A screen free afternoon · Story
A screen free afternoon in Bellevue: a visit described
Not a review - a description. Here is roughly how an hour goes.
Nobody has to ban anything. Children put the phone down on their own when the alternative is better.
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.
Walking in
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.
Bring less than you think. Coats and bags are the part of the visit nobody enjoys managing.
The middle of the visit
Screen free is easy to say on a Saturday morning and hard to do by two in the afternoon.
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.
The last ten minutes
Nobody has to ban anything. Children put the phone down on their own when the alternative is better.
Two shorter visits teach a child more than one long one. The second time they already know what they want to try, and that is when the good part starts.
What sticks
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.
Screen free is easy to say on a Saturday morning and hard to do by two in the afternoon.
Questions parents ask
Is there screen time involved?
The machines are levers and cables. The ice is ice.
Where is New Life Entertainment?
Two centres: 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214, and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027.
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.
Planning your visit in Bellevue
Families searching from Bellevue are usually weighing one thing: whether it is worth the trip for an hour of something the children have not done before. The honest answer is that it depends on the child, and the rest of this page is about telling which.
If one child is nervous, let them watch for the first ten minutes without being asked to join in. Almost all of them join in.
Decide how long you are staying before you walk in. A visit with an end time attached to it finishes on a good note rather than a tired one.
From Bellevue the practical question is timing rather than distance. Arriving in the first hour after opening is worth more than shaving minutes off the drive.
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.