Rainy afternoons · Tips
Rainy afternoons in Hendersonville: practical tips
None of this is complicated. All of it is the difference between a good hour and a difficult one.
Rain turns a normal afternoon into a problem to solve. An indoor attraction inside a mall solves it without anybody getting wet between the car and the door.
The drive back to Hendersonville is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
Before you leave the house
On a wet Saturday, going early beats going late. The same hour feels completely different before and after the rest of the city has the same idea.
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.
When you arrive
The trick with a rainy day is picking something that burns energy rather than something that keeps children still. Sitting through a film leaves the energy in the tank.
Both venues sit inside shopping centres, so the walk from the parking to the attraction is under cover.
While you are there
Rain turns a normal afternoon into a problem to solve. An indoor attraction inside a mall solves it without anybody getting wet between the car and the door.
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.
On the way home
On a wet Saturday, going early beats going late. The same hour feels completely different before and after the rest of the city has the same idea.
The trick with a rainy day is picking something that burns energy rather than something that keeps children still. Sitting through a film leaves the energy in the tank.
Questions parents ask
Is it fully indoors?
Both venues are inside malls - Opry Mills in Nashville and Concord Mills in Concord.
What are the opening hours?
Monday to Saturday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Sunday 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
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.
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 Hendersonville
For a Hendersonville family the trip works best folded into something else - the shopping that was happening anyway, a birthday that needed a venue, a Saturday that needed a plan.
Bring a snack for afterwards rather than during. Hungry children leave early and full children want to stay.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
A Hendersonville school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
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.