First visit · Tips
First visit in Antioch: what experienced parents do
The things nobody tells you until you have done it twice.
Watch what they choose before suggesting anything. Children pick the machine that matches their temperament with no help at all.
If Antioch 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.
Before you leave the house
A first visit works best with no schedule attached to it. Come, see what the child gravitates to, and let that decide the hour.
Two shorter visits teach a child more than one long one. The second time they already know what they want to try, and that is when the good part starts.
When you arrive
Leave a little early. A visit that ends while it is still fun is the one they ask to repeat.
Arrive with time in hand. The first ten minutes are always coats, looking around and deciding, and rushing them costs more than they take.
While you are there
Watch what they choose before suggesting anything. Children pick the machine that matches their temperament with no help at all.
If two adults are coming, split up rather than shadowing the same child. One at the rail, one free, and everybody has a better hour.
On the way home
A first visit works best with no schedule attached to it. Come, see what the child gravitates to, and let that decide the hour.
Leave a little early. A visit that ends while it is still fun is the one they ask to repeat.
Questions parents ask
What should we bring?
Warm layers for the rink, and the usual drink and snack for afterwards.
How long should we allow?
An hour is a comfortable first visit for most families.
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 Antioch
Families searching from Antioch 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.
Let the child lead the order of things. Adults optimise; children choose the thing that looks best, and they are right more often than they are wrong.
A birthday group runs better with a rough plan of who goes where first, even if you abandon it in the first five minutes.
Weekends bring more of Antioch out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
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.