The view from the rail · Tips
The view from the rail in La Vergne: things worth doing differently
Small changes that make a visit go better, learned the ordinary way.
Phones come out, and for once the photographs are worth keeping: a full bucket, a spin, a first lap without the wall.
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.
Before you leave the house
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.
Let the child lead the order of things. Adults optimise; children choose the thing that looks best, and they are right more often than they are wrong.
When you arrive
The pace is slow enough to talk over. Parents end up chatting at the rail rather than shouting over a soundtrack.
Everything happens in one room. There is no wandering off to another floor and no moment of not knowing where they are.
While you are there
Phones come out, and for once the photographs are worth keeping: a full bucket, a spin, a first lap without the wall.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
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.
The pace is slow enough to talk over. Parents end up chatting at the rail rather than shouting over a soundtrack.
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.
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 La Vergne
From La Vergne the practical question is timing rather than distance. Arriving in the first hour after opening is worth more than shaving minutes off the drive.
Take the phone out of your pocket before they start rather than after. The moment worth filming is usually the first one.
A short visit that ends while they still want more beats a long one that ends in a meltdown, every time.
Nothing about the visit assumes you know the area. The centre is inside Opry Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Nashville and impossible to miss once you are there.
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.