Winter afternoons · First time
Winter afternoons in Madison: what happens the first time
The first time is the one that decides whether there is a second time, so it is worth getting right.
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.
Weekends bring more of Madison out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
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.
Dress for the room you are going to, not the car park you are crossing.
What children do first
Winter shrinks the list of things to do with children to whatever is indoors and warm, or indoors and cold on purpose.
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.
What usually goes wrong
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.
Making the second visit better
Dress for the room you are going to, not the car park you are crossing.
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 Madison
If Madison 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.
If two children are visiting together, plan for them to split up. Doing different things in the same room is the point of a room with different things in it.
A birthday group runs better with a rough plan of who goes where first, even if you abandon it in the first five minutes.
The drive back to Madison is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
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.