Visiting as a group · Guide
Visiting as a group in Pineville: a parent guide
Written for the parent doing the planning rather than the child doing the asking.
Any adult who has taken six children anywhere knows the failure mode: five occupied, one bored, and the bored one setting the tone.
Families searching from Pineville 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.
What it actually is
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.
Who it suits
Split a group by what they want rather than by age. The child who wants to watch is having a good time too.
Bring a spare layer even in summer. Malls are air conditioned, rinks are colder than that, and a cold child is a child who wants to go home.
What to expect
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.
Before you go
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.
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.
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.
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.
Planning your visit in Pineville
The drive back to Pineville is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
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.
If it is the first time, do not also make it a birthday. Learning a place and celebrating in it are two different visits.
For a Pineville 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
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.