Summer afternoons · First time
Summer afternoons in Midland: what happens the first time
Nobody arrives knowing how it works. That is fine - here is how the first half hour tends to go.
School holidays make weekday mornings quieter than weekends - the same visit, half the noise.
The drive back to Midland is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
The first ten minutes
An hour on the ice is the most literal way to cool a child down that exists indoors.
Go early if the choice is available. The first hour after opening is quieter than any hour that follows it, and quieter is easier for everybody.
What children do first
By the middle of a southern summer, indoors stops being second best and becomes the plan.
The afternoon heat is exactly when children have the most energy and the least chance of being allowed to spend it outside.
What usually goes wrong
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.
Making the second visit better
An hour on the ice is the most literal way to cool a child down that exists indoors.
By the middle of a southern summer, indoors stops being second best and becomes the plan.
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 Midland
If Midland 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.
Take the phone out of your pocket before they start rather than after. The moment worth filming is usually the first one.
Decide how long you are staying before you walk in. A visit with an end time attached to it finishes on a good note rather than a tired one.
Parents from Midland 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 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.