Group visit · Seasonal
Group visit in Opry Mills: autumn plans
The season changes what a visit feels like more than you would expect.
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 you are coming from Opry Mills, treat it as a cross-town outing rather than a day trip. Go with a return time in mind and the day stays easy.
Why this time of year
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.
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.
What changes
Group visits are worth arranging in advance so the centre knows how many are coming and when - a call does it.
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.
What to wear
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.
Planning around 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.
Group visits are worth arranging in advance so the centre knows how many are coming and when - a call does it.
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.
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.
Planning your visit in Opry Mills
Families around Opry Mills 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.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
A birthday group runs better with a rough plan of who goes where first, even if you abandon it in the first five minutes.
Nothing about the visit assumes you know the area. The centre is inside Opry Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Nashville and impossible to miss once you are there.
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.