Birthday party · Story
Birthday party in Brentwood: what an afternoon looks like
Not a review - a description. Here is roughly how an hour goes.
Arrive early enough to get coats and bags sorted before the guests do. Ten quiet minutes at the start buys an hour of calm.
If Brentwood 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
A birthday here is a different sort of party because the entertainment is the place. Nobody has to keep fifteen children occupied - the machines and the ice do it.
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.
The middle of the visit
The photographs take themselves. A bucket full of coloured balls or a car spinning on ice needs no staging.
Mixed ages are the usual headache with children parties, and both venues handle them without a plan: little ones stay in the pit or in a car, older ones go after the harder machines.
The last ten minutes
Talk to the centre before the day rather than on it. Numbers, timing and what a group needs are all easier to sort in advance - the phone numbers are on the contacts page.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
What sticks
Arrive early enough to get coats and bags sorted before the guests do. Ten quiet minutes at the start buys an hour of calm.
A birthday here is a different sort of party because the entertainment is the place. Nobody has to keep fifteen children occupied - the machines and the ice do it.
Questions parents ask
How do I book a party?
Call or write first: +1 (424) 387-6232, +1 (615) 968-4925, or info@newlife-entertainment.com.
Is it suitable for mixed ages?
Both venues give younger and older children something different to do in the same room.
How long does a party need?
Plan for the attraction plus time either side for coats, cake and goodbyes.
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.
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 Brentwood
Weekends bring more of Brentwood out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
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.
Bring less than you think. Coats and bags are the part of the visit nobody enjoys managing.
The nearest of the two centres to Brentwood is the one to aim at - Opry Mills in Nashville - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
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
The two centres are at 433 Opry Mills Drive in Nashville and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd in Concord, open 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM most days and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.