Visiting with a toddler · Story
Visiting with a toddler in Murfreesboro: what an afternoon looks like
The ordinary version of a visit, without the marketing gloss.
With a toddler the plan is short and simple. One thing, done properly, beats three things rushed.
If Murfreesboro 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.
Walking in
Toddlers rarely want the machine. They want the balls, the colours and the noise, and that is a complete visit at that age.
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 middle of the visit
Bring the things that end visits early if they are missing: a drink, a snack for afterwards and a spare layer.
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.
The last ten minutes
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.
What sticks
Go at the quietest hour you can manage. A toddler reads a busy room as a loud room and gets tired twice as fast.
Let the child choose what to do first even when it is the thing you would have chosen last. The order matters less than the choosing.
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 Murfreesboro
Families searching from Murfreesboro 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.
A short visit that ends while they still want more beats a long one that ends in a meltdown, every time.
Count on the drive home being the conversation. Children tell you what they actually thought about twenty minutes after leaving.
For a Murfreesboro 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.