In this episode, Sydoney Banks reviews the Glowing Pumpkins event in Chandler, Arizona, highlighting its artistic displays, family-friendly atmosphere, and the overall experience. The event features over 5,000 hand-carved pumpkins and offers a unique blend of art, music, and special effects. While the event is praised for its creativity and fun, some challenges such as rude guests and minor logistical issues are also discussed. Overall, the review emphasizes the importance of taking time to appreciate the artistry and encourages families to visit this seasonal attraction. https://glowingpumpkins.com/ https://qrco.de/beJjEa
takeaways
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Glowing Pumpkins Event
05:14 Experience and Atmosphere of the Event
10:44 Observations and Suggestions for Improvement
16:32 Final Thoughts and Recommendations
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Sydoney Banks (00:01.592)
Hello and welcome back everybody to another episode. This is hopefully going to be kind of a short and sweet one but important. So I'm going to do the first review of 2024's Halloween Spooky Season and to start us off we are going to do Glowing Pumpkins in Chandler, Arizona at Rawhide's Riverwalk. So we went on
Sunday... What was it? The 22nd? I believe? And that was their opening night. Or no, their opening night was the 20th. And Sunday was technically their third night. So it was their opening weekend that we went. And we went on Sunday. Just because we have a lot of things going on. And we were working as well as...
Preparing for what we're getting ready to do in October So we had costumes to get ready and things to label makeup to get ready So we were quite busy and we decided to go on Sunday because it would be a little bit we would hope a little bit less busy and we wanted to kind of let them have the two days to get the glitches out before we go and Yes, glowing pumpkins is
one of our friends and sponsors but we will get into the meat and potatoes of this and give a true review based off of everything. And it is in a new site this year. It usually is in Tucson and they've been to a couple of different sites. This is their third year and they've moved to, like I said, the Chandler area and
It is at Rawhide's River Walk, which is an interesting location. It is a pretty location. There is actually water, so the pumpkins do reflect off of that, which is really pretty. And if you're photographer into taking photos, it is a really nice kind of add -on. So you have that mirror image off of the river. That being said,
Sydoney Banks (02:26.38)
You know, make sure you take photos and videos or whatnot. You can take photos and videos. It is okay to do. Now, glowing pumpkins is a fun activity for the whole family. You can take your kids, your grandparents, your nieces, your cousins, your uncles, your friends, your family. Everybody can go and enjoy this. is a kind of like an adventure of
jack -o -lanterns and pumpkins and art and music and special effects and sounds and it's very interesting and it's also very fun. Atlastphere and like I said it is very artistic as well if you like art or like to look at things with a art point of view this is totally for you because someone did actually hand
sculpt all of these pumpkin displays. So it is actually kind of breathtaking when you kind of stop and look at each thing and that it was hand carved and the time and dedication that it takes. Also the setup of this whole entire thing itself from, you know, all the pumpkins to the fencing to the displays.
to all of the light bulbs and all of the power and everything that goes into setting a display like this. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication. So when you go, just remember, you know, kind of the backstage and all of the hard work that goes into making an event like this and that someone put their blood, sweat and tears as well as hard earned money and funding into this event.
And it's cool that it's finally in the Chandler area because that being said it's closer to Phoenix, Glendale, Tempe, it's closer to that area so you know you could still go to Tucson. Tucson isn't that far away. That being said, go to Tucson Slaughterhouse. It's amazing haunted house and it is their 20th anniversary. Go to it. But it is a lot closer this year.
Sydoney Banks (04:44.578)
So I would say for sure check it out, it's actually closer to us. It is an awesome event. yeah, Glowing Pumpkins is a... like a... kind of like an adventurous art display. And it is family friendly. They do have different things going on from jumpy things to food and entertainment and different things of that sort. So it is...
a very fun event for everybody. And I'll kind of read off their website before going into the actual review. So it says, the magical pathways of lit pumpkin sculptures and displays this music, sound and special effects. I kind of already said that. It's a one of a kind walkthrough experience, a must see event of the fall season. I would agree with that. And kind of like I said, all hand carved and constructed by artists.
Glowing Pumpkins is a Phoenix Jack -o -lantern adventure in an outdoor Halloween event featuring over 5 ,000 plus hand -carved art pumpkins. Like I said, 5 ,000 hand -carved pumpkins. That also means 5 ,000 plus pumpkins that were put out to display. Kid -friendly Halloween experience with true works of art. It really is, like I said, don't just go fast.
That's one thing I noticed when we were there, people were really just walking fast by. Take your time and really look at each pumpkin and the details and the lighting and the sound, like take it all in, don't just fastly go by. A lot of people did that and I think you miss out on a lot of things. Family Friendly Event has something for everyone. Making Glowing Pumpkins Jack -o -Lantern Adventure your family's new annual family tradition.
which is totally cool. So hopefully it will stay in this area for quite a while so it can be a family tradition.
