First visit · First time
First visit in China Grove: what happens the first time
The first time is the one that decides whether there is a second time, so it is worth getting right.
Watch what they choose before suggesting anything. Children pick the machine that matches their temperament with no help at all.
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like China Grove. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
The first ten minutes
Leave a little early. A visit that ends while it is still fun is the one they ask to repeat.
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.
What children do first
A first visit works best with no schedule attached to it. Come, see what the child gravitates to, and let that decide the hour.
Arrive with time in hand. The first ten minutes are always coats, looking around and deciding, and rushing them costs more than they take.
What usually goes wrong
Watch what they choose before suggesting anything. Children pick the machine that matches their temperament with no help at all.
Bring a spare layer even in summer. Malls are air conditioned, rinks are colder than that, and a cold child is a child who wants to go home.
Making the second visit better
Leave a little early. A visit that ends while it is still fun is the one they ask to repeat.
A first visit works best with no schedule attached to it. Come, see what the child gravitates to, and let that decide the hour.
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 China Grove
Families around China Grove who have done it once tend to plan the second visit differently: shorter, earlier in the day, and with the machine the child liked in mind.
Agree the leaving time before you walk in, out loud, to the child. Announcing it later sounds like a punishment; agreeing it first sounds like a plan.
The quietest hour of the week is the first one on a weekday morning in term time. The busiest is Saturday around midday.
Weekends bring more of China Grove 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
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.