Winter afternoons · First time
Winter afternoons in Concord Mills: a first visit, step by step
A first visit has a shape to it, and knowing the shape takes most of the guesswork out.
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.
Nothing about the visit assumes you know the area. The centre is inside Concord Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Concord and impossible to miss once you are there.
The first ten minutes
Dress for the room you are going to, not the car park you are crossing.
Winter shrinks the list of things to do with children to whatever is indoors and warm, or indoors and cold on purpose.
What children do first
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.
If it is the first time, do not also make it a birthday. Learning a place and celebrating in it are two different visits.
What usually goes wrong
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.
Dress for the room you are going to, not the car park you are crossing.
Making the second visit better
Winter shrinks the list of things to do with children to whatever is indoors and warm, or indoors and cold on purpose.
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.
Questions parents ask
Is the rink cold?
It is a real rink, so yes. Layers and gloves make the difference.
Where is New Life Entertainment?
Two centres: 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214, and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027.
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 Concord Mills
From Concord Mills the practical question is timing rather than distance. Arriving in the first hour after opening is worth more than shaving minutes off the drive.
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.
Take the phone out of your pocket before they start rather than after. The moment worth filming is usually the first one.
Coming in from Concord Mills with more than one child, the useful thing to know is that the room does not need to be rationed - there is more than one thing to do at the same time.
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.