The excavator yard · First time
The excavator yard in La Vergne: a first visit, step by step
A first visit has a shape to it, and knowing the shape takes most of the guesswork out.
The whole XCAV area reads like a small construction yard: four machines around one crate, everything at child height, everything meant to be touched.
A La Vergne school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
The first ten minutes
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.
What children do first
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.
A birthday group runs better with a rough plan of who goes where first, even if you abandon it in the first five minutes.
What usually goes wrong
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.
Making the second visit better
Parents watch from the rail, close enough to talk and far enough not to be operating the machine themselves, which is the point.
If one child is nervous, let them watch for the first ten minutes without being asked to join in. Almost all of them join in.
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 La Vergne
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like La Vergne. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
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.
The drive back to La Vergne is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
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.