The view from the rail · Tips
The view from the rail in Davidson: practical tips
None of this is complicated. All of it is the difference between a good hour and a difficult one.
Everything happens in one room. There is no wandering off to another floor and no moment of not knowing where they are.
If Davidson 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
The pace is slow enough to talk over. Parents end up chatting at the rail rather than shouting over a soundtrack.
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.
When you arrive
Phones come out, and for once the photographs are worth keeping: a full bucket, a spin, a first lap without the wall.
Feed them first. Every attraction in the world is improved by not being hungry in it.
While you are there
Everything happens in one room. There is no wandering off to another floor and no moment of not knowing where they are.
The pace is slow enough to talk over. Parents end up chatting at the rail rather than shouting over a soundtrack.
On the way home
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.
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.
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.
Where is New Life Entertainment?
Two centres: 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214, and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027.
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.
Planning your visit in Davidson
Nothing about the visit assumes you know the area. The centre is inside Concord Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Concord and impossible to miss once you are there.
Bring a spare layer even in summer. Malls are air conditioned, rinks are colder than that, and a cold child is a child who wants to go home.
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.
Weekends bring more of Davidson out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
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
Anything time critical is worth a phone call first: hours are 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.