Group visit · Ages
Group visit in Donelson for 6 year olds
What works brilliantly at one age is a shrug at another. Here is how it lands at this one.
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.
The nearest of the two centres to Donelson is the one to aim at - Opry Mills in Nashville - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
How it lands at this age
Group visits are worth arranging in advance so the centre knows how many are coming and when - a call does it.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
What to plan for
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.
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.
What parents notice
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.
Take the phone out of your pocket before they start rather than after. The moment worth filming is usually the first one.
Worth knowing
Group visits are worth arranging in advance so the centre knows how many are coming and when - a call does it.
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.
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 Donelson
From Donelson the practical question is timing rather than distance. Arriving in the first hour after opening is worth more than shaving minutes off the drive.
Count on the drive home being the conversation. Children tell you what they actually thought about twenty minutes after leaving.
Bring a snack for afterwards rather than during. Hungry children leave early and full children want to stay.
If Donelson 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 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.