Visiting as a group · Guide
Visiting as a group in Bellevue: the practical guide
Everything below is the sort of thing you would want to know before the drive rather than after it.
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.
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.
What it actually is
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.
Who it suits
Tell the centre the numbers in advance and the day runs better for everyone, staff included.
Feed them first. Every attraction in the world is improved by not being hungry in it.
What to expect
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.
Before you go
Any adult who has taken six children anywhere knows the failure mode: five occupied, one bored, and the bored one setting the tone.
Two shorter visits teach a child more than one long one. The second time they already know what they want to try, and that is when the good part starts.
Questions parents ask
How many children can come at once?
Call ahead with your numbers and arrange it: +1 (615) 968-4925.
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 Bellevue
A Bellevue school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
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.
From Bellevue 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.