Visiting with a toddler · Story
Visiting with a toddler in Salisbury: a visit described
Not a review - a description. Here is roughly how an hour goes.
Bring the things that end visits early if they are missing: a drink, a snack for afterwards and a spare layer.
Families around Salisbury 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.
Walking in
With a toddler the plan is short and simple. One thing, done properly, beats three things rushed.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
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.
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 last ten minutes
Bring the things that end visits early if they are missing: a drink, a snack for afterwards and a spare layer.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
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.
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.
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 Salisbury
If Salisbury 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.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
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.
If you are coming from Salisbury, treat it as a cross-town outing rather than a day trip. Go with a return time in mind and the day stays easy.
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.