Winter afternoons · Local
Winter afternoons for families in Bellevue
Written for families in and around Bellevue, who mostly want to know whether it is worth the drive.
On the Nashville side the answer is the opposite - a warm room, a deep crate of balls and machines that do not care what the weather is doing.
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Bellevue. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
Getting there
Winter shrinks the list of things to do with children to whatever is indoors and warm, or indoors and cold on purpose.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
What you will find
Dress for the room you are going to, not the car park you are crossing.
An ice rink in winter is not the contradiction it sounds like: the cold is the attraction rather than the problem, and it lasts an hour rather than a day.
How long to allow
On the Nashville side the answer is the opposite - a warm room, a deep crate of balls and machines that do not care what the weather is doing.
If it is the first time, do not also make it a birthday. Learning a place and celebrating in it are two different visits.
Worth the trip?
Winter shrinks the list of things to do with children to whatever is indoors and warm, or indoors and cold on purpose.
Dress for the room you are going to, not the car park you are crossing.
Questions parents ask
Is the rink cold?
It is a real rink, so yes. Layers and gloves make the difference.
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 Bellevue
If you are coming from Bellevue, treat it as a cross-town outing rather than a day trip. Go with a return time in mind and the day stays easy.
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.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
A Bellevue school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
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.