If you have a kid that is totally obsessed with anything that has an engine or wheels or even a little dare devil that enjoys stunts and crashes. Then you will want to take your family to see Monster Jam!
Monster Jam- Triple Threat Series is now showing in Washington, DC this weekend:
Saturday, January 28, 2017 at 1 PM & 7 PM (Pit Party is from 10:30-12)
Sunday, January 29, 2017 at 1 PM (Pit Party is from 10:30-12)
You can get tickets to this exciting event for as low as $15 (don’t forget to use the discount code: ICE to save $5) purchase tickets at www.ticketmaster.com or at the box office.
What to expect at a Monster Jam Show:
Monster Jam is an exciting and energetic competition featuring eight monster trucks: Megalodon, El Toro Loco, Grave Digger, Alien Invasion, Monster Mutt, Blue Thunder, Zombie and Pirate’s Curse are the featured trucks on tour for the DC show. These enormous trucks show off their impressive power through seven main events that showcase their ability to perform tricks, spin, fly, race and crash. The driver in DC complete in seven events:
- Truck Racing: Trucks zoom around the track to see who can reach the finish with the best time.
- Speedster Obstacle: The drivers switch over to quad bikes to go head to head with competitors through an obstacle with tricky twists and turns. Two racers will challenge each in a round to see who will make it to the final round and be declared the winner.
- Wheelie Competition: Judges and even the audience will score the trucks on extraordinary jumps on top of a massive dirt ramp! Its super cool to see these monster trucks make a huge jump and stick a landing and sometimes even flip and land upside down. You will get really pumped up with this one as the crowd goes wild over these insane tricks.
- Speedster Racing: The drivers switch back over to quad bikes for a huge race in which all the drivers go neck and neck to take home the prize.
- Donut Contest: In this awesome event, drives get a chance to make wheels and show off their turn radius. Winner is best on best score from judges and the audience.
- Speedster Obstacle: Once again the drivers switch back over to quad bikes to show off their ability to hand their vehicle at fast speeds.
- Freestyle: Drivers are given 60 seconds to perform their best stunts; this event is also scored by judges and the audience.
Length of Event:
The show is about two hours long which includes a 15 minute intermission after the fourth event. The show began right on time at 1:30 PM and concluded around 3:30 PM. The intermission is a good time to use the facilities, let little ones with energy up to move around or even buy concessions. It is also fun to watch the crew roll out and compact the dirt arena, repaint the ramps and move crushed cars.
Helpful Tips:
- My biggest tip is to prepare for the noise… It gets very LOUD! You will want to bring ear protection for the entire family! Everything about the show is noisy; the music, the announcers and definitely the engines!!! Ear protection is on sale at the souvenir shop; however, I recommend buying them on amazon or a sporting goods store. We got ours for $9!
- Despite that this is a family friendly event I would recommend this show for ages four and up. I noticed that little ones under age four seem to lose attention and need something to occupy them, especially during time between the events. Bringing a small toy such as a truck or getting them a snack to munch on helps. Also, keep in mind if someone in your family has sensory processing sensitivities they may not react well to the noise or large crowd.
- Buying tickets online ahead of time before you arrive for the event is ideal in order to avoid long lines at the box office. Also you can use discount codes online and save $5 (Code: ICE)
- The night before the event reserve a parking space on spothero.com! We paid only $10 for parking and the lot was only one block from the Verizon Center!!!
- Bring cash, this will allow you to make purchases from your seat as vendors come around.
- If you want to attend the Pit Party purchase your tickets ahead of time. A friend of mine went early only to find out they were sold out L
- I saw a lot of fans with signs. Next time we go I definitely want to make one; you can use the sign to have it autographed. At the end of the show the drivers will sign autographs and take pictures with their fans. They had a table set up in the lobby at section 114.
- Stop by the AMSOIL table. The guys there were super friendly and gave little man some stickers. Not to mention they have great weekend contests to enter.
- If you are looking for a inexpensive snack for the family to munch on, you can get a refillable bag of popcorn for $9…refill it as many times as you like! Ask for a carrying tray and you can pour some onto it for sharing!!!
- The pulled pork platter from The Bone BBQ is out of this world! Definitely worth the $13!
Interesting Facts:
Did you know that…. these giant trucks weights over 10,000 pounds and is at least 12 feet long and 12 feet wide? When standing next to one of these mammoths’ wheels you they will be about as big as you (66 inches tall)! These power full machines can reach up to 70 MPH and jump over 30 feet in the air. Another fun fact is that an average of 3,000 cars are crushed a year at Monster Jam events! This show is super impressive and will have your kids singing praise of how great you are for taking them for weeks! My kids have been talking about the Monster Jam non-stop!
Our Experience:
This was our first time to a Monster Jam and it was truly an awesome experience! My four-year-old son and his best friend had been looking forward to this event all week. They both love watching Blaze and the Monster Machines which added to the excitement of attending the Monster Jam. At entering the arena you can see the trucks sitting out on display. They were smiling ear to ear and pointing at the trucks. They had never seen such big trucks before in real life. They each picked out a truck to cheer on based on its cool design and paint job. The show is very interactive and exciting, drivers ramp up the audience to cheer and get involved. The boys clapped and shouted along with the audience; the best part was watching them in awe as the impressive and powerful trucks showed off their mad skills! Our favorites were Zombie driven by Amy Houde. She would wheelie her truck to a point where it looked like it was going to fall over but it never did, such a talented driver. We also loved Cursed Pirate and Megalodon, they were great at taking jumps at top speed and getting high in the air. What tickles my heart most though is hearing my son talk about how much fun he had. I know we are making memories which are priceless!
For more tips: https://theplayfulparent.org/2017/01/20/prepare-for-a-monster-truck-jam-like-a-boss/