Summer afternoons · Local
Summer afternoons near Pineville
Written for families in and around Pineville, who mostly want to know whether it is worth the drive.
School holidays make weekday mornings quieter than weekends - the same visit, half the noise.
The nearest of the two centres to Pineville is the one to aim at - Concord Mills in Concord - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
Getting there
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.
What you will find
By the middle of a southern summer, indoors stops being second best and becomes the plan.
Agree the leaving time before you walk in, out loud, to the child. Announcing it later sounds like a punishment; agreeing it first sounds like a plan.
How long to allow
School holidays make weekday mornings quieter than weekends - the same visit, half the noise.
An hour on the ice is the most literal way to cool a child down that exists indoors.
Worth the trip?
The afternoon heat is exactly when children have the most energy and the least chance of being allowed to spend it outside.
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.
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 Pineville
Weekends bring more of Pineville out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
The quietest hour of the week is the first one on a weekday morning in term time. The busiest is Saturday around midday.
Let the child choose what to do first even when it is the thing you would have chosen last. The order matters less than the choosing.
For a Pineville family the trip works best folded into something else - the shopping that was happening anyway, a birthday that needed a venue, a Saturday that needed a plan.
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.