The excavator yard · First time
The excavator yard in Smyrna: a first visit, step by step
Nobody arrives knowing how it works. That is fine - here is how the first half hour tends to go.
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 Smyrna the practical question is timing rather than distance. Arriving in the first hour after opening is worth more than shaving minutes off the drive.
The first ten minutes
The whole XCAV area reads like a small construction yard: four machines around one crate, everything at child height, everything meant to be touched.
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.
What children do first
Parents watch from the rail, close enough to talk and far enough not to be operating the machine themselves, which is the point.
The yard is compact by design. Nobody loses a child in it, and that alone changes how relaxed an hour there feels.
What usually goes wrong
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.
If two children are visiting together, plan for them to split up. Doing different things in the same room is the point of a room with different things in it.
Making the second visit better
The whole XCAV area reads like a small construction yard: four machines around one crate, everything at child height, everything meant to be touched.
Parents watch from the rail, close enough to talk and far enough not to be operating the machine themselves, which is the point.
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 Smyrna
Families around Smyrna who have done it once tend to plan the second visit differently: shorter, earlier in the day, and with the machine the child liked in mind.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
The drive back to Smyrna 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
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.