“Yeah for the Monster Truck Nationals” Review

I have two very active boys (Ages 2 and 4) that love monster trucks!  So after attending a monster truck show last month I knew we would have to hit each one that came to town.  Well last night we were fortunate enough to attend the Monster Truck Nationals at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, IL.  It was a show that had a lot going on.

First off for two hours prior to the show starting, there is a Pit Party going on where you can see the trucks up and personal, walk around the pit area and even ride in a monster truck (there was an $8 per person charge for this.)  We unfortunately didn’t arrive early enough to make it down to the pit, but it looked like people were having a lot of fun down there and it was nice that it was free to walk around.

The show started off introducing each truck and its driver, including some history of the truck.  There was a diesel truck, which is uncommon at an indoor monster truck show that was driven by a woman!  Her truck only participated briefly in one stunt but it was neat to see.  There was another truck that was from Australia and its first time participating in the United States.  There was also the first monster truck and driver that started it all when he built the first monster truck there!  Those were the three big trucks I remember, but there were more.

To get the crowd going three dirt bike riders came out and did jumps, which I admit, were pretty cool (although I hope my sons don’t try those stunts at home!)  They had a huge ramp they went from one to another, all while doing crazy stunts in the air.  One dirt bike even flipped upside down and still landed fine!  Then the monster trucks took turns smashing over cars, competing side by side (two at a time) and then freestyle to show off.

There was a lot of down time as the trucks got ready and moved around but they did try to keep engaging the audience.  Most of the time the mascot came out, there was dancing, and they shot t-shirts into the audience.  They also opened up the pit for more monster truck rides at intermission.  I would have liked to done that but I honestly didn’t want to pay $8 a person and the line was long.

Overall, my favorite part at this show was probably the dirt bike riders with the freestyle coming in second place.  The downtime was frustrating since my boys kept getting antsy because they wanted to see more trucks going.  Oh and the surface was regular cement, not dirt like at other monster truck shows.  The tickets were pretty reasonable, ranging from $5-$17 a person depending on where you sit and parking was only $10.

Mom and More Disclosure: I will receive complimentary tickets to the show. Please see my Disclosure Policy.