Visiting with a toddler · Local
Visiting with a toddler near Franklin
Written for families in and around Franklin, who mostly want to know whether it is worth the drive.
Go at the quietest hour you can manage. A toddler reads a busy room as a loud room and gets tired twice as fast.
Families around Franklin 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.
Getting there
Bring the things that end visits early if they are missing: a drink, a snack for afterwards and a spare layer.
With a toddler the plan is short and simple. One thing, done properly, beats three things rushed.
What you will find
Toddlers rarely want the machine. They want the balls, the colours and the noise, and that is a complete visit at that age.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
How long to allow
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.
Worth the trip?
With a toddler the plan is short and simple. One thing, done properly, beats three things rushed.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
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.
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 Franklin
The nearest of the two centres to Franklin is the one to aim at - Opry Mills in Nashville - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
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.
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.
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Franklin. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
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.