Visiting as a group · Seasonal
Visiting as a group in Gallatin: winter plans
The season changes what a visit feels like more than you would expect.
Tell the centre the numbers in advance and the day runs better for everyone, staff included.
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Gallatin. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
Why this time of year
Split a group by what they want rather than by age. The child who wants to watch is having a good time too.
The quietest hour of the week is the first one on a weekday morning in term time. The busiest is Saturday around midday.
What changes
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.
Any adult who has taken six children anywhere knows the failure mode: five occupied, one bored, and the bored one setting the tone.
What to wear
Tell the centre the numbers in advance and the day runs better for everyone, staff included.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
Planning around it
Split a group by what they want rather than by age. The child who wants to watch is having a good time too.
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.
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 Gallatin
If Gallatin 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.
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.
For a Gallatin 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 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.