Safety · First time
Safety in Matthews: what happens the first time
Nobody arrives knowing how it works. That is fine - here is how the first half hour tends to go.
Parents keep the last word. Nobody knows what a particular child will try next better than the adult standing next to them.
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Matthews. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
The first ten minutes
Safety at a children attraction is mostly about the boring things being right: slow machines, a supervised room and staff who say something before a child does anything unsafe.
The centre states that the safety of its young guests is its first priority and that the environment is controlled and supervised. Follow whatever the staff ask on the day - they can see the room.
What children do first
On the ice, the rules that matter are the ordinary ones: stay off the ice with the cars, keep away from other skaters, and warm hands make better decisions than cold ones.
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 usually goes wrong
Parents keep the last word. Nobody knows what a particular child will try next better than the adult standing next to them.
Safety at a children attraction is mostly about the boring things being right: slow machines, a supervised room and staff who say something before a child does anything unsafe.
Making the second visit better
The centre states that the safety of its young guests is its first priority and that the environment is controlled and supervised. Follow whatever the staff ask on the day - they can see the room.
Two shorter visits teach a child more than one long one. The second time they already know what they want to try, and that is when the good part starts.
Questions parents ask
Is it supervised?
The centre describes a safe, controlled and supervised environment. Staff instructions on the day come first.
Are the machines fast?
They move slowly and only when a child moves the control.
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 Matthews
Nothing about the visit assumes you know the area. The centre is inside Concord Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Concord and impossible to miss once you are there.
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.
A birthday group runs better with a rough plan of who goes where first, even if you abandon it in the first five minutes.
Coming in from Matthews 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.
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.