Mall visits · Local
Mall visits around Midland: worth the drive?
If you are searching from Midland, this is the practical answer.
Mall parking means the walk from the car is short and covered, which matters more with small children than any other single detail.
For a Midland family the trip works best folded into something else - the shopping that was happening anyway, a birthday that needed a venue, a Saturday that needed a plan.
Getting there
Opry Mills in Nashville and Concord Mills in Concord are destinations in their own right, so an hour at the attraction fits into a day that was happening anyway.
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.
What you will find
Both centres sit inside big shopping malls, which changes the shape of the day: park once, stay dry, and the rest of the errands are already there.
It also means the surroundings are familiar. Children who find new places difficult arrive somewhere they have been before.
How long to allow
Mall parking means the walk from the car is short and covered, which matters more with small children than any other single detail.
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.
Worth the trip?
Opry Mills in Nashville and Concord Mills in Concord are destinations in their own right, so an hour at the attraction fits into a day that was happening anyway.
Both centres sit inside big shopping malls, which changes the shape of the day: park once, stay dry, and the rest of the errands are already there.
Questions parents ask
Which mall is it in?
Opry Mills in Nashville and Concord Mills in Concord.
Is there parking?
Both are mall locations with mall parking.
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 Midland
Families around Midland 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.
If two adults are coming, split up rather than shadowing the same child. One at the rail, one free, and everybody has a better hour.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
The drive back to Midland is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
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.