Winter afternoons · Local
Winter afternoons near Matthews
Written for families in and around Matthews, who mostly want to know whether it is worth the drive.
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 nearest of the two centres to Matthews is the one to aim at - Concord Mills in Concord - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
Getting there
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 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.
What you will find
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.
How long to allow
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.
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.
Worth the trip?
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.
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.
Where is New Life Entertainment?
Two centres: 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214, and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027.
Planning your visit in Matthews
A Matthews 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.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
Nothing about the visit assumes you know the area. The centre is inside Concord Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Concord 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
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.