First laps on the ice · Story
First laps on the ice in Pineville: a visit described
Not a review - a description. Here is roughly how an hour goes.
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.
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Pineville. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
Walking in
Warm layers matter more than anything else. A cold child asks to leave long before a tired one does.
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 middle of the visit
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.
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.
The last ten minutes
Twenty minutes is a long first session. Confidence grows faster over three short visits than over one long one.
Count on the drive home being the conversation. Children tell you what they actually thought about twenty minutes after leaving.
What sticks
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.
Warm layers matter more than anything else. A cold child asks to leave long before a tired one does.
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.
How do I get in touch?
By phone on +1 (424) 387-6232 or +1 (615) 968-4925, or by e-mail at info@newlife-entertainment.com.
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 Pineville
Families searching from Pineville 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.
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.
The drive back to Pineville is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
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.