First visit · Compare
First visit in Monroe, or something else?
An honest look at where it fits.
Watch what they choose before suggesting anything. Children pick the machine that matches their temperament with no help at all.
A Monroe school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
What it does differently
A first visit works best with no schedule attached to it. Come, see what the child gravitates to, and let that decide the hour.
Count on the drive home being the conversation. Children tell you what they actually thought about twenty minutes after leaving.
Where other options win
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.
How to decide
Watch what they choose before suggesting anything. Children pick the machine that matches their temperament with no help at all.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
The short version
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.
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 Monroe
Weekends bring more of Monroe out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
Feed them first. Every attraction in the world is improved by not being hungry in it.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
For a Monroe 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.
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
Questions about a specific day, a group or a party are best asked directly - info@newlife-entertainment.com, or either of the numbers on the contacts page.