Summer afternoons · First time
Summer afternoons for the first time in Mint Hill
A first visit has a shape to it, and knowing the shape takes most of the guesswork out.
School holidays make weekday mornings quieter than weekends - the same visit, half the noise.
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.
The first ten minutes
An hour on the ice is the most literal way to cool a child down that exists indoors.
If two adults are coming, split up rather than shadowing the same child. One at the rail, one free, and everybody has a better hour.
What children do first
The afternoon heat is exactly when children have the most energy and the least chance of being allowed to spend it outside.
By the middle of a southern summer, indoors stops being second best and becomes the plan.
What usually goes wrong
School holidays make weekday mornings quieter than weekends - the same visit, half the noise.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
Making the second visit better
An hour on the ice is the most literal way to cool a child down that exists indoors.
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.
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 Mint Hill
Families around Mint Hill who have done it once tend to plan the second visit differently: shorter, earlier in the day, and with the machine the child liked in mind.
Warn a nervous child about the noise before you walk in. Knowing what to expect is most of the difference between anxious and curious.
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.
Weekends bring more of Mint Hill 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.