Summer afternoons · Story
Summer afternoons in Gastonia: what an afternoon looks like
What it actually looks like when a family walks in.
The afternoon heat is exactly when children have the most energy and the least chance of being allowed to spend it outside.
Coming in from Gastonia 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.
Walking in
By the middle of a southern summer, indoors stops being second best and becomes the plan.
An hour on the ice is the most literal way to cool a child down that exists indoors.
The middle of the visit
School holidays make weekday mornings quieter than weekends - the same visit, half the noise.
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 last ten minutes
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 sticks
An hour on the ice is the most literal way to cool a child down that exists indoors.
Bring less than you think. Coats and bags are the part of the visit nobody enjoys managing.
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 Gastonia
A Gastonia school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
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.
If two children are visiting together, plan for them to split up. Doing different things in the same room is the point of a room with different things in it.
The nearest of the two centres to Gastonia is the one to aim at - Concord Mills in Concord - 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
If a visit needs planning around a date, a group or a long drive, the centre is easiest to reach by phone: +1 (424) 387-6232 or +1 (615) 968-4925.