Mall visits · Occasion
Mall visits for a half term day in Monroe
Here is how the day tends to run and what is worth arranging in advance.
It also means the surroundings are familiar. Children who find new places difficult arrive somewhere they have been before.
A Monroe school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
Why it fits the occasion
Mall parking means the walk from the car is short and covered, which matters more with small children than any other single detail.
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.
How the day runs
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.
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 to arrange first
It also means the surroundings are familiar. Children who find new places difficult arrive somewhere they have been before.
Mall parking means the walk from the car is short and covered, which matters more with small children than any other single detail.
Small things that help
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.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
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.
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.
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 Monroe
The drive back to Monroe is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
Bring a snack for afterwards rather than during. Hungry children leave early and full children want to stay.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
Coming in from Monroe 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
The two centres are at 433 Opry Mills Drive in Nashville and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd in Concord, open 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM most days and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.