We attended "Pumpkin Nights" last night (Wednesday, 10/23). Our timed entry was for 6-6:30 p.m. My goal was to arrive early so it would not be crowded, especially since we brought my almost 3-year-old granddaughter with us.
Parking was very easy and up close. Yes, it cost $12 but *every* event at the fairgrounds charges to park, so I don't fault the vendor for that. I am pretty sure that the fairgrounds pockets the parking fees, not the vendor.
It was still light out when we got there, and we took a few photos of the cute Pumpkin Nights displays in the front. There are a few tables selling merchandise and my granddaughter got two lit-up rings, $1 each. My family wanted to eat, and although I wanted to get onto the trail right away to beat the crowds, majority ruled, so we bought tacos, nachos and quesadillas from a booth. Prices were high ($12 for a quesadilla). At least it was tasty. Service was really slow. My family did enjoy the food.
It was dark by the time everyone finished eating. We went to the entrance which had 2 lines - one for selfies and one for not selfies. We wanted photos, so we chose the selfie line. I don't think it would have made a difference! We got inside and encountered our first bottleneck of people taking photos. That proved to be the case throughout the venue: bottlenecks of photo-takers, along with far too many double strollers. I shudder to think what it is like on the weekend when it's more crowded. How could anyone move through the place with people taking photos every two feet?
Throughout the venue are photo opportunity areas. You wait in line to access those. We only waited a few minutes each time, thankfully. About halfway through, my daughter lost patience at the stopping and waiting so we began skipping many "photo ops".
Except in the disco area, there is no music. The event would be greatly improved by Halloween music playing.
The almost 3-year-old had a fabulous time. This venue is very kid-friendly. It isn't scary at all. She loved, loved, loved the disco dance area. It is lit up so you look blue. There is a huge pumpkin octopus photo op in the dance area. My granddaughter found 3 Pumpkin Night wooden coins in the sand area. You exchange those for a prize at the end (a piece of candy).
There are also kid play areas with games and a teeter-totter. I got onto the teeter-totter with my daughter and granddaughter on the other end. I was way more scared than my granddaughter!
At the very end are two bounce houses. Granddaughter loves those, so my daughter put socks on her and sent her into one of the houses. Problem: They are not monitored by any employee. It's a free for all, jump at your own risk. The little one was surrounded by big kids jumping over her - aged 8, 9, even pre-teen. My daughter whisked her out fairly quickly because she was afraid she'd be stepped on. This is a tragedy waiting to happen, not having anyone control these bouncers.
We bought our tickets on line, $20 for adults, $18 for us two seniors, and the toddler was free. Was it worth it? Probably not. As other Yelpers have pointed out, the pumpkins are plastic. The only real ones that we saw were on a table with two carvers and in a small patch at the very end next to the bouncers. "Rise of the Jack o' Lanterns" that was in the same spot a couple of years ago was much better - because they were REAL pumpkins. You can't really admire the artwork or carving expertise on a plastic pumpkin from China.
That said, there were some great photo ops and we got some good photos - until my daughter got fed up with them :) read more