The excavator yard · Tips
The excavator yard in Donelson: practical tips
None of this is complicated. All of it is the difference between a good hour and a difficult one.
The whole XCAV area reads like a small construction yard: four machines around one crate, everything at child height, everything meant to be touched.
If Donelson 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.
Before you leave the house
There is no queue system built into the layout - the machines stand apart, so a family with two children can usually get them both working at once.
Bring a snack for afterwards rather than during. Hungry children leave early and full children want to stay.
When you arrive
The yard is compact by design. Nobody loses a child in it, and that alone changes how relaxed an hour there feels.
Parents watch from the rail, close enough to talk and far enough not to be operating the machine themselves, which is the point.
While you are there
The whole XCAV area reads like a small construction yard: four machines around one crate, everything at child height, everything meant to be touched.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
On the way home
There is no queue system built into the layout - the machines stand apart, so a family with two children can usually get them both working at once.
The yard is compact by design. Nobody loses a child in it, and that alone changes how relaxed an hour there feels.
Questions parents ask
How many machines are there?
Four: a tower crane, a mini excavator, a claw excavator and a grabber crane.
Can parents stay with their child?
The rail runs around the crate, so parents stay within arm reach the whole time.
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 Donelson
Families searching from Donelson 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.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
The quietest hour of the week is the first one on a weekday morning in term time. The busiest is Saturday around midday.
The nearest of the two centres to Donelson is the one to aim at - Opry Mills in Nashville - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
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.