First laps on the ice · Local
First laps on the ice around China Grove: worth the drive?
Written for families in and around China Grove, who mostly want to know whether it is worth the drive.
The advice that helps most is the least technical: bend the knees, look ahead rather than down, and take short steps instead of long glides.
Coming in from China Grove 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
Falling is part of it and is less dramatic than parents fear. Ice is slippery at walking speed, which is the speed a beginner moves at.
Warm layers matter more than anything else. A cold child asks to leave long before a tired one does.
What you will find
A first lap is mostly about the wall. Children hold it, let go of it, grab it again, and somewhere in the third lap they forget it is there.
Let the child choose what to do first even when it is the thing you would have chosen last. The order matters less than the choosing.
How long to allow
Twenty minutes is a long first session. Confidence grows faster over three short visits than over one long one.
The advice that helps most is the least technical: bend the knees, look ahead rather than down, and take short steps instead of long glides.
Worth the trip?
Falling is part of it and is less dramatic than parents fear. Ice is slippery at walking speed, which is the speed a beginner moves at.
Feed them first. Every attraction in the world is improved by not being hungry in it.
Questions parents ask
What age can a child start skating?
Children start at very different ages. What matters more is whether they are willing to hold a rail and shuffle.
How long should a first session be?
Short. Twenty minutes of trying beats an hour of being cold and frustrated.
What should they wear?
Layers, long sleeves, gloves. Gloves are the item most often forgotten and most missed.
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 China Grove
If China Grove 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.
The quietest hour of the week is the first one on a weekday morning in term time. The busiest is Saturday around midday.
A birthday group runs better with a rough plan of who goes where first, even if you abandon it in the first five minutes.
The nearest of the two centres to China Grove is the one to aim at - Concord Mills in Concord - 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.