Visiting with a toddler · Occasion
Visiting with a toddler in Charlotte: planning a weekend afternoon around it
Same attraction, different day, different set of things to sort out beforehand.
Bring the things that end visits early if they are missing: a drink, a snack for afterwards and a spare layer.
Families around Charlotte 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.
Why it fits the occasion
With a toddler the plan is short and simple. One thing, done properly, beats three things rushed.
Go at the quietest hour you can manage. A toddler reads a busy room as a loud room and gets tired twice as fast.
How the day runs
Toddlers rarely want the machine. They want the balls, the colours and the noise, and that is a complete visit at that age.
Do not schedule anything immediately afterwards. An hour of concentrated play is tiring in a way that shows up in the car park, not in the room.
What to arrange first
Bring the things that end visits early if they are missing: a drink, a snack for afterwards and a spare layer.
With a toddler the plan is short and simple. One thing, done properly, beats three things rushed.
Small things that help
Go at the quietest hour you can manage. A toddler reads a busy room as a loud room and gets tired twice as fast.
Take the phone out of your pocket before they start rather than after. The moment worth filming is usually the first one.
Questions parents ask
Is there anything for very young children?
The ball pit holds their attention on its own, and on the ice side the cars need no skating.
How long will a toddler last?
Plan for less than you think and leave while they still want more.
Where is New Life Entertainment?
Two centres: 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214, and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027.
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 Charlotte
Weekends bring more of Charlotte out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
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.
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.
A Charlotte 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
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.