Group visit · Tips
Group visit in Concord: practical tips
Small changes that make a visit go better, learned the ordinary way.
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.
Parents from Concord tend to ask the same first question: how long will this hold their attention. Long enough to be worth the drive, and short enough to leave while they still want more.
Before you leave the house
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.
Bring a snack for afterwards rather than during. Hungry children leave early and full children want to stay.
When you arrive
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.
Group visits are worth arranging in advance so the centre knows how many are coming and when - a call does it.
While you are there
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.
Let the child choose what to do first even when it is the thing you would have chosen last. The order matters less than the choosing.
On the way home
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.
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.
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.
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 Concord
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.
Two shorter visits teach a child more than one long one. The second time they already know what they want to try, and that is when the good part starts.
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.
From Concord 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.