Tower crane · Story
Tower crane in Bellevue: an hour, start to finish
What it actually looks like when a family walks in.
Older children usually prefer it once the novelty of the excavator has worn off, because getting a clean lift out of it is genuinely harder.
If Bellevue 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.
Walking in
The crane rewards the child who watches before touching. A few seconds of looking at how the line moves is worth more than a minute of pulling levers.
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 tower crane works on a cable rather than a jointed arm. A magnet grab goes down on the line, closes on whatever it lands on, and comes back up - which sounds simple until the line starts swinging.
Its reach covers a wide slice of the crate, so two children on different machines rarely get in each other way.
The last ten minutes
It is the machine that teaches patience. Rushing makes the cable swing wider, and a swinging line never grabs anything, so children learn to slow their hands down without anybody telling them to.
If it is the first time, do not also make it a birthday. Learning a place and celebrating in it are two different visits.
What sticks
Older children usually prefer it once the novelty of the excavator has worn off, because getting a clean lift out of it is genuinely harder.
The crane rewards the child who watches before touching. A few seconds of looking at how the line moves is worth more than a minute of pulling levers.
Questions parents ask
How is the crane different from the excavator?
The excavator has a jointed arm that goes where you put it. The crane hangs on a cable, so it swings, and stopping the swing is most of the skill.
Is it too hard for young children?
Younger children enjoy the up and down of it even when they do not manage a grab. Most of the fun is in the line.
Where is New Life Entertainment?
Two centres: 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214, and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027.
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.
Planning your visit in Bellevue
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Bellevue. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
A short visit that ends while they still want more beats a long one that ends in a meltdown, every time.
Parents from Bellevue tend to ask the same first question: how long will this hold their attention. Long enough to be worth the drive, and short enough to leave while they still want more.
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.