The view from the rail · Guide
The view from the rail in Davidson: the practical guide
Everything below is the sort of thing you would want to know before the drive rather than after it.
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.
What it actually is
The pace is slow enough to talk over. Parents end up chatting at the rail rather than shouting over a soundtrack.
Phones come out, and for once the photographs are worth keeping: a full bucket, a spin, a first lap without the wall.
Who it suits
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.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
What to expect
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.
Before you go
Phones come out, and for once the photographs are worth keeping: a full bucket, a spin, a first lap without the wall.
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.
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.
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 Davidson
From Davidson the practical question is timing rather than distance. Arriving in the first hour after opening is worth more than shaving minutes off the drive.
A short visit that ends while they still want more beats a long one that ends in a meltdown, every time.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
The nearest of the two centres to Davidson is the one to aim at - Concord Mills in Concord - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
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.