Summer afternoons · Story
Summer afternoons in Hermitage: an hour, start to finish
Not a review - a description. Here is roughly how an hour goes.
By the middle of a southern summer, indoors stops being second best and becomes the plan.
The nearest of the two centres to Hermitage is the one to aim at - Opry Mills in Nashville - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
Walking in
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 middle of the visit
School holidays make weekday mornings quieter than weekends - the same visit, half the noise.
If it is the first time, do not also make it a birthday. Learning a place and celebrating in it are two different visits.
The last ten minutes
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.
What sticks
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.
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 Hermitage
Families searching from Hermitage are usually weighing one thing: whether it is worth the trip for an hour of something the children have not done before. The honest answer is that it depends on the child, and the rest of this page is about telling which.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
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.
From Hermitage 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
Questions about a specific day, a group or a party are best asked directly - info@newlife-entertainment.com, or either of the numbers on the contacts page.