Rainy afternoons · Ages
Rainy afternoons with a 10 year old in Mount Juliet
Same room, completely different visit depending on how old the child is.
Both venues sit inside shopping centres, so the walk from the parking to the attraction is under cover.
Coming in from Mount Juliet with more than one child, the useful thing to know is that the room does not need to be rationed - there is more than one thing to do at the same time.
How it lands at this age
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.
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.
What to plan for
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.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
What parents notice
Both venues sit inside shopping centres, so the walk from the parking to the attraction is under cover.
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.
Worth knowing
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.
Take the phone out of your pocket before they start rather than after. The moment worth filming is usually the first one.
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.
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 Mount Juliet
Weekends bring more of Mount Juliet out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
Count on the drive home being the conversation. Children tell you what they actually thought about twenty minutes after leaving.
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.
The nearest of the two centres to Mount Juliet is the one to aim at - Opry Mills in Nashville - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
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.