First laps on the ice · Tips
First laps on the ice in Salisbury: things worth doing differently
The things nobody tells you until you have done it twice.
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.
The drive back to Salisbury is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
Before you leave the house
Twenty minutes is a long first session. Confidence grows faster over three short visits than over one long one.
Warm layers matter more than anything else. A cold child asks to leave long before a tired one does.
When you arrive
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.
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.
While you are there
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.
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.
On the way home
Twenty minutes is a long first session. Confidence grows faster over three short visits than over one long one.
If two children are visiting together, plan for them to split up. Doing different things in the same room is the point of a room with different things 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.
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.
Planning your visit in Salisbury
From Salisbury the practical question is timing rather than distance. Arriving in the first hour after opening is worth more than shaving minutes off the drive.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
Feed them first. Every attraction in the world is improved by not being hungry in it.
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Salisbury. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
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
Anything time critical is worth a phone call first: hours are 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.