Winter afternoons · Ages
Winter afternoons in Donelson: is it right for a 10 year old?
Same room, completely different visit depending on how old the child is.
Dress for the room you are going to, not the car park you are crossing.
If Donelson 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.
How it lands at this age
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.
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.
What to plan for
Winter shrinks the list of things to do with children to whatever is indoors and warm, or indoors and cold on purpose.
Feed them first. Every attraction in the world is improved by not being hungry in it.
What parents notice
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.
Worth knowing
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.
Decide how long you are staying before you walk in. A visit with an end time attached to it finishes on a good note rather than a tired one.
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.
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.
Planning your visit in Donelson
A Donelson school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
Do not schedule anything immediately afterwards. An hour of concentrated play is tiring in a way that shows up in the car park, not in the room.
Nothing about the visit assumes you know the area. The centre is inside Opry Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Nashville and impossible to miss once you are there.
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
Anything time critical is worth a phone call first: hours are 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.