Summer afternoons · First time
Summer afternoons in China Grove: what happens the first time
The first time is the one that decides whether there is a second time, so it is worth getting right.
By the middle of a southern summer, indoors stops being second best and becomes the plan.
Parents from China Grove tend to ask the same first question: how long will this hold their attention. Long enough to be worth the drive, and short enough to leave while they still want more.
The first ten minutes
The afternoon heat is exactly when children have the most energy and the least chance of being allowed to spend it outside.
Feed them first. Every attraction in the world is improved by not being hungry in it.
What children do first
School holidays make weekday mornings quieter than weekends - the same visit, half the noise.
An hour on the ice is the most literal way to cool a child down that exists indoors.
What usually goes wrong
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.
Making the second visit better
The afternoon heat is exactly when children have the most energy and the least chance of being allowed to spend it outside.
School holidays make weekday mornings quieter than weekends - the same visit, half the noise.
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.
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.
Planning your visit in China Grove
Coming in from China Grove 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.
Count on the drive home being the conversation. Children tell you what they actually thought about twenty minutes after leaving.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
If China Grove is home, this is the sort of place you end up returning to rather than ticking off. That changes what a first visit is worth planning around.
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.