Winter afternoons · Tips
Winter afternoons in Cornelius: things worth doing differently
None of this is complicated. All of it is the difference between a good hour and a difficult one.
Winter shrinks the list of things to do with children to whatever is indoors and warm, or indoors and cold on purpose.
From Cornelius the practical question is timing rather than distance. Arriving in the first hour after opening is worth more than shaving minutes off the drive.
Before you leave the house
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.
When you arrive
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.
Go early if the choice is available. The first hour after opening is quieter than any hour that follows it, and quieter is easier for everybody.
While you are there
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.
On the way home
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.
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 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.
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 Cornelius
The nearest of the two centres to Cornelius is the one to aim at - Concord Mills in Concord - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
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.
A short visit that ends while they still want more beats a long one that ends in a meltdown, every time.
A Cornelius 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.