Claw excavator · Occasion
Claw excavator in Brentwood: planning a family day out around it
Here is how the day tends to run and what is worth arranging in advance.
Because it grabs rather than scoops, it works just as well when the crate has been dug over and the surface is uneven.
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.
Why it fits the occasion
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.
If it is the first time, do not also make it a birthday. Learning a place and celebrating in it are two different visits.
How the day runs
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.
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.
What to arrange first
Because it grabs rather than scoops, it works just as well when the crate has been dug over and the surface is uneven.
Bring less than you think. Coats and bags are the part of the visit nobody enjoys managing.
Small things that help
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.
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.
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 Brentwood
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.
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.
Count on the drive home being the conversation. Children tell you what they actually thought about twenty minutes after leaving.
For a Brentwood family the trip works best folded into something else - the shopping that was happening anyway, a birthday that needed a venue, a Saturday that needed a plan.
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.