The view from the rail · Story
The view from the rail in Pineville: an hour, start to finish
Not a review - a description. Here is roughly how an hour goes.
Phones come out, and for once the photographs are worth keeping: a full bucket, a spin, a first lap without the wall.
Weekends bring more of Pineville out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
Walking in
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.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
The middle of the visit
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.
The last ten minutes
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.
What sticks
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.
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 Pineville
If Pineville 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.
Check the day of the week against the closing time before you leave. Sunday finishes earlier than the rest of the week and catches people out.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
From Pineville 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.