Ice bumper cars · Tips
Ice bumper cars in Landis: what experienced parents do
None of this is complicated. All of it is the difference between a good hour and a difficult one.
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.
Weekends bring more of Landis out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
Before you leave the house
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.
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.
When you arrive
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.
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.
While you are there
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.
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.
On the way home
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.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
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.
Where is New Life Entertainment?
Two centres: 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214, and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027.
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 Landis
Nothing about the visit assumes you know the area. The centre is inside Concord Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Concord and impossible to miss once you are there.
Feed them first. Every attraction in the world is improved by not being hungry in 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.
Coming in from Landis with more than one child, the useful thing to know is that the room does not need to be rationed - there is more than one thing to do at the same time.
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.