We were soo looking forward to this, as our 3 year old loves everything truck - and we thought - what a fun family day out...
I'd be lying if I said it went smoothly though... by stopping at Subway before hand, we were able to secure free pit passes for the afternoon - a chance to get up close and personal with the drivers and the trucks...
See this ticket booth here? You'll see only 2 windows open? (Notice the snow too - our first snowfall of the year, wet, thick, branch & limb snapping, power outage, cold snowfall)
So we show up for the pit party, passes in hand - but because our tickets were at Will Call - we were denied admission. We would need to pick up our tickets for the evening event & present them at the same time.
ok.
Will call tickets...no big deal...EXCEPT...they were NOT AVAILABLE at the only 2 ticket windows open. For some reason, they were available on the exact opposite side of the Metrodome only...So, in our sopping wet clothes, half dragging, half carrying our two pre-k kids around the outside of the Metrodome in the not-so-fantastic weather...
We *finally* got our hands on our tickets...
Only to find out - with many other angry families - that we could not enter the Metrodome on that side...
We would need to haul it all the way around to the opposite side of the Metrodome again to gain admission to the building and the pit party.
Seriously.
You might not think that is such a big deal - but it's a long way around the OUTSIDE of the Metrodome, in the not-so-great-weather...with young kids.
By the time we got in - we all had wet shoes/socks/clothes...
Hair and make up...forget about it...
And I was all but ready to go home...
When we finally got inside, we hesitated to join the pit party...because with wet shoes/socks/pant legs, etc - We were imaging just how dirty we'd get by walking around on the dirt that was the pit party...
But...we're here - let's do this!
It was fun for the kids to get up close to the trucks - I worried that H would be a little scared of the show once it got going, if it were too loud, etc (She wasn't & in fact had a GREAT time!)
It was fun for the kids to get up close to the trucks - I worried that H would be a little scared of the show once it got going, if it were too loud, etc (She wasn't & in fact had a GREAT time!)
Her favorite was the Mohawk Warrior - She loved that the truck had a Mohawk and the driver, a crazy matching one -
The Vendors started early for this event - and were busy peddling their $15 Cotton Candy & $10 Snow Cone. I don't know that I'll ever understand the pricing behind the concessions.
Wouldn't it be better to sell TWO snow cones for $10 - then not sell any at all to cheap frugal families like us who have a hard time paying the $10 for one?
There was a lot to do at the pit party - including a dirt hill for kids to play in (but not our wet kids!) and remote control car demos, bounce houses, live music and more...The lines for autographs and photos with the Monster Trucks & Drivers were all pretty long...but there were some VERY happy campers meeting the drivers & taking pictures!
So...The Pit Party ended at 5 - and the show wasn't set to begin until 7:30 - Our initial plan was to leave and have dinner across the street - only, there was no re admittance...
(Yikes! I had NO IDEA this was going to be an 8 hour non-stop event for our littles - without dinner!)
They did REMARKABLE & were soo FANTASTIC!
I wonder if it had anything to do with the $15 Cotton Candy & $10 Snow Cone we sprung for?
There was some fun & exciting entertainment to help pass the time before the Big Show started...
The trucks were all lined up and ready to go - I have to say, I think my favorite part was when all ten trucks revved up their engines and did some hot laps around the track for the start of the show - what a rush!
And after Lee Greenwood's Proud to be an American & a cool presentation with the American Flag -the real excitement began...
And let me tell you - Minneapolis loves Grave Digger! The crowd was almost as loud as the roar of this truck! Which was soo. loud!
The real fun happened later in the night - (I'm so glad we stayed!)
The dare devils on their 4 wheelers (Quads for you City Folks) were pretty awesome - let's hope our boy doesn't get any ideas! WOW! The air these two were getting! He told me several times throughout the night that when he's a Daddy he's going to have lots of Monster Trucks - I hope he means of the Matchbox Variety - or maybe Remote Control???
The REAL fun was the Freestyle event...I don't know how much it costs to maintain these things but they beat the hell out of them! And it was pretty awesome to watch!
The show itself was over 3 hours long and the kids had a GREAT time - We used ear plugs tucked under head phones and neither kid thought it was too loud - even though at times I thought I myself might be going deaf! HA HA!
Monster Jam is returning to the Metrodome in January...
I think it's a must for the adventure/truck lover to attend...There's some pretty cool footage on the MonsterJam.com website to see too -
Now that we know how it all works - ie: pick up your tix at Will Call ahead of time before you drag your family through over the river and through the woods, eat something before hand as the no re admittance leaves you with no choices but to spend concession prices, and that headphones are a definite must...
We'll be better prepared to have an even greater experience next time!
*** A huge thank you to Feld Entertainment who provided our family with tickets as a thank you for being a Feld Family Activator ***
7 comments:
Wyatt would have loved this - I'll be putting it on the calendar for next year :)
Wow, sorry it was rough in the beggining.
Thanks for the heads up, I'll be prepared for the Jan. show.
Boo loved Mohawk too, talked about him all day Sunday.
They had such a great time, thanks again!! She can't wait for Hunter to be here for the next one, he loves it too.
@The Coupon Sista - Had we been better prepared - I'm sure it would have been a MUCH happier experience. For instance, I wish we would have known there was no readmittance because we would have fed our kids before we went to the pit party - that was a really long time for them to be at the Metrodome with very limited, very expensive food choices. I guess I thought they were two separate events & we could leave during the 2.5 hours in between them.
I also wish that when the staff at the gate told us we had to go to the exact opposite side of the metrodome to get our tickets at will call - they would have informed us that you could not get in on that side - because I gladly would have gone to get the tickets myself and returned to my family, vs us dragging two small kids through the rain/sleet/snow mixture. I am still angry about that - and there were dozens of people saying the same thing outside of the will call window - why on EARTH would you put Will Call on the opposite side of the dome & not have doors open over there?
All in all - we DID have a great time, but sometimes outings with young kids can be more work than it's worth, and a couple of minor changes at the event could have made things just so much better.
Looks like you guys had a great time! Your pictures turned out fantastic!
We wish we could have gone to this show, but we had other commitments.
:) Happy Thanksgiving!
i'm so, so, sooooooooo bummed we ended up missing this because of the stupid weather. grrrr. it looks like Noah woulda had a blast. oh well. next year. thanks for the tix!
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