First visit · Story
First visit in Charlotte: an hour, start to finish
Not a review - a description. Here is roughly how an hour goes.
Arrive with time in hand. The first ten minutes are always coats, looking around and deciding, and rushing them costs more than they take.
From Charlotte the practical question is timing rather than distance. Arriving in the first hour after opening is worth more than shaving minutes off the drive.
Walking in
Leave a little early. A visit that ends while it is still fun is the one they ask to repeat.
Watch what they choose before suggesting anything. Children pick the machine that matches their temperament with no help at all.
The middle of the visit
A first visit works best with no schedule attached to it. Come, see what the child gravitates to, and let that decide the hour.
If it is the first time, do not also make it a birthday. Learning a place and celebrating in it are two different visits.
The last ten minutes
Arrive with time in hand. The first ten minutes are always coats, looking around and deciding, and rushing them costs more than they take.
Leave a little early. A visit that ends while it is still fun is the one they ask to repeat.
What sticks
Watch what they choose before suggesting anything. Children pick the machine that matches their temperament with no help at all.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
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.
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 Charlotte
Families searching from Charlotte 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.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
Warn a nervous child about the noise before you walk in. Knowing what to expect is most of the difference between anxious and curious.
The nearest of the two centres to Charlotte 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
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.