Mini excavator · Guide
Mini excavator in East Nashville: everything worth knowing
Everything below is the sort of thing you would want to know before the drive rather than after it.
Parents tend to stand at the rail and narrate. By the third scoop most of them have stopped narrating and started filming.
Weekends bring more of East Nashville out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
What it actually is
The seat is at child height and the whole machine is built around a child-sized reach, so nobody is stretching for a control they cannot see.
If it is the first time, do not also make it a birthday. Learning a place and celebrating in it are two different visits.
Who it suits
Because the arm moves slowly, there is time to think between one movement and the next. Children who find fast rides overwhelming often last far longer here than their parents expect.
The mini excavator is the machine most children head for first. It sits on rubber tracks at the edge of the crate, the arm reaches out over the balls, and the controls are the two levers in front of the seat rather than anything on a screen.
What to expect
Working the bucket is a two-handed job. One lever swings the arm, the other drops and curls the bucket, and the first few scoops usually come up empty. That is the part children remember: the moment the timing clicks and the bucket comes up full.
Bring a spare layer even in summer. Malls are air conditioned, rinks are colder than that, and a cold child is a child who wants to go home.
Before you go
Nothing about it is automatic. The machine does exactly what the hands do, which is why a five year old and a ten year old get completely different runs out of the same two minutes.
Parents tend to stand at the rail and narrate. By the third scoop most of them have stopped narrating and started filming.
Questions parents ask
Does a child need to know how to use it?
No. The two levers are the whole system, and most children work out which one does what within a minute of sitting down.
Is the arm heavy or fast?
It moves slowly and deliberately. The pace is part of why it suits younger children.
What if my child cannot reach?
The seat and the controls are built for children rather than adults, so the reach is short by design.
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 East Nashville
For a East Nashville 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.
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 quietest hour of the week is the first one on a weekday morning in term time. The busiest is Saturday around midday.
If East Nashville 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
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.