Centre ice · Local
Centre ice near Gastonia
If you are searching from Gastonia, this is the practical answer.
The middle of the rink is where the wall stops helping. Getting there is the milestone every new skater sets for themselves without being asked.
Coming in from Gastonia with more than one child, the useful thing to know is that the room does not need to be rationed - there is more than one thing to do at the same time.
Getting there
It is also the best place to watch from the rail: the whole rink is between you and them, and every lap comes back past you.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
What you will find
Space in the centre is what lets a child try a turn. Near the boards there is always somebody to avoid; in the middle there is only the turn.
The middle of the rink is where the wall stops helping. Getting there is the milestone every new skater sets for themselves without being asked.
How long to allow
It is also the best place to watch from the rail: the whole rink is between you and them, and every lap comes back past you.
Feed them first. Every attraction in the world is improved by not being hungry in it.
Worth the trip?
Space in the centre is what lets a child try a turn. Near the boards there is always somebody to avoid; in the middle there is only the turn.
The middle of the rink is where the wall stops helping. Getting there is the milestone every new skater sets for themselves without being asked.
Questions parents ask
How long before a child leaves the rail?
Some in the first session, some in the fifth. Neither is unusual.
Where is New Life Entertainment?
Two centres: 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214, and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027.
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 Gastonia
Families around Gastonia who have done it once tend to plan the second visit differently: shorter, earlier in the day, and with the machine the child liked in mind.
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.
A short visit that ends while they still want more beats a long one that ends in a meltdown, every time.
A Gastonia school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
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.