Ice bumper cars · Story
Ice bumper cars in Charlotte: an hour, start to finish
What it actually looks like when a family walks in.
Bumper cars on ice do something bumper cars on a floor cannot: they keep spinning. A nudge that would stop dead on rubber sends the whole car turning, and everybody in it laughs.
Families searching from Charlotte 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.
Walking in
No skating is involved. Children who would not step onto the ice on blades will sit in a car and go straight out onto the same surface without thinking about it.
The rink underneath is real ice, which is why the cars behave the way they do. On any other surface it is a different, duller ride.
The middle of the visit
The cars turn on the spot, so the game is less about racing and more about aim - and about the spin you leave behind when you connect.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
The last ten minutes
It suits families with mixed confidence. One child can be a natural on skates and the other can be nervous, and the cars put them on the same footing.
Bumper cars on ice do something bumper cars on a floor cannot: they keep spinning. A nudge that would stop dead on rubber sends the whole car turning, and everybody in it laughs.
What sticks
No skating is involved. Children who would not step onto the ice on blades will sit in a car and go straight out onto the same surface without thinking about it.
Let the child lead the order of things. Adults optimise; children choose the thing that looks best, and they are right more often than they are wrong.
Questions parents ask
Do you need to skate to ride?
No. The cars sit on the ice and the rider stays in the seat.
Is it rough?
It is a bump and a spin rather than a crash. The speed is low and the ice does most of the work.
What should a child wear?
Something warm. A rink is cold even when the ride is not.
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 Charlotte
A Charlotte school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
Weekends bring more of Charlotte out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
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.