new business named "Kandu", which now focuses on licensing a smaller hybrid model of Wannado City.
 The Wannado City "sign" logo | |
 | |
| Location | Sunrise, Florida, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 26°08′59″N 80°19′26″W / 26.1498°N 80.3240°W |
| Status | Defunct |
| Opened | Spring 2004 |
| Closed | January 12, 2011 |
| Owner | Grupo CIE |
| Slogan | Where kids can do what they wanna' do. |
| Operating season | Year-round |
| Area | 140,000 sq ft (13,000 m2) |
| Website | www.wannadocity.com at the Wayback Machine (archived December 23, 2010) |
Careers in which the "kidizens" could participate included but were not limited to firefighter, police officer, lawyer, physician, TV reporter, singer, actor, and model. They could also use issued money, "Wongas", to set up bank accounts.
Due to financial problems and lack of business, Wannado City was sold by Stampler Auctions on January 11, 2011. Wannado City closed the following day and was replaced by a new wing of stores called "Fashion Row" in 2013.[1]
Overview
editMoney system
editThe system functioned by the idea of participation in different activities, gaining capital and spending their earnings in luxurious locations such as the Wonka Factory, The Coca-Cola Bottling Plant, a Publix supermarket, the Wannado City Fair and a permanent circus. Guests were granted 150 Wongas upon their arrival and were awarded 20 Wongas for each activity. There were also ATMs where guests could withdraw money or make a deposit at a State Farm bank, so that guests would not have to carry their money around. Children were given "ATM cards" so that they are able to deposit and withdraw more efficiently. The "ATM cards" were discontinued in 2006.
Careers
editThe city hosted numerous job occupations available for selection. Children could star in their own television newscast, join the city's fire or police department, the Miami Herald and the Spirit Airlines Flight Academy. The city also hosted a theater, circus, hospital, movie studio, recording studio, courthouse, bakery, dentistry office, public park, library, mine, and an archaeological/paleontological site, among other locations.[2]
Security
editUpon arrival, the children and parents were given RFID security bracelets. Throughout the park there were computer stands where a person would place their bracelet against a scanner and details of any known individual's location were shown.
References
edit- ^ "Wannado City moves up closing to Jan. 2". Archived from the original on 2011-06-16. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Park Map". Archived from the original on 2008-12-22.