Visiting with a toddler · Seasonal
Visiting with a toddler in Madison: what the winter break is like
Same room, different month, different day out.
With a toddler the plan is short and simple. One thing, done properly, beats three things rushed.
Weekends bring more of Madison out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
Why this time of year
Bring the things that end visits early if they are missing: a drink, a snack for afterwards and a spare layer.
Count on the drive home being the conversation. Children tell you what they actually thought about twenty minutes after leaving.
What changes
Go at the quietest hour you can manage. A toddler reads a busy room as a loud room and gets tired twice as fast.
Toddlers rarely want the machine. They want the balls, the colours and the noise, and that is a complete visit at that age.
What to wear
With a toddler the plan is short and simple. One thing, done properly, beats three things rushed.
If two adults are coming, split up rather than shadowing the same child. One at the rail, one free, and everybody has a better hour.
Planning around it
Bring the things that end visits early if they are missing: a drink, a snack for afterwards and a spare layer.
Go at the quietest hour you can manage. A toddler reads a busy room as a loud room and gets tired twice as fast.
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.
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 Madison
Families searching from Madison 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.
The quietest hour of the week is the first one on a weekday morning in term time. The busiest is Saturday around midday.
Feed them first. Every attraction in the world is improved by not being hungry in it.
For a Madison 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.