First visit · Story
First visit in Madison: a visit described
What it actually looks like when a family walks in.
Watch what they choose before suggesting anything. Children pick the machine that matches their temperament with no help at all.
Families searching from Madison 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.
Walking in
Leave a little early. A visit that ends while it is still fun is the one they ask to repeat.
Do not schedule anything immediately afterwards. An hour of concentrated play is tiring in a way that shows up in the car park, not in the room.
The middle of the visit
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.
The last ten minutes
Watch what they choose before suggesting anything. Children pick the machine that matches their temperament with no help at all.
A birthday group runs better with a rough plan of who goes where first, even if you abandon it in the first five minutes.
What sticks
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.
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.
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 Madison
The drive back to Madison is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
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.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
Weekends bring more of Madison 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.