Summer afternoons · Occasion
Summer afternoons for a half term day in East Nashville
Here is how the day tends to run and what is worth arranging in advance.
By the middle of a southern summer, indoors stops being second best and becomes the plan.
A East Nashville school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
Why it fits the occasion
School holidays make weekday mornings quieter than weekends - the same visit, half the noise.
Let the child choose what to do first even when it is the thing you would have chosen last. The order matters less than the choosing.
How the day runs
The afternoon heat is exactly when children have the most energy and the least chance of being allowed to spend it outside.
An hour on the ice is the most literal way to cool a child down that exists indoors.
What to arrange first
By the middle of a southern summer, indoors stops being second best and becomes the plan.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
Small things that help
School holidays make weekday mornings quieter than weekends - the same visit, half the noise.
The afternoon heat is exactly when children have the most energy and the least chance of being allowed to spend it outside.
Questions parents ask
Is it air conditioned?
Both venues are inside malls, and the ice park is a rink.
When is it quietest in the holidays?
Weekday mornings, generally.
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 East Nashville
The nearest of the two centres to East Nashville is the one to aim at - Opry Mills in Nashville - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
Decide how long you are staying before you walk in. A visit with an end time attached to it finishes on a good note rather than a tired one.
If it is the first time, do not also make it a birthday. Learning a place and celebrating in it are two different visits.
If you are coming from East Nashville, treat it as a cross-town outing rather than a day trip. Go with a return time in mind and the day stays easy.
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.