Visiting with a toddler · Story
Visiting with a toddler in Cornelius: an hour, start to finish
The ordinary version of a visit, without the marketing gloss.
Go at the quietest hour you can manage. A toddler reads a busy room as a loud room and gets tired twice as fast.
The nearest of the two centres to Cornelius is the one to aim at - Concord Mills in Concord - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
Walking in
With a toddler the plan is short and simple. One thing, done properly, beats three things rushed.
Let the child lead the order of things. Adults optimise; children choose the thing that looks best, and they are right more often than they are wrong.
The middle of the visit
Toddlers rarely want the machine. They want the balls, the colours and the noise, and that is a complete visit at that age.
Bring the things that end visits early if they are missing: a drink, a snack for afterwards and a spare layer.
The last ten minutes
Go at the quietest hour you can manage. A toddler reads a busy room as a loud room and gets tired twice as fast.
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.
What sticks
With a toddler the plan is short and simple. One thing, done properly, beats three things rushed.
Toddlers rarely want the machine. They want the balls, the colours and the noise, and that is a complete visit at that age.
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.
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 Cornelius
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.
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.
Count on the drive home being the conversation. Children tell you what they actually thought about twenty minutes after leaving.
For a Cornelius 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
If a visit needs planning around a date, a group or a long drive, the centre is easiest to reach by phone: +1 (424) 387-6232 or +1 (615) 968-4925.