Claw excavator · Local
Claw excavator around Mount Juliet: worth the drive?
If you are searching from Mount Juliet, this is the practical answer.
Because it grabs rather than scoops, it works just as well when the crate has been dug over and the surface is uneven.
If you are coming from Mount Juliet, treat it as a cross-town outing rather than a day trip. Go with a return time in mind and the day stays easy.
Getting there
The grab is the machine for the child who likes precision. Picking one ball out of a hundred is a different game from moving a bucketful.
The claw excavator swaps the bucket for a five finger grab. Instead of scooping, it closes around a handful of balls, which changes the whole feel of the machine.
What you will find
Children who have played claw machines at an arcade expect this one to cheat. It does not - the grab closes when they close it and holds what it holds.
Agree the leaving time before you walk in, out loud, to the child. Announcing it later sounds like a punishment; agreeing it first sounds like a plan.
How long to allow
Because it grabs rather than scoops, it works just as well when the crate has been dug over and the surface is uneven.
The grab is the machine for the child who likes precision. Picking one ball out of a hundred is a different game from moving a bucketful.
Worth the trip?
The claw excavator swaps the bucket for a five finger grab. Instead of scooping, it closes around a handful of balls, which changes the whole feel of the machine.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
Questions parents ask
Is this like an arcade claw machine?
It looks similar and behaves completely differently. Nothing releases the grab except the child holding the control.
Which machine should a first timer start with?
Most start on a bucket machine and move to the grab once they have the feel of the arm.
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 Mount Juliet
Families around Mount Juliet 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.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
The quietest hour of the week is the first one on a weekday morning in term time. The busiest is Saturday around midday.
Families searching from Mount Juliet 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.
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
If a visit needs planning around a date, a group or a long drive, the centre is easiest to reach by phone: +1 (424) 387-6232 or +1 (615) 968-4925.