The excavator yard · Compare
The excavator yard in Goodlettsville, or something else?
There is no shortage of indoor options. The useful question is which one suits your particular child.
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.
From Goodlettsville the practical question is timing rather than distance. Arriving in the first hour after opening is worth more than shaving minutes off the drive.
What it does differently
Parents watch from the rail, close enough to talk and far enough not to be operating the machine themselves, which is the point.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
Where other options win
The whole XCAV area reads like a small construction yard: four machines around one crate, everything at child height, everything meant to be touched.
The yard is compact by design. Nobody loses a child in it, and that alone changes how relaxed an hour there feels.
How to decide
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.
Count on the drive home being the conversation. Children tell you what they actually thought about twenty minutes after leaving.
The short version
Parents watch from the rail, close enough to talk and far enough not to be operating the machine themselves, which is the point.
The whole XCAV area reads like a small construction yard: four machines around one crate, everything at child height, everything meant to be touched.
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.
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 Goodlettsville
A Goodlettsville school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
If it is the first time, do not also make it a birthday. Learning a place and celebrating in it are two different visits.
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.
Nothing about the visit assumes you know the area. The centre is inside Opry Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Nashville and impossible to miss once you are there.
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.