Open session · Tips
Open session in Cornelius: what experienced parents do
None of this is complicated. All of it is the difference between a good hour and a difficult one.
It is the easiest way to find out whether a child likes skating enough for lessons, without committing to a course first.
Weekends bring more of Cornelius out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
Before you leave the house
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.
A short visit that ends while they still want more beats a long one that ends in a meltdown, every time.
When you arrive
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.
An open session is the unstructured version: no lesson, no lane, just the rink and whoever is on it.
While you are there
It is the easiest way to find out whether a child likes skating enough for lessons, without committing to a course first.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
On the way home
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.
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.
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.
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 Cornelius
Families around Cornelius 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.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
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 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
Questions about a specific day, a group or a party are best asked directly - info@newlife-entertainment.com, or either of the numbers on the contacts page.