Group visit · Tips
Group visit in Davidson: practical tips
None of this is complicated. All of it is the difference between a good hour and a difficult one.
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.
The nearest of the two centres to Davidson is the one to aim at - Concord Mills in Concord - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
Before you leave the house
Group visits are worth arranging in advance so the centre knows how many are coming and when - a call does it.
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.
When you arrive
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.
Decide how long you are staying before you walk in. A visit with an end time attached to it finishes on a good note rather than a tired one.
While you are there
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.
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.
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
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.
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 Davidson
Families searching from Davidson 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.
Go early if the choice is available. The first hour after opening is quieter than any hour that follows it, and quieter is easier for everybody.
Do not schedule anything immediately afterwards. An hour of concentrated play is tiring in a way that shows up in the car park, not in the room.
Families around Davidson who have done it once tend to plan the second visit differently: shorter, earlier in the day, and with the machine the child liked in mind.
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.