Claw excavator · First time
Claw excavator in Smyrna: what happens the first time
The first time is the one that decides whether there is a second time, so it is worth getting right.
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 drive back to Smyrna is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
The first ten minutes
Because it grabs rather than scoops, it works just as well when the crate has been dug over and the surface is uneven.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
What children do first
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 usually goes wrong
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 one child is nervous, let them watch for the first ten minutes without being asked to join in. Almost all of them join in.
Making the second visit better
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.
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.
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.
Where is New Life Entertainment?
Two centres: 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214, and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027.
Planning your visit in Smyrna
Families around Smyrna 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.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
A birthday group runs better with a rough plan of who goes where first, even if you abandon it in the first five minutes.
From Smyrna 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
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.