Mall visits · Story
Mall visits in Green Hills: a visit described
The ordinary version of a visit, without the marketing gloss.
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.
Families around Green Hills 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.
Walking in
It also means the surroundings are familiar. Children who find new places difficult arrive somewhere they have been before.
Go early if the choice is available. The first hour after opening is quieter than any hour that follows it, and quieter is easier for everybody.
The middle of the visit
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.
Mall parking means the walk from the car is short and covered, which matters more with small children than any other single detail.
The last ten minutes
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.
If one child is nervous, let them watch for the first ten minutes without being asked to join in. Almost all of them join in.
What sticks
It also means the surroundings are familiar. Children who find new places difficult arrive somewhere they have been before.
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.
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 Green Hills
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.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Green Hills. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
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.