Grabber crane · Guide
Grabber crane in Goodlettsville: everything worth knowing
Everything below is the sort of thing you would want to know before the drive rather than after it.
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.
Nothing about the visit assumes you know the area. The centre is inside Opry Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Nashville and impossible to miss once you are there.
What it actually is
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.
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.
Who it suits
Set against the other three, it is the machine that most rewards a plan: pick the spot, get the claw there, then close.
If it is the first time, do not also make it a birthday. Learning a place and celebrating in it are two different visits.
What to expect
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.
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.
Before you go
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.
If two adults are coming, split up rather than shadowing the same child. One at the rail, one free, and everybody has a better hour.
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.
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.
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 Goodlettsville
For a Goodlettsville 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.
Bring a snack for afterwards rather than during. Hungry children leave early and full children want to stay.
Bring a spare layer even in summer. Malls are air conditioned, rinks are colder than that, and a cold child is a child who wants to go home.
A Goodlettsville school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
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.