First visit · Tips
First visit in Midland: what experienced parents do
None of this is complicated. All of it is the difference between a good hour and a difficult one.
Leave a little early. A visit that ends while it is still fun is the one they ask to repeat.
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Midland. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
Before you leave the house
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.
When you arrive
Watch what they choose before suggesting anything. Children pick the machine that matches their temperament with no help at all.
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.
While you are there
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.
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.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
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.
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.
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 Midland
The nearest of the two centres to Midland is the one to aim at - Concord Mills in Concord - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
Count on the drive home being the conversation. Children tell you what they actually thought about twenty minutes after leaving.
Feed them first. Every attraction in the world is improved by not being hungry in it.
From Midland 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
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.