Open session · First time
Open session in Indian Trail: what happens the first time
Nobody arrives knowing how it works. That is fine - here is how the first half hour tends to go.
It is the easiest way to find out whether a child likes skating enough for lessons, without committing to a course first.
If Indian Trail 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 first ten minutes
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.
What children do first
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.
What usually goes wrong
It is the easiest way to find out whether a child likes skating enough for lessons, without committing to a course first.
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.
Making the second visit better
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.
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 Indian Trail
From Indian Trail the practical question is timing rather than distance. Arriving in the first hour after opening is worth more than shaving minutes off the drive.
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.
Let the child lead the order of things. Adults optimise; children choose the thing that looks best, and they are right more often than they are wrong.
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Indian Trail. 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
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.