Visiting as a group · First time
Visiting as a group for the first time in Gastonia
Nobody arrives knowing how it works. That is fine - here is how the first half hour tends to go.
Split a group by what they want rather than by age. The child who wants to watch is having a good time too.
For a Gastonia family the trip works best folded into something else - the shopping that was happening anyway, a birthday that needed a venue, a Saturday that needed a plan.
The first ten minutes
Any adult who has taken six children anywhere knows the failure mode: five occupied, one bored, and the bored one setting the tone.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
What children do first
Tell the centre the numbers in advance and the day runs better for everyone, staff included.
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.
What usually goes wrong
Split a group by what they want rather than by age. The child who wants to watch is having a good time too.
If two children are visiting together, plan for them to split up. Doing different things in the same room is the point of a room with different things in it.
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.
Tell the centre the numbers in advance and the day runs better for everyone, staff included.
Questions parents ask
How many children can come at once?
Call ahead with your numbers and arrange it: +1 (615) 968-4925.
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.
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 Gastonia
Families searching from Gastonia are usually weighing one thing: whether it is worth the trip for an hour of something the children have not done before. The honest answer is that it depends on the child, and the rest of this page is about telling which.
Agree the leaving time before you walk in, out loud, to the child. Announcing it later sounds like a punishment; agreeing it first sounds like a plan.
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 Concord Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Concord 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
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.