What the centre is for · Local
What the centre is for near Landis
The local version of the question: how far, how long, and is it worth it.
The last one is the one parents actually buy. Children remember the day they drove an excavator far longer than they remember most afternoons.
If you are coming from Landis, treat it as a cross-town outing rather than a day trip. Go with a return time in mind and the day stays easy.
Getting there
Educational is doing a lot of quiet work in that list. Levers, timing and patience are a curriculum nobody has to announce.
Bring a spare layer even in summer. Malls are air conditioned, rinks are colder than that, and a cold child is a child who wants to go home.
What you will find
The centre describes its aim in four parts: inspiration and creativity, safety and care, educational games and activities, and creating lasting memories.
Those are ordinary words until you watch a child work out a bucket for the first time, and then they are just a description of what happened.
How long to allow
The last one is the one parents actually buy. Children remember the day they drove an excavator far longer than they remember most afternoons.
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.
Worth the trip?
Educational is doing a lot of quiet work in that list. Levers, timing and patience are a curriculum nobody has to announce.
The centre describes its aim in four parts: inspiration and creativity, safety and care, educational games and activities, and creating lasting memories.
Questions parents ask
What is the centre aiming for?
Inspiration and creativity, safety and care, educational play, and days children remember.
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 Landis
The nearest of the two centres to Landis is the one to aim at - Concord Mills in Concord - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
Warn a nervous child about the noise before you walk in. Knowing what to expect is most of the difference between anxious and curious.
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.
If Landis 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.
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.