Rainy afternoons · Compare
Rainy afternoons in La Vergne: where it fits among family activities
Comparing like for like: what this gives you that the alternatives do not, and where the alternatives win.
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.
A La Vergne school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
What it does differently
Both venues sit inside shopping centres, so the walk from the parking to the attraction is under cover.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
Where other options win
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.
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.
How to decide
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.
If two children are visiting together, plan for them to split up. Doing different things in the same room is the point of a room with different things in it.
The short version
Both venues sit inside shopping centres, so the walk from the parking to the attraction is under cover.
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.
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 La Vergne
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like La Vergne. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
Feed them first. Every attraction in the world is improved by not being hungry in it.
Weekends bring more of La Vergne out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
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.