Winter afternoons · Story
Winter afternoons in Mount Juliet: what an afternoon looks like
The ordinary version of a visit, without the marketing gloss.
Dress for the room you are going to, not the car park you are crossing.
The nearest of the two centres to Mount Juliet is the one to aim at - Opry Mills in Nashville - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
Walking in
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.
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.
Count on the drive home being the conversation. Children tell you what they actually thought about twenty minutes after leaving.
The last ten minutes
Dress for the room you are going to, not the car park you are crossing.
Winter shrinks the list of things to do with children to whatever is indoors and warm, or indoors and cold on purpose.
What sticks
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.
If two adults are coming, split up rather than shadowing the same child. One at the rail, one free, and everybody has a better hour.
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 Mount Juliet
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Mount Juliet. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
Warn a nervous child about the noise before you walk in. Knowing what to expect is most of the difference between anxious and curious.
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.
If Mount Juliet 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.
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
If a visit needs planning around a date, a group or a long drive, the centre is easiest to reach by phone: +1 (424) 387-6232 or +1 (615) 968-4925.