Move over, pumpkin patches and haunted houses. There’s a new Halloween experience in town, and it’s LIT.
OK, sorry. Bad puns aside, if your family are fans of Morton Arboretum’s Illuminations or Brookfield Zoo Lights, this Halloween lights spectacular is worth checking out. A cool evening with that unmistakable crispness in the air will have you feeling all the fall feels, especially if your stroll though the crazy-spooky-cool wonderland includes a spiked cider or craft brew in hand (helpfully sold onsite).
With more than 5,000 hand-carved jack o’lanterns, you’ll definitely draw some serious inspiration for your own pumpkin carving. There’s something for everyone, from dragons to dinosaurs, gardens to under the sea, Disney, superheroes, celebrities and more.
Where:
Jack’s Pumpkin Glow
Sensory Playground
2751 Navistar Dr, Lisle, IL 60532
Get Directions
Get your tickets: https://glowpumpkin.com/chicago/
Tickets are available for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings from October 4 to October 27. Tickets are timed-entry to control the crowds, with time slots every 30 minutes from 6:45 PM to 10 PM most nights (some evenings end at 9 PM). Nights do sell out, so buy your tickets in advance if you want to go.
In my opinion, ticket prices are expensive, starting at $16.99 per ticket for kids 3 and up and $22.99 per ticket for adults depending on your preferred day and time. Check Groupon for deals before you buy!
Make the most of your visit with these tips:
DO: Take kids of all ages.
The walking trail is appropriate for kids of all ages and isn’t scary or gory; run-of-the-mill Halloween motifs like skeletons, gravestones, and ghosts are the extent of the horror. Three-year-old Sawyer was endlessly entertained but never scared.
If your kids will ride in a stroller, you may want to bring it. Although the event and path was fairly crowded, it was navigable by strollers and there were certainly many of them there. The advantage: Your littlest ones are strapped into the stroller and you know exactly where they are at all times in the dark. With preschoolers or toddlers who refuse to ride, it can be a trick (not a treat) to keep eyes on them in the crowds in the dark.
DO: Figure out your camera settings for the dark before you snap a gazillion pictures.
I turned my flash off because I preferred the drama of the darkness and glow. I ended up with about 100 blurry pictures, some more indistinct than others. Live and learn.
DO: Arrive 15-20 minutes ahead of your scheduled entry time.
You’ll wait in one line to enter the attraction itself (where your tickets are scanned), then you’ll be put into queues depending on your entry time. If you’re late, you basically get to enter at the same time as the later group, so give yourself plenty of time to get these, get refreshments and light-up swag if that’s your jam, and get in lines.
DON’T: Worry about parking.
Parking is free, well coordinated by parking attendants with glow gear, and with ample spaces. It’s about a 5 minute walk from the lot to the entrance.
DO: Bring your own glowsticks and light-up toys if desired.
It’s a glow event — get into the spirit with your own spooky glowsticks and Halloween gear that you can buy a lot cheaper at Walgreens, Walmart or the dollar store. The prices on the light-up “merch” they are selling onsite aren’t terrible ($12 for a Minecraft-esque pixel sword) but admission is already expensive.
DON’T: Wear your best shoes.
We’ve had a lot of rain over the past two weeks, so the grounds throughout were pretty muddy. Some parts of the path are gravel and other parts are covered with canvas tarp or hay, but there is also A LOT of path that is wet, squishy mud. All of our shoes are being washed today.
If the weather has been wet, I’d recommend rain boots or old gym shoes — anything you don’t mind getting trashed. I DO NOT recommend your favorite periwinkle Allbirds (oops).
DO: Go slow and admire the artistry.
The trail is 0.3 mile; once you’ve exited into their pumpkin patch area at the end, you can’t reenter. So stroll through leisurely and take in the elaborate exhibits from both sides of the path. We spent about an hour on the trail and 90 minutes at the event in total (though to be fair, my boys were asking when it was going to be over at approximately the 45-minute point).
While you can’t look at every single one of the 5,000 glowing pumpkins in that time, there are some serious works of art you won’t want to miss.
Some of our favorites:
The garden, complete with bugs, caterpillars, flowers and mushrooms
The shipwrecked pirate ship with sea life
The jellyfish trees
The snowmen scene
The carnival
And so much more. If you follow me on Instagram, I put together a Highlight on my profile with more snaps and videos so you can peek more of the Glow and decide if you’re up for the after-dark adventure.
Bottom line for our family: A one-time experience. It was a fun Friday night and a great way to kick off the month of October, but I wouldn’t repeat the experience, at least not at $25 a ticket.
What’s your favorite Halloween activity? Share with me in the comments below or on social media with #NeverDoneWithFun. I startle easily (to my kids’ endless delight), so I will gladly take beautifully carved, glowing pumpkins over jump-out-and-scare-you haunted house shenanigans any day.
Wishing you a spooktacular October!
