Visiting with a toddler · Ages
Visiting with a toddler with a 7 year old in Old Hickory
What works brilliantly at one age is a shrug at another. Here is how it lands at this one.
Go at the quietest hour you can manage. A toddler reads a busy room as a loud room and gets tired twice as fast.
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Old Hickory. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
How it lands at this age
Bring the things that end visits early if they are missing: a drink, a snack for afterwards and a spare layer.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
What to plan for
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 parents notice
Go at the quietest hour you can manage. A toddler reads a busy room as a loud room and gets tired twice as fast.
Warn a nervous child about the noise before you walk in. Knowing what to expect is most of the difference between anxious and curious.
Worth knowing
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.
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 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.
Bring a snack for afterwards rather than during. Hungry children leave early and full children want to stay.
Two shorter visits teach a child more than one long one. The second time they already know what they want to try, and that is when the good part starts.
Families searching from Old Hickory 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.
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
Questions about a specific day, a group or a party are best asked directly - info@newlife-entertainment.com, or either of the numbers on the contacts page.