Summer afternoons · Compare
Summer afternoons in Goodlettsville: where it fits among family activities
Comparing like for like: what this gives you that the alternatives do not, and where the alternatives win.
An hour on the ice is the most literal way to cool a child down that exists indoors.
Nothing about the visit assumes you know the area. The centre is inside Opry Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Nashville and impossible to miss once you are there.
What it does differently
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.
Where other options win
School holidays make weekday mornings quieter than weekends - the same visit, half the noise.
Warn a nervous child about the noise before you walk in. Knowing what to expect is most of the difference between anxious and curious.
How to decide
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.
The short version
By the middle of a southern summer, indoors stops being second best and becomes the plan.
Bring a spare layer even in summer. Malls are air conditioned, rinks are colder than that, and a cold child is a child who wants to go home.
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 Goodlettsville
Parents from Goodlettsville 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.
Feed them first. Every attraction in the world is improved by not being hungry in it.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
From Goodlettsville the practical question is timing rather than distance. Arriving in the first hour after opening is worth more than shaving minutes off the drive.
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.