Sydoney Banks (06:52.216)
dramatic scenes including your iconic characters from classic Halloween characters dinosaurs superheroes to movie and pop culture icons, which is true. There's Princesses Scooby -Doo Hello Kitty Spongebob Hocus Pocus Star Wars Harry Potter Witches dinosaurs There's like
a safari with like the lion and zebras and antelope and all that. It's very cool. There's different, and I'm not going to say all of it, but there's different themes and different things that you walk through. There's monsters and there's, you know, family friendly as well as different cartoons. Particular info, it opens September 20th and it goes through November 2nd, 2024.
For the times and all that, would say go to glowingpumpkins .com and check on the calendar for the specific times. Again, it's at Riverwalk at Rawhide. And the path takes about 45 to 60 minutes. If you, like I said, depending on how fast you go and you know, if you actually really take it in and take your time. There's also activities.
You're welcome to hang out in the food and drink area You know as long as you'd like and there is a little pumpkin Like a show before you even go in where they sing and tell jokes and stuff. It's actually really cute That was probably my favorite part. I love that. I love the interactive pumpkins in the beginning That's probably my favorite they gauge age requirements all ages are more than welcome
and they take all types of payment, credit cards, cash, all that. And there are reviews on the website again, a lot of people really like it. It's a lot of fun, it's cool for families. If you go to the website there's more information, there's videos that even talks about the different art and you can actually read all the reviews, see the location, there's even a little video of
Sydoney Banks (09:16.503)
Somebody actually carving one of the pumpkins you can see you know the work that goes into each one of these So the review It is like about a mile long walk so for sure I would say take comfortable shoes and clothing it is quite a strive It's a walk for sure But that being said it is worth your money You actually really do get to take it in take your time really look at the pumpkins
Really look at the artistry work, really enjoy yourself. You know, take those memories in with your friends and family. As well as, it is a lot of pumpkins to look at, it is a lot of walking. But it is a lot of fun. There were some pumpkins that were not lit up, which was quite sad. And there was quite a few bugs that I know that still need to be worked out in the displays themselves. I know that -
because of weather in a new venue, you know, there's a lot of learning and things that go into that. But yeah, there was some pumpkins that were either the lights weren't working or they weren't plugged in. Also, there was a couple of pumpkins that were knocked over or turned around so you couldn't see them as well. And another thing was
Sydoney Banks (10:44.64)
One of the Scarecrows is missing its head. I don't know if that was on purpose or if that was not on purpose. I didn't mind it as much, but again, that's kind of something that you notice. And another thing that was noticed was... There were some kind of... This isn't necessarily the glowing pumpkins fault, but there were some rude customers that were behind us.
and in front of us, there was a couple of kids that were going into the display area and hitting and punching the pumpkins a couple of times actually went up to the people and told them, you're not supposed to be touching that, please stay on the path. But yeah, there was some disruptive guess, which really ruins the experience for other people and it also just shows that parenting is important.
There were kids that were kind of like middle school to high school age that were there that were doing things that they really shouldn't have been doing like going up to the pumpkins and hitting them and stuff. That's really not cool and doesn't make sense. Why would you pay money to do that? Again, that's not really going pumpkins fault necessarily, but maybe having a little bit more security because of customers that are like that.
I think in Tucson the culture is a lot different but in Arizona there is a lot more or like the Phoenix area Chandler there's a lot more destructive customers. Tucson maybe there isn't as much but here there is but yeah there's a couple of rude people. Also I noticed that there's a lot of people who were getting off the path and either trying to get close up to the pumpkins to take photos or take photos with the pumpkins.
Again, photos are okay and stuff, but you really don't want to get off the path because also it's not necessarily level ground off of the path. There are actually, you know, critters and stuff that live out there and there are holes and stuff that you could end up getting hurt on. So just, I would say really don't go off the path because you actually really could get hurt.
Sydoney Banks (13:07.606)
And also you're not supposed to go off the path, but maybe like I said having more security or maybe more signage that really says like, stay on the path, please do not get off the path. That's kind of my only like negatives I guess or you could say deltas. If you don't know what pluses and deltas are, you will eventually. That's something we'll go into. The things that I liked was
The actual path is actually a real, path. So it's actually paved and everything. So if you're handicapped or, you know, you want to walk in a straight, you know, secure path, that's perfect. The place they had it at last time, it was a little iffy and kind of sometimes for handicap accessible, it was a little, ooh, but for strollers or wheelchairs and stuff like that, it's perfect.
