Open session · Guide
Open session in Midland: everything worth knowing
Everything below is the sort of thing you would want to know before the drive rather than after it.
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.
A Midland school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
What it actually is
It is the easiest way to find out whether a child likes skating enough for lessons, without committing to a course first.
Feed them first. Every attraction in the world is improved by not being hungry in it.
Who it suits
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.
An open session is the unstructured version: no lesson, no lane, just the rink and whoever is on it.
What to expect
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.
Agree the leaving time before you walk in, out loud, to the child. Announcing it later sounds like a punishment; agreeing it first sounds like a plan.
Before you go
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.
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 Midland
Families searching from Midland are usually weighing one thing: whether it is worth the trip for an hour of something the children have not done before. The honest answer is that it depends on the child, and the rest of this page is about telling which.
A short visit that ends while they still want more beats a long one that ends in a meltdown, every time.
Check the day of the week against the closing time before you leave. Sunday finishes earlier than the rest of the week and catches people out.
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Midland. 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
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.