Group visit · Story
Group visit in Nashville: what an afternoon looks like
The ordinary version of a visit, without the marketing gloss.
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 drive back to Nashville is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
Walking in
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.
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 middle of the visit
Group visits are worth arranging in advance so the centre knows how many are coming and when - a call does it.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
The last ten minutes
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 sticks
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.
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.
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 Nashville
If Nashville 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.
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 less than you think. Coats and bags are the part of the visit nobody enjoys managing.
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Nashville. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
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
Questions about a specific day, a group or a party are best asked directly - info@newlife-entertainment.com, or either of the numbers on the contacts page.