Mall visits · Seasonal
Mall visits in winter in Harrisburg
Same room, different month, different day out.
It also means the surroundings are familiar. Children who find new places difficult arrive somewhere they have been before.
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Harrisburg. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
Why this time of year
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.
What changes
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.
A short visit that ends while they still want more beats a long one that ends in a meltdown, every time.
What to wear
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.
Planning around it
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.
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.
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 Harrisburg
Families around Harrisburg 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.
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.
If two children are visiting together, plan for them to split up. Doing different things in the same room is the point of a room with different things in it.
If Harrisburg is home, this is the sort of place you end up returning to rather than ticking off. That changes what a first visit is worth planning around.
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.