Grabber crane · Occasion
Grabber crane for a half term day in Mount Juliet
Here is how the day tends to run and what is worth arranging in advance.
It is the machine parents underestimate. The long boom looks unwieldy from outside the rail and turns out to be the one children queue for twice.
The nearest of the two centres to Mount Juliet is the one to aim at - Opry Mills in Nashville - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
Why it fits the occasion
The grabber crane has the longest boom of the four machines and a claw on the line, so it reaches the far side of the crate where the balls pile up.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
How the day runs
Set against the other three, it is the machine that most rewards a plan: pick the spot, get the claw there, then close.
Long reach means small movements at the controls turn into big movements at the claw. Children work that out fast and start moving in smaller and smaller nudges.
What to arrange first
It is the machine parents underestimate. The long boom looks unwieldy from outside the rail and turns out to be the one children queue for twice.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
Small things that help
The grabber crane has the longest boom of the four machines and a claw on the line, so it reaches the far side of the crate where the balls pile up.
Set against the other three, it is the machine that most rewards a plan: pick the spot, get the claw there, then close.
Questions parents ask
What makes the boom different?
It is longer than the others, so it covers the far side of the crate and reacts to smaller inputs.
Can two children use machines at the same time?
The machines stand around the same crate and reach different parts of it, so more than one can run at once.
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 Mount Juliet
Families searching from Mount Juliet 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.
Check the day of the week against the closing time before you leave. Sunday finishes earlier than the rest of the week and catches people out.
From Mount Juliet 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.