Winter afternoons · First time
Winter afternoons in Davidson: a first visit, step by step
A first visit has a shape to it, and knowing the shape takes most of the guesswork out.
Winter shrinks the list of things to do with children to whatever is indoors and warm, or indoors and cold on purpose.
Coming in from Davidson 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 first ten minutes
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.
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.
What children do first
Dress for the room you are going to, not the car park you are crossing.
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.
What usually goes wrong
Winter shrinks the list of things to do with children to whatever is indoors and warm, or indoors and cold on purpose.
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.
Making the second visit better
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.
Bring a snack for afterwards rather than during. Hungry children leave early and full children want to stay.
Questions parents ask
Is the rink cold?
It is a real rink, so yes. Layers and gloves make the difference.
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.
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 Davidson
From Davidson the practical question is timing rather than distance. Arriving in the first hour after opening is worth more than shaving minutes off the drive.
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.
Count on the drive home being the conversation. Children tell you what they actually thought about twenty minutes after leaving.
For a Davidson family the trip works best folded into something else - the shopping that was happening anyway, a birthday that needed a venue, a Saturday that needed a plan.
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.