April 1st, 2011. EMF. Last February 24th, 2011, KidZania Santiago’s airplane started a long trip to its final location in Parque Araucano, in Santiago, Chile. A DC-9 aircraft which was still operational with Northwest Airlines (NWA), was cut and then shipped from the Port of Wilmington in Delaware to the Port of Valparaíso in Chile. The ship that carried the fuselage was the Atlantic Klipper, Seatrade’s newest reefer vessel, a 541-feet long liner that just had made its maiden call at Wilmington a few days before carrying KidZania’s precious cargo. The shipping company chosen to oversee the entire voyage was Pacific Seaways, a Santiago-based consortium of growers and exporters.
The Atlantic Klipper reached the Port of Valparaíso on March 8th, twelve days after departing from Wilmington. Once in Valparaíso, Pacific Seaways handed the fuselage to Ingeniería de Transportes Javier Cortés, a Chilean transportation company in charge of taking the fuselage from Valparaíso to its final location in Santiago de Chile. This final journey took 2 days during which many Chilean kids and adults were excited to see such an unusual scene happening through Chile’s highways and streets.
The aircraft was finally put in place at the Parque Araucano location on March 10th. Mr. Raúl Matte, Deputy Governor of KidZania Chile, said: “We are very happy with this milestone. The arrival of the airplane fuselage sets one of the most important landmarks of any KidZania project. It is something that happens in all KidZanias and is important because it represents the door to this wonderful role-play city. For kids, the airplane symbolizes the beginning of a journey to a superb and unique place where they can be whatever they want to be. KidZania is a place where kids exercise their rights to play, to know, to take care of the environment and to be, to be free, to be children, but independent and empowered”.
KidZania Santiago will be located in Parque Araucano, a new entertainment development very close to the Parque Arauco shopping center in Santiago, Chile. With a total construction of 5,250 square meters and 73 establishments, KidZania Santiago is planned to start receiving tourists by the last quarter of 2011.
You can see the video of this important event by clicking on the link below:
KidZania Journal 