First visit · Guide
First visit in Donelson: a parent guide
Everything below is the sort of thing you would want to know before the drive rather than after it.
Leave a little early. A visit that ends while it is still fun is the one they ask to repeat.
Parents from Donelson tend to ask the same first question: how long will this hold their attention. Long enough to be worth the drive, and short enough to leave while they still want more.
What it actually is
Arrive with time in hand. The first ten minutes are always coats, looking around and deciding, and rushing them costs more than they take.
A first visit works best with no schedule attached to it. Come, see what the child gravitates to, and let that decide the hour.
Who it suits
Watch what they choose before suggesting anything. Children pick the machine that matches their temperament with no help at all.
The quietest hour of the week is the first one on a weekday morning in term time. The busiest is Saturday around midday.
What to expect
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.
Before you go
A first visit works best with no schedule attached to it. Come, see what the child gravitates to, and let that decide the hour.
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.
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 Donelson
For a Donelson family the trip works best folded into something else - the shopping that was happening anyway, a birthday that needed a venue, a Saturday that needed a plan.
Decide how long you are staying before you walk in. A visit with an end time attached to it finishes on a good note rather than a tired one.
A short visit that ends while they still want more beats a long one that ends in a meltdown, every time.
From Donelson the practical question is timing rather than distance. Arriving in the first hour after opening is worth more than shaving minutes off the drive.
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.