Summer afternoons · Guide
Summer afternoons in Matthews: a parent guide
This is the practical version - what it is, who it suits, what to bring, and what usually happens in the first ten minutes.
School holidays make weekday mornings quieter than weekends - the same visit, half the noise.
If you are coming from Matthews, treat it as a cross-town outing rather than a day trip. Go with a return time in mind and the day stays easy.
What it actually is
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.
Who it suits
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 to expect
School holidays make weekday mornings quieter than weekends - the same visit, half the noise.
The quietest hour of the week is the first one on a weekday morning in term time. The busiest is Saturday around midday.
Before you go
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.
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 Matthews
Families searching from Matthews 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.
Count on the drive home being the conversation. Children tell you what they actually thought about twenty minutes after leaving.
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.
Families around Matthews 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.
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
The two centres are at 433 Opry Mills Drive in Nashville and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd in Concord, open 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM most days and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.