Monster Jam - A review of the October AZ show!

 

Monster Jam has come back to Arizona & has several more shows around the US to finish off this years tour. This is a fantastic event for families to attend even if you aren't the biggest fan of monster trucks, the energetic shows & crazy stunts the drivers are able to pull off with these massive trucks will keep you engaged with the show. 

Watching these giant trucks is exciting, but the fun begins even before the drivers get in their trucks & bring the engines to life. Most of the show allows you the chance to purchase a "Pit Pass" in addition to your normal ticket which will grant you access to the pre-show pit party. Pit Party passes are $20 each. You'll be able to see the trucks up close, take photos in front of them, meet the drivers to get photos with them or have them sign something, participate in activities like the drawing area for kids and have a chance to buy some cool merch to take home. It is a neat experience to do at least once with your kids & you'll have some awesome photos to keep to look back on the memories for years to come. We were able to participate in the pit party & my kids wanted to get a photo in front of Grave Digger which is the truck I wanted to & did take a photo in front of when I was about the same age as my daughter. 

Ticket prices vary depending on where you sit, but it doesn't matter where you sit if it is in the front row section or at the top of the stadium in the upper half you'll have a great view of the trucks and the course they perform on. What is cool about the course is that they bring out some construction equipment in-between the different rounds & they change the course by moving the dirt around to get rid of smaller jumps and make other sections wider. The trucks & drivers will change from event to event, however they have a online section where you can view the current drivers and trucks that will be appearing at the moment. My daughter was a little bummed the two trucks & one driver she really wanted to see were not at this event, but there were a few new trucks we were able to check out.

The show starts off with some head to head races, the winners of each head to head will then go against each other until it is down to the final winner. The race includes them making two laps & completing two jumps, the one who does it the fastest is the winner. After this it is time for an intermission which allows them to work on the trucks & repair anything that might have broken or needs to be re-charged from the races. During this time they have some entertainment happening down in the race area, they had some adorable small children come out on mini monster truck electric cars and race down the track.

The second half of the show is a free style competition where the drivers will attempt to complete two tricks within a set amount of time. They show you a list of tricks they can attempt on the board before the competition starts & will go over which tricks they attempted/completed once the drivers are finished to help you understand which tricks you saw if you aren't familiar with each one. Monster Jam has a website that fans can visit during the event called The Judges Zone, this is for the free style competition. When the driver has completed their round fans will have sixty seconds to lock in a score on the website which is then calculated & will give the driver their score for the round. Wrecks happen, but that doesn't mean you'll get a low score, you can really tell the fan favorites.

We saw an absolutely insane stunt while we were there pulled off by the driver of The Black Pearl. When attempting to do a back flip in his truck, the Black Pearl started rolling onto it's back. It happens, especially when drivers are attempting to do a flip, usually it means they are out since their truck crashed. That wasn't the case this time around, he actually managed to get himself out of the situation & correct the truck back to being on its tires and continued on with his round. I could not believe what I saw with my eyes nor could the crowd, everyone was going nuts & many people even jumped to their feet cheering & screaming. In case you are wondering, yes, I did manage to capture it on camera & will have a reel of it up on my instagram page so you can see it too. 

My family had a fantastic time at this event, it is a great family friendly event. My kids can't wait to see them again. A quick note before I finish off this post, this event is very loud!!! It can be a little overwhelming for children and some children may not like how loud it gets, I highly suggest bringing a pair of headphones to protect their ears or buy one when you are at the event. Also don't forget to check the website of which ever venue they visit while in your home city to check for any rules you may need to be aware of, for example our venue does not allow backpacks, purses, etc your belongings need to be in a clear stadium approved sized bag. 

Disclaimer- Monster Jam provided tickets for us for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.