Open session · First time
Open session in Charlotte: a first visit, step by step
A first visit has a shape to it, and knowing the shape takes most of the guesswork out.
An open session is the unstructured version: no lesson, no lane, just the rink and whoever is on it.
Nothing about the visit assumes you know the area. The centre is inside Concord Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Concord and impossible to miss once you are there.
The first ten minutes
It is the easiest way to find out whether a child likes skating enough for lessons, without committing to a course first.
Do not schedule anything immediately afterwards. An hour of concentrated play is tiring in a way that shows up in the car park, not in the room.
What children do first
Families spread out. One parent skates with the confident child, the other stays near the rail with the one who is still deciding, and both are on the same ice.
The mix of ages on an open session is part of the appeal - and the reason to keep an eye out for smaller skaters when the rink is busy.
What usually goes wrong
An open session is the unstructured version: no lesson, no lane, just the rink and whoever is on it.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
Making the second visit better
It is the easiest way to find out whether a child likes skating enough for lessons, without committing to a course first.
Families spread out. One parent skates with the confident child, the other stays near the rail with the one who is still deciding, and both are on the same ice.
Questions parents ask
Is a session structured?
An open session is free skating rather than a class.
Can parents go on the ice too?
Skating with a nervous child is usually the fastest way to get them moving.
Where is New Life Entertainment?
Two centres: 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214, and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027.
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 Charlotte
Coming in from Charlotte 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.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
A birthday group runs better with a rough plan of who goes where first, even if you abandon it in the first five minutes.
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Charlotte. 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
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.