Visiting with a toddler · Seasonal
Visiting with a toddler in the school holidays in Harrisburg
Same room, different month, different day out.
With a toddler the plan is short and simple. One thing, done properly, beats three things rushed.
The drive back to Harrisburg is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
Why this time of year
Toddlers rarely want the machine. They want the balls, the colours and the noise, and that is a complete visit at that age.
A short visit that ends while they still want more beats a long one that ends in a meltdown, every time.
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.
Bring the things that end visits early if they are missing: a drink, a snack for afterwards and a spare layer.
What to wear
With a toddler the plan is short and simple. One thing, done properly, beats three things rushed.
If it is the first time, do not also make it a birthday. Learning a place and celebrating in it are two different visits.
Planning around it
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.
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.
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.
Planning your visit in Harrisburg
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Harrisburg. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
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.
Take the phone out of your pocket before they start rather than after. The moment worth filming is usually the first one.
Weekends bring more of Harrisburg out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
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.