Pumpkin Nights Twin Cities Review (& Giveaway)

Twin Cities families! Pumpkin Nights Twin Cities is happening now through October 31st at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, and I have 2 family ticket 4-packs to give away!

Our family went last night with some friends and our four kids ages 6 to 10, and got to experience the 3,000 pumpkins and fun-kins lit up along the half-mile long path. There are TONS of unique displays and it’s a great opportunity to dress up (yay – get more mileage out of those Halloween costumes!).

Watch their short video:

There are 12 magical worlds to walk through:

• Scarecrow Row
• Community Carvings
• International Bazaar
• The Great Garden
• Dia de Los Muertos
• Dracula’s Graveyard
• Picture Minnesota
• Pumpkin Galaxy
• Rum River Pirates
• Pumpkin Passage
• Witch’s Brew
• The Great Pumpkin Reef

After entering, you’ll walk down the path to go through the first 3 worlds. The pumpkins are all over you including above in the trees. Though the pumpkins aren’t real (they’d get eaten up by animals), the designs are incredible – and it’s fun to see the kids identify the many wonders of the world (there are 20 here).

Be sure to get your picture taken at the haystack! There’s no cost to have the Pumpkin Nights team member take a picture for you with your camera/phone. (Just be sure to get a few taken in case someone in your group puts an inanimate object on your head or something. Just sayin’.)

Along the way there is a vendor area with food and beverages available for purchase, including tator tots from the Tot Boss! (I wrote about the Tot Boss in my post about the Minnesota State Fair this summer.) We definitely needed some warm treats so we got some hot cocoa ($2.00 each), loaded tots ($6.00) and tots with ranch dip ($5.00). They were eaten fast!

There were three other vendors there offering treats like cotton candy, cinnamon rolls and sodas.

Along the path are inflatables, light effects, smoke effects, and music to set the mood.

Lots of impressive visuals to take pictures of. We got plenty of pictures but had to yell at our kids not to climb on some of the inflatables.

I think my favorite “world” was The Great Pumpkin Reef- it was so pretty and the kids loved the bubbles.

The Verdict:

The whole experience took us about an hour to go through. Part of the time we spent eating at a table near the vendors. If we watched the movie “Hocus Pocus” we could have stayed longer. There is plenty to ooh and ahh over, and it definitely got us in a Halloween mood, but the kids got tired about halfway through.

Is it worth going? I think it is, but not for full price. Adult tickets are regularly $20 each, kids $16, etc. A family pack is $64. (Thankfully parking is free in a lot across the street.)

But there are deals out there. Here are two ways to save money on tickets:

1. Buy $15 tickets on Groupon while the deal lasts. You can save 32%.
2. Take advantage of their weeknight specials. You can save up to 50% off.

I would also suggest it makes a good date night outing. There were couples walking through it, and I think going without kids can make it easier to take it all in.

Scare Factor:

My youngest is 6 and there were a few things that scared him a little, like the inflatables from a distance. Once he got closer he wasn’t so scared. There are some things that some younger kids might stay away from, like the giant inflatable spider and a skeleton, but there’s nothing that I considered inappropriate for kids.

The movie “Hocus Pocus” was playing on a giant screen, and it had some scary scenes when we walked by it (like when the witches are hanged).

But for the most part, Pumpkin Nights is non-scary and fun for kids.

Tips for Going:

1. Make sure your group doesn’t go on an empty stomach. There’s food but it’s just snacks and goodies, and the cost can add up. If you’re like me and will buy something that looks good even if you’re not hungry (those tots are awesome!), bring some cash (the vendors we went to only took cash).
2. Bring water for anybody who might want some. The cost to buy bottled water was $3.00.
3. Bundle up for the weather. Bring coats, hats, and mittens just in case. It gets cold being outside for a while and there aren’t really any places to warm up.
4. Bring your camera! Lots of opportunities to take pics.
5. Watch where you’re going – we took a wrong turn! After the haystacks where you can get your picture taken, we somehow went straight instead of right to stay on the path and ended up going through the display backward for a while without realizing it. Make sure you follow the path!
6. Have the kids wear their Halloween costumes! Lots of kids were dressed up which made it more fun. (There’s no trick or treating though.)

LEARN MORE!

Visit their website: http://www.pumpkinnights.com/
Visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PumpkinNightsTC/

GIVEAWAY

Enter to win one of 2 Family 4-packs! Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below by Monday, October 24th at 11:00pm. Good luck!

(Disclosure: I received complimentary tickets to Pumpkin Nights to facilitate this review & giveaway. All opinions are 100% mine.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway