Photos and video · Guide
Photos and video in Franklin: a parent guide
This is the practical version - what it is, who it suits, what to bring, and what usually happens in the first ten minutes.
The site keeps a gallery of clips from both rooms - a bucket coming up full, a car spinning on the ice, first laps that end in a laugh.
Families around Franklin 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.
What it actually is
Video works better than stills here. The interesting part is always the movement - the swing of a cable, the spin of a car.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
Who it suits
For a parent with a phone, the useful thing to know is where to stand: at the rail level with the crate, or at the boards where the cars come back round.
The clips on the site were filmed in the rooms as they are. What is on the screen is what is in the room.
What to expect
The site keeps a gallery of clips from both rooms - a bucket coming up full, a car spinning on the ice, first laps that end in a laugh.
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.
Before you go
Video works better than stills here. The interesting part is always the movement - the swing of a cable, the spin of a car.
For a parent with a phone, the useful thing to know is where to stand: at the rail level with the crate, or at the boards where the cars come back round.
Questions parents ask
Can I film my child?
Parents film constantly. Be considerate of other families in the frame.
Where can I see what it looks like?
The video gallery on the site shows both rooms.
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 Franklin
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Franklin. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
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.
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.
If Franklin 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.