Grabber crane · Faq
Grabber crane in Old Hickory: common questions answered
Short answers to the things worth knowing in advance.
Set against the other three, it is the machine that most rewards a plan: pick the spot, get the claw there, then close.
If Old Hickory is home, this is the sort of place you end up returning to rather than ticking off. That changes what a first visit is worth planning around.
The short answers
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.
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.
The longer answers
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 phone out of your pocket before they start rather than after. The moment worth filming is usually the first one.
Still worth asking on the day
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.
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.
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 Old Hickory
Weekends bring more of Old Hickory 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.
Warn a nervous child about the noise before you walk in. Knowing what to expect is most of the difference between anxious and curious.
A Old Hickory 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
The two centres are at 433 Opry Mills Drive in Nashville and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd in Concord, open 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM most days and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.