Winter afternoons · Story
Winter afternoons in Kannapolis: what an afternoon looks like
What it actually looks like when a family walks in.
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.
Coming in from Kannapolis 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
Winter shrinks the list of things to do with children to whatever is indoors and warm, or indoors and cold on purpose.
If one child is nervous, let them watch for the first ten minutes without being asked to join in. Almost all of them join in.
The middle of the visit
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 last 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.
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.
What sticks
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.
Questions parents ask
Is the rink cold?
It is a real rink, so yes. Layers and gloves make the difference.
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.
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.
Planning your visit in Kannapolis
Weekends bring more of Kannapolis out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
If it is the first time, do not also make it a birthday. Learning a place and celebrating in it are two different visits.
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.
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Kannapolis. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
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
Questions about a specific day, a group or a party are best asked directly - info@newlife-entertainment.com, or either of the numbers on the contacts page.