The view from the rail · Faq
The view from the rail in Concord: the questions parents ask
Short answers to the things worth knowing in advance.
The measure of a family attraction is not what the children do, it is what the adults do while they do it. Standing where you can see and hear them counts for a lot.
A Concord school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
The short answers
The pace is slow enough to talk over. Parents end up chatting at the rail rather than shouting over a soundtrack.
A birthday group runs better with a rough plan of who goes where first, even if you abandon it in the first five minutes.
The longer answers
Everything happens in one room. There is no wandering off to another floor and no moment of not knowing where they are.
Phones come out, and for once the photographs are worth keeping: a full bucket, a spin, a first lap without the wall.
Still worth asking on the day
The measure of a family attraction is not what the children do, it is what the adults do while they do it. Standing where you can see and hear them counts for a lot.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
Questions parents ask
Can I watch the whole time?
The activity is in one room and the viewing is from the rail or the boards.
Is it loud?
It is a children attraction rather than an arcade. The machines are slow and the noise is mostly the children.
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.
Where is New Life Entertainment?
Two centres: 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214, and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027.
Planning your visit in Concord
Families searching from Concord 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.
Decide how long you are staying before you walk in. A visit with an end time attached to it finishes on a good note rather than a tired one.
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.
From Concord 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 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.