Winter afternoons · Occasion
Winter afternoons in Huntersville: planning a school holiday around it
The occasion changes the planning more than the activity does, so this is mostly about the planning.
Winter shrinks the list of things to do with children to whatever is indoors and warm, or indoors and cold on purpose.
Families searching from Huntersville are usually weighing one thing: whether it is worth the trip for an hour of something the children have not done before. The honest answer is that it depends on the child, and the rest of this page is about telling which.
Why it fits the occasion
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.
How the day runs
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.
Dress for the room you are going to, not the car park you are crossing.
What to arrange first
Winter shrinks the list of things to do with children to whatever is indoors and warm, or indoors and cold on purpose.
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.
Small things that help
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.
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.
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 Huntersville
Weekends bring more of Huntersville out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
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.
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.
A Huntersville 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.