It's also a wider space, so that being said, people can go around you and you can, like I said, kind of take your time space -wise. The other location, it was a little more, you felt rushed because again, it was a smaller pathway. So people were like behind you and sometimes you'd kind of have to try to find a place to step aside to let people go by you.
And here you didn't necessarily have to do that so people could actually like go around you and stuff. So you didn't feel as... Rushed, I guess, as the other locations. So yeah, here was a little nicer because you could take your time and really look and other people could kind of, you know, the paces could be different. Which was a good thing because like I said, there's some people who really just flew through it really fast and there are other people that, like us, would take our time and look.
And I think that was really cool. And another thing I liked was their bathrooms kind of before you get to the second half. So there's kind of a bathroom break, which is also really cool. overall safety wise, they do have security and they do have barricades and stuff when you're entering the second half and leaving and going across the street into the other there is safety. But again, I'd still say parents, really need to pay attention to your kiddos.
Sydoney Banks (15:34.774)
And just make sure that safety first, you should be doing that anyways. But just make sure kids, you know, don't wander off into the lake or anything like that. They shouldn't be doing that anyways, but parents just be safe. But yeah, mean, otherwise it was great. The path was perfect. The mile long was awesome. It was, you know, it was long enough. You didn't feel like you were rushed. It didn't feel like it was a short, like, that was it.
It was nicely spaced and everything was, you know, nicely hidden. You didn't really see cords or anything. And the pumpkins, again, looked great and awesome. The effects were really cool. There was smoke, there was bubbles. I didn't see the snow yet. I don't know if they were - if they got that up and working, but I know that there's usually snow in the kind of the Christmasy area. So...
I know that not everything is up and working 100 % yet. I know that there's still things that they're working on. And I could say that very easily this is, again, it's a really great, it's a musty, family -friendly event that I would highly, highly recommend for sure going to and taking your friends and family. It's, like I said, it's Glowing Pumpkins is a jack -o -lantern adventure that...
you don't want to miss and it's well worth the money, it's well worth the drive and it is fun for the kiddos and for the family and even though there was a couple of you know things that need to be improved on it was still really good and it was still a lot of fun. Me and my team really liked it, we enjoyed it, we you know again we looked at the pumpkins
We looked at, you know, the artistry behind it. We really took our time. Like I said, that's one thing I think people really, really take your time. And, you know, unfortunately, sometimes the people around you can also, like I said, affect kind of your experience. Like I said, it was kind of unfortunate that we had people here and there that were kind of abusive to the pumpkins or just obnoxious. And...
Sydoney Banks (17:58.454)
That was kind of unfortunate and again, it's not really going pumpkin's fault. The only thing I could say is maybe more security or you know, going over the rules a little bit more for sure, like staying on the path. I just, I don't want to see anyone get hurt. And I know that there are holes and you know, stuff off, off of the path that you could really get hurt. Not to mention, like I said, there are critters out there like rattlesnakes and you know, ground squirrels and stuff. So you don't want to.
You know, get hurt out there for sure. But yes, Glowing Pumpkins. It was really awesome that this was our first review of the season. Couldn't be happier that this was our first one. We were supposed to do Tucson, Old Tucson this, I think the 28th. Or, no no no, the 27th. We were supposed to do Old Tucson and fortunately something has come up.
and we're gonna see if we can maybe reschedule and do it another day. So hopefully we'll be able to still go through and do a review for them and we're gonna try to fit in as many home haunts and other things as we can. I'm hoping we'll also still get to do Tucson Slaughterhouse and like I said, they're gonna be - this year is gonna be really cool. They're doing a lot of stuff for their 20th anniversary.
And Mila Madness I know is coming back and that's another one that I highly recommend as well as Sanctum of Horror and a lot of home haunts that are really good. You can go to halazona .com or usahauntsearch .com and check out some of the attractions that I'm talking about. But yeah, so glowingpumpkins .com for more information or to get your tickets. Like I said, it really is worth your time and money.
And it is a lot of fun for the youngsters. Like I said, it's not just, you know, walking pumpkins. It's actually an art display as well as they have blowups, have food, they have drink, they have all kinds of stuff. They have the cutie little pumpkin singing and telling jokes before you even get in. It is a lot of fun. If you do go tell them USA Haunt Search and Halizona and Yuzea sent you.
Sydoney Banks (20:21.56)
But yeah, that's pretty much it. again, highly recommend. So, this is our first review of the year for spooky season. Again, it's Glowing Pumpkins. I highly suggest it. And look forward to hopefully doing some more stuff. So stay tuned and thank you for listening as always. We appreciate y 'all and we will talk to y 'all next time. Happy Halloween and know that every day...
is Halloween.