Group visit · Occasion
Group visit in Concord — a family day out, sorted
Here is how the day tends to run and what is worth arranging in advance.
For a class group the appeal is that the activity explains itself. No briefing, no equipment to hand out, no rules that take ten minutes to teach.
Weekends bring more of Concord out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
Why it fits the occasion
It works as a reward trip, an end of term outing, or the indoor half of a day that has an outdoor half somewhere else.
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.
How the day runs
Teachers get an activity where children take turns without being told to, because the machines and the cars enforce turns by existing in limited numbers.
Group visits are worth arranging in advance so the centre knows how many are coming and when - a call does it.
What to arrange first
For a class group the appeal is that the activity explains itself. No briefing, no equipment to hand out, no rules that take ten minutes to teach.
A birthday group runs better with a rough plan of who goes where first, even if you abandon it in the first five minutes.
Small things that help
It works as a reward trip, an end of term outing, or the indoor half of a day that has an outdoor half somewhere else.
Teachers get an activity where children take turns without being told to, because the machines and the cars enforce turns by existing in limited numbers.
Questions parents ask
Can school groups visit?
Call ahead and arrange it: +1 (615) 968-4925 or info@newlife-entertainment.com.
Is it educational?
Working an arm on levers is hand eye coordination, cause and effect and patience, whatever you call it on the form.
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 Concord
Nothing about the visit assumes you know the area. The centre is inside Concord Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Concord and impossible to miss once you are there.
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.
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 drive back to Concord is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
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.