First visit · Seasonal
First visit in Nashville: the school holidays plans
The season changes what a visit feels like more than you would expect.
Watch what they choose before suggesting anything. Children pick the machine that matches their temperament with no help at all.
The nearest of the two centres to Nashville is the one to aim at - Opry Mills in Nashville - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
Why this time of year
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.
What changes
Arrive with time in hand. The first ten minutes are always coats, looking around and deciding, and rushing them costs more than they take.
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.
What to wear
Watch what they choose before suggesting anything. Children pick the machine that matches their temperament with no help at all.
Leave a little early. A visit that ends while it is still fun is the one they ask to repeat.
Planning around it
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 snack for afterwards rather than during. Hungry children leave early and full children want to stay.
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 Nashville
Families searching from Nashville 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.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
A birthday group runs better with a rough plan of who goes where first, even if you abandon it in the first five minutes.
From Nashville 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.