Review: Monster Jam at Royal Farms Arena

By Patricia Hall, FairfaxFamilyFun.com

It’s a Monster Jam show that “went to the dogs” — in a good way! Last night we attended the opening night show of the Monster Jam featuring the AMSOIL Series tour at Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. The show, which continues today and Sunday, features eight popular monster trucks doing stunts and  automotive “acrobatics.”

We have attended a few Monster Jam shows before and by now our son is a Grave Digger fan, so naturally he was thrilled to see it in this show, but he also got a kick out of the “canine” performers:  this show had Monster Mutt Dalmatian and Monster Mutt Rottweiler, as well as Scooby-Doo.  The Scooby-Doo truck was an especially delightful sight for our friend’s young daughter, who is not only a huge Scooby-Doo fan but who was excited to see that truck had a female driver. Our young friend now says she wants to drive a truck when she grows up!

Other trucks in the show were El Toro Loco (another long-time favorite), Max-D, New Earth Authority, and Zombie, which ended up as the overall winner. If you’ve attended these shows before, you know they all have a special look to match their name (Zombie with its monster arms flailing about, for example) and “personalities.”

The trucks compete in short contests, two at a time, going through eliminations. There are eight competitions, including, wheelies, donuts, racing, and the popular freestyle contests, plus other competition vehicles besides the big monster trucks, such as the Monster Jam Speedsters and Monster Jam ATVs.

Throughout the show, a screen overhead in the arena lets you see the rankings for each team, making it easy to follow along if you’re rooting for a particular team. Some fans clearly were there to cheer a particular team or two, but even if you’re there just for fun, it’s amazing how much you can get “into” the event.  An adult friend who joined us had never been to a monster truck event but was curious about them. Within a few minutes, she was already saying out loud “I love it!” Monster Jam shows are family-friendly events good for all ages.

The trucks, of course, are huge, powerful vehicles, and as such, are very loud. I highly recommend taking ear plugs and noise-cancelling headphones, especially if you’re taking children (you can buy some at the event if you forget to bring some); this is really a “must” if you’re going with very young kids.

Another word of caution:  if you’ve attended Monster Jam shows at Verizon Center or bigger arenas, as we have, please note that Royal Farms Arena is much smaller and thus there are some limitations. Frankly, when I saw the size of the place I wondered if I would see the same stunts as I had in previous shows. Of course, that’s not possible:  you can’t get the long side-by-side racing, and while the trucks still make some good leaps into the air, you may not see them fly as high as in other places. Still, it’s a fun show with great visuals. The event runs about two hours long with a brief intermission.

Also, because of the limited space, the trucks that are NOT in a particular competition at the time roll out to the staging area out of view so you only see the big trucks two at a time. If you want to see all the trucks at once, arrive on time so you can see them all as they “parade” around the arena at the start of the show. One advantage of a smaller arena, I should note, is that it gives you a cozier feel and more up-close view of the trucks.  Monster Jam tickets start at $20; parking at Royal Farms is $20.

Note: I am a Feld Family Ambassador and in exchange for my time and effort in attending shows and reporting my opinion on this blog, Feld provides me with complimentary tickets and opportunities to attend special events. Opinions expressed here are always my own.

All photos by P. Hall