Winter afternoons · Guide
Winter afternoons in Hendersonville: a parent guide
This is the practical version - what it is, who it suits, what to bring, and what usually happens in 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.
The drive back to Hendersonville is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
What it actually is
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.
Winter shrinks the list of things to do with children to whatever is indoors and warm, or indoors and cold on purpose.
Who it suits
Dress for the room you are going to, not the car park you are crossing.
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.
What to expect
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.
Before you go
Winter shrinks the list of things to do with children to whatever is indoors and warm, or indoors and cold on purpose.
Warn a nervous child about the noise before you walk in. Knowing what to expect is most of the difference between anxious and curious.
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 Hendersonville
A Hendersonville school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
A short visit that ends while they still want more beats a long one that ends in a meltdown, every time.
Count on the drive home being the conversation. Children tell you what they actually thought about twenty minutes after leaving.
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.