Ultimate Monster Trucks 2016 ~ Little Lullabies Epic Adventures

After seeing Monster Jam on TV I became obsessed with Monster Trucks at an early age. I was lucky enough to attend the “Biggest ever FREESTYLE MONSTERTRUCK SPECTACULAR" in Australia! Although not an official Monster Jam show I still got to see real monster trucks live in action, jamming it up at the Queanbeyan Showgrounds. My (and many kid's) favourite, SPOT the Legend, went up against other wild Monster Trucks including "Chevy Roo" and "The Devil's Taxi".

It was an afternoon of Monster Trucks thrills!

With some of the country's biggest, baddest and best monster truck stunt drivers showing off what they could do!

Arguably the best attraction other than the Monster Trucks themselves was the appearance of the Jet Car!!

Apparently, the car has been retrofitted with a jet engine that explodes into after-burn mode. It lit up the sky as dusk fell and WoWed the crowd with its metal-melting flames that turned crushed car chassis into molten. Better yet, the blaze was so big the Fire Brigade, fire engine and all, had to come and put out the flames! The late evening came to a close with a few fireworks.

A family-friendly event with children and adults of all ages who can't help be in awe of the sheer size of the souped-up, 1,500 horsepower, four-tonne trucks that tear up the dirt and crush everything in their path.

It was disappointing to get more time to get up close and personal with the with the four-metre high trucks and meet the drivers as you don't realise how big they are until you actually get up there and stand next to them.

They're AWESOME in the most literal sense!

Value

For an afternoon/evening event, this is an expensive day out! While children under 3 are free, adults (who wouldn't otherwise be there) are $40 each, for standing-room only. Ticket Prices - Online • General Admission - Adults $40 / Teens $35 (11-15yrs) Kids $30 (ages 3-11yrs) • Super Value Family Pass - Family $120 (2 Adults and 2 Kids ages 3-14 years) • No concessions, exchanges or refunds VIP tickets were also available for stadium and "front-row" reserved seating. These were no doubt intended to provide seating with better views but everyone's views were interrupted because no one actually used the reserved seats but clambered up as close as they could get, obstructing the views for everyone behind. The weather did not help, as light rain fell, some people then opened their umbrellas which also obstructed what view was left. Perhaps the rain affected the fireworks display as this was a bit disappointing. Rides and attractions were not included in the ticket price and were expensive too. Food and drink vans offered the usual dogwood dogs and hot chips. Again, these were more expensive than they should be for a family event.

Service

Tickets were available at the gate, although it was advised to buy online, to avoid the queue and disappointment of a sell-out. With printed tickets in tow, access was easy and security staff were friendly and polite. Information about the event and its schedule of activities were hard to find. Food and drink stalls were available and while some queues were excessively long, others ran relatively smoothly.

Convenience

It would be difficult to find an appropriate location to house and showcase Monster Trucks, and the Queanbeyan Showgrounds was a central location for locals to access, however, the flat ground with limited seating meant the majority of people were standing and had obstructed views. The showground only has a tiny stadium and so organisers could have made more of an effort to provide tiered bleachers for more people to enjoy the spectacle.

Age Appropriateness

This was a family-friendly event with children and adults of all ages, (children under 3 were free). If your toddler LOVES Monster Trucks, it's a rare opportunity to watch them live in action. We took hearing protection (ear plugs and ear muffs), but honestly, we were so far from the actual action they weren't necessary for this particular event. The "sideshow alley" rides were better suited to school-aged children.

Safety

Even the VIP reserved seating is protected by barricades and is a fair distance from where the live action occurs. Hearing protection, i.e. ear plugs, ear muffs, are recommended, as it can get VERY loud and depending on how far you are from the action may cause discomfort. Ambulance and Fire Fighters were on standby and responded immediately to incidents.

VIP seating?

For an actual seat and relatively unobstructed views upgrade your ticket.

Take a Picnic

There's not a lot of quality food on offer.

Pack a Poncho

Rather than obstructing everyone else's view with an umbrella, wear a poncho or raincoat.

ZOOM lens

If you're after quality imagery take a zoom lens. Spectators are kept so far away from the action you need a zoom lens to truly capture the amazing action. Children may also benefit from binoculars.

Ear Protection

Ear plugs or ear muffs are recommended to protect your hearing from the ground-shaking revs!

Title: MONSTERTRUCK & FMX SPECTACULAR
Where: Queanbeyan Showgrounds
Date: Saturday 5th March 2016
Time:
Gates Open 3:00pm
Show 6:00pm – 9:00pm

It’s a big day for a toddler, so we arrived a little later in the afternoon, which meant we missed out on the freestyle motocross (which is an exciting extreme sport in it’s own right). If your little one loves motorbikes, you probably don’t want to miss this part of the day with backflipping stunts and races.

For information about upcoming Ultimate Monster Truck events, check out their Facebook Page.

Or click here for the Monster Jam Australian 2017 tour and ticket sales.

To watch just the second half of this video, MONSTER TRUCK TOYS, click here.

Activities for Kids

Ultimate Monster Trucks 2016