Visiting as a group · First time
Visiting as a group for the first time in Bellevue
The first time is the one that decides whether there is a second time, so it is worth getting right.
Four machines and one big crate spread a group out. So does a rink - there is no single queue for the whole party to stand in.
The drive back to Bellevue is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
The first ten minutes
Split a group by what they want rather than by age. The child who wants to watch is having a good time too.
Any adult who has taken six children anywhere knows the failure mode: five occupied, one bored, and the bored one setting the tone.
What children do first
Tell the centre the numbers in advance and the day runs better for everyone, staff included.
Go early if the choice is available. The first hour after opening is quieter than any hour that follows it, and quieter is easier for everybody.
What usually goes wrong
Four machines and one big crate spread a group out. So does a rink - there is no single queue for the whole party to stand in.
Split a group by what they want rather than by age. The child who wants to watch is having a good time too.
Making the second visit better
Any adult who has taken six children anywhere knows the failure mode: five occupied, one bored, and the bored one setting the tone.
Count on the drive home being the conversation. Children tell you what they actually thought about twenty minutes after leaving.
Questions parents ask
How many children can come at once?
Call ahead with your numbers and arrange it: +1 (615) 968-4925.
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
Families around Bellevue who have done it once tend to plan the second visit differently: shorter, earlier in the day, and with the machine the child liked in mind.
Decide how long you are staying before you walk in. A visit with an end time attached to it finishes on a good note rather than a tired one.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
A Bellevue school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
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.