Riding Shotgun with Monster Jam: Thunder Alley at Carowinds

While I’ve never been to a Monster Truck rally, when it was announced that Monster Jam: Thunder Alley would come to Carowinds, I was intrigued – if for no other reason than satisfying my inner child’s curiosity about the larger-than-life vehicles. Originally planned to debut at Carowinds in 2020, Monster Jam: Thunder Alley finally made it to Carowinds this fall, and during a recent visit on a SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY, I took the opportunity to explore Thunder Alley and everything that the experience had to offer!

At Carowinds, Thunder Alley takes place inside of the Carolina Harbor water park, which closed for the season in September. Once you enter the water park, you’re almost immediately greeted by the first of five full-size Monster Jam trucks on display: Megalodon.

Each of the five display trucks have a background and history on the truck for park guests to learn more about each of the trucks.

Inside of Thunder Alley, there’s an area for kids to “drive” toy monster trucks over hills and jumps, an area for Monster Jam driver meet & greets, an interactive “Monster Jam Garage” displaying giant wheels and engine parts, and two retail locations, including one where guests can build their own “monster” trucks!

Photo: CP Food Blog

Guests had the opportunities to climb into the cabs of El Toro Loco and the iconic Grave Digger for photo opportunities.

Other Monster Trucks on display included Zombie and Maximum Destruction aka “Max-D.”

There was a panel of the legendary Grave Digger on-site for guests to sign — you know we had to participate!

The highlight of the Monster Jam: Thunder Alley experience was getting to climb aboard a “super-sized” ten-passenger Monster Truck for an actual ride in the “Ride Truck Experience!”

There were “XL” replicas of Grave Digger and Megalodon that guests had the opportunity to ride and go through a series of Monster Jam obstacles that were arranged in the Carolina Harbor parking lot. A pro-tip: the Monster Jam “Ride Along” experience has a single-rider line available. This may not be the best for everyone, but as a solo traveler, it beat waiting an hour in line for sure! If you can divide your party, look into it!

As a single rider, the person assigning seats asked if I wanted to sit next to the driver. (Who wouldn’t?!) A quick note that if you’re in the front seats next to the driver, masks/face coverings are required — a very small price to pay for the best views possible!

The XL-sized truck winds through Carolina Harbor towards the Carowinds parking lot by way of a backstage access gate. In the parking lot, a variety of freestyle-inspired “obstacles” and maneuvers have been set up to give riders the full experience, save for jumping dozens of cars — probably for the best! The Ride Truck traversed multiple mounds of dirt and tires, and even performed a quick donut! In all, the experience was just over three minutes!

Guests can purchase a VIP Monster Jam experience for $29.99 that includes a guaranteed ride on the Ride Truck during a one hour window, a lanyard, and either a build your-own Monster Truck or Monster Jam tote bag — but otherwise, Monster Jam: Thunder Alley is included with park admission! (For us, a price that’s much better than the alternative of KIDS SEATS ARE STILL JUST FIVE DOLLARS.)

As someone who walked into Carolina Harbor not really knowing what to expect from Thunder Alley, I think it was a fantastic interactive display, and would highly recommend experiencing it if Thunder Alley motors in to your local park! It’s not every day you can say you got to ride shotgun in a monster truck, after all! There’s something for all ages!

Monster Jam: Thunder Alley takes place at Carowinds for one more weekend; Saturday, October 9 and Sunday, October 10 from 11:00am-5:00pm. The trucks will then head to the midwest as Thunder Alley takes over Worlds of Fun from October 23-November 21.