Visiting with a toddler · First time
Visiting with a toddler in Old Hickory: a first visit, step by step
A first visit has a shape to it, and knowing the shape takes most of the guesswork out.
Go at the quietest hour you can manage. A toddler reads a busy room as a loud room and gets tired twice as fast.
For a Old Hickory 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 first ten minutes
Bring the things that end visits early if they are missing: a drink, a snack for afterwards and a spare layer.
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.
What children do first
Toddlers rarely want the machine. They want the balls, the colours and the noise, and that is a complete visit at that age.
With a toddler the plan is short and simple. One thing, done properly, beats three things rushed.
What usually goes wrong
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 lead the order of things. Adults optimise; children choose the thing that looks best, and they are right more often than they are wrong.
Making the second visit better
Bring the things that end visits early if they are missing: a drink, a snack for afterwards and a spare layer.
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.
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 Old Hickory
Nothing about the visit assumes you know the area. The centre is inside Opry Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Nashville and impossible to miss once you are there.
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.
Feed them first. Every attraction in the world is improved by not being hungry in it.
The nearest of the two centres to Old Hickory is the one to aim at - Opry Mills in Nashville - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
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.