Want to learn more about monster trucks, fun facts about Monster Jam, and find shows near you? Check out my Monster Jam – Monster Truck Fun Facts post.
Location: Allstate Arena, 6920 North Mannheim Road, Rosemont
The Allstate Arena site includes links to CTA, Metra, and PACE to help you reach there using public transportation.
Phone: Allstate Arena – 847-635-6601, Ticketmaster – 800-745-3000
Dates and times: January 8-10, 2013.
Friday, January 8 – 7:30 pm
Saturday, January 9 – 2:00 pm, 7:30 pm
Sunday, January 10 – 2:00 pm, 7:30 pm
Monster Jam will be in Moline, IL April 27-28, 2013.
Ticket prices: Tickets start at $10 for children and $21 for adults and go up to $57.50 plus fees. Tickets for opening night were available for only $12! Purchase tickets from Ticketmaster online. Children under 2 are permitted to sit on a parent’s lap for free.
Save 33% on all adult tickets for shows on January 9 & 10 with code MOM.
Offer Not valid on Opening Night. Discount does not apply to VIP or Gold Circle seats. No double discounts. Service charges, handling, and facility fees may apply. All tickets $2 more day of show.
Parking: $20, cash only
Bathrooms: There are public bathrooms throughout the venue. There are changing tables.
Nursing: There is no designated nursing area in either venue.
Handicapped/stroller accessibility: The Allstate Arena is handicapped accessible. Accessible seating is available on the lower level; please indicate accessible seating is required when purchasing tickets. I would not recommend bringing a stroller.
Other amenities: There are vendors everywhere selling souvenirs. A child’s t-shirt is $25.
Food: Vendors sell lots of food at tables and in the stands – hots dogs, nachos, cotton candy, popcorn, ice cream, etc. $12 for cotton candy with a hat or a sno-cone in a plastic cup.
We paid: $20 for parking. We received complimentary tickets to see the show. If we had purchased tickets they would have cost approximately $24 for 2 tickets.
Our experience:
Toddling Dad here. I took Cooper to the show because we didn’t think Dexter would be able to handle the (correctly) anticipated noise and someone had to stay home with the baby.
I watched Monster Trucks when I was a kid back when you had to flip a switch on the TV to use the UHF dial. The basic formula has remained the same (including the presence of my favorite truck, Gravedigger). There were three rounds of action: First, a “wheelie” competition where the trucks fly high and crush the red and yellow painted junkers on the track. Next, the “Chicago-style” race with the trucks starting and ending on opposite sides of the track. Finally, the best part, the “Freestyle” competition where the trucks fly through all the obstacles on the track.
The trucks are huge and impressive and loud. Because of this, the indoor track cannot help but feel cramped. The cramped track heightened the feeling of danger. I say feeling of danger because the drivers are, of course, professional and safe. Only one truck hit the wall, during the last demonstration in the freestyle competition. But it IS cramped.
Between monster truck events, there were a series of quad races and a quad freestyle demo. Cooper did not like the quad races, he kept asking why we had to watch the little trucks. The quad racers were interviewed between heats. There was a scripted wrestling-style banter going on that left a bad taste in my mouth. One of the racers begged us to boo him. Some of the kids seemed to have fun once they got into that part of the show. Cooper really didn’t follow the race part. The freestyle quad-jumps were amazing and Cooper was amazed by a few of the tricks.
Cooper and I both had ear protection for the show. I used in ear plugs that worked very well. Cooper had some plugs that I’m not sure were great, although it was hard to tell because he had trouble describing whether they were working. A lot of kids had over the ear protectors. Just looking around, I thought the over-the-ear protectors looked like the better option. Monster-truck themed over the ear protectors (that looked like tire-earmuffs) were available at the stadium.
We had a good time and I think Cooper is a little young for the show. Overall I think it might have been more of a tween event–I might have enjoyed the show more than Coop.
We received complimentary tickets to Monster Jam. All opinions are our own.
