A screen free afternoon · First time
A screen free afternoon in Bellevue: a first visit, step by step
A first visit has a shape to it, and knowing the shape takes most of the guesswork out.
The feedback loop is the same one games use - do a thing, see a result, adjust - except it happens with hands, in a room, with other people watching.
If Bellevue is home, this is the sort of place you end up returning to rather than ticking off. That changes what a first visit is worth planning around.
The first ten minutes
Nobody has to ban anything. Children put the phone down on their own when the alternative is better.
Check the day of the week against the closing time before you leave. Sunday finishes earlier than the rest of the week and catches people out.
What children do first
What replaces a screen has to be more interesting than a screen, which rules out most of the obvious answers. A machine a child actually controls is one of the few that works.
Screen free is easy to say on a Saturday morning and hard to do by two in the afternoon.
What usually goes wrong
The feedback loop is the same one games use - do a thing, see a result, adjust - except it happens with hands, in a room, with other people watching.
Go early if the choice is available. The first hour after opening is quieter than any hour that follows it, and quieter is easier for everybody.
Making the second visit better
Nobody has to ban anything. Children put the phone down on their own when the alternative is better.
What replaces a screen has to be more interesting than a screen, which rules out most of the obvious answers. A machine a child actually controls is one of the few that works.
Questions parents ask
Is there screen time involved?
The machines are levers and cables. The ice is ice.
How do I get in touch?
By phone on +1 (424) 387-6232 or +1 (615) 968-4925, or by e-mail at info@newlife-entertainment.com.
What are the opening hours?
10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday, and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.
Planning your visit in Bellevue
Nothing about the visit assumes you know the area. The centre is inside Opry Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Nashville and impossible to miss once you are there.
Feed them first. Every attraction in the world is improved by not being hungry in it.
Bring a snack for afterwards rather than during. Hungry children leave early and full children want to stay.
Weekends bring more of Bellevue out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
The practical details
- XCAV ZONE — 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214: four child-operated machines over a ball pit.
- ICE PARK — 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027: a real rink with bumper cars on the ice.
- Opening hours — 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday, 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.
- Phone — +1 (424) 387-6232 · +1 (615) 968-4925
- E-mail — info@newlife-entertainment.com
Questions about a specific day, a group or a party are best asked directly - info@newlife-entertainment.com, or either of the numbers on the contacts page.