Winter afternoons · Story
Winter afternoons in Gastonia: an hour, start to finish
Not a review - a description. Here is roughly how an hour goes.
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 Gastonia 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.
Walking in
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.
Dress for the room you are going to, not the car park you are crossing.
The middle of the visit
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.
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.
The last ten minutes
Winter shrinks the list of things to do with children to whatever is indoors and warm, or indoors and cold on purpose.
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 sticks
Dress for the room you are going to, not the car park you are crossing.
Check the day of the week against the closing time before you leave. Sunday finishes earlier than the rest of the week and catches people out.
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 Gastonia
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Gastonia. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
Take the phone out of your pocket before they start rather than after. The moment worth filming is usually the first one.
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.
Parents from Gastonia tend to ask the same first question: how long will this hold their attention. Long enough to be worth the drive, and short enough to leave while they still want more.
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.