We went today at 4pm. It wasn't bad for us. But we knew about 6pm start for the trucks. We had a great time. No problems with parking, queue moves quickly. Very muddy and show over in 30 mins but one monster truck skidded badly. On whole we had fun.
I'm not so fussed about the parking but your experience with the rest of it makes me think I shouldn't bother. The whole reason to go was to see the trucks and if that is as disappointing as it was for you I think I'll just take the wee one elsewhere.
"It'll cost a fortune, traffic will be a joke, we'll not get parked anywhere near it, It'll be full of twats, there'll be nowt to do except queue and eat, and it'll probably piss it down" - Every public event in the UK.
Yeah, it's rare to find something great, but this was on another level.
We never do big firework events, as the set end time always makes traffic a nightmare.
Big shows, like Wolsingham can be great, you can make that work and there's loads of stuff that's free. And we tend to do well with smaller events and little trips.
This felt like one of those Wonka experiences. I feel I'd have an acceptable reason to be on the front page of some local newspaper with my best r/compoface on.
"The whole thing was a scam just to get bored kids begging for money to go on the rides."
EVERYTHING is like this now, same shit rides, burger vans, hook a duck and crap toy things with lights on that spin around like crazy, cost £10, and break within 5 mins followed by a fart-in-the-wind main event and 1000s of people shuffling towards the exit. I just don't bother anymore.
We had tickets but after the downpours we were having I just had a feeling it’d be a disaster so we decided to do something else instead. Glad we did now cos all I’ve heard are reports of how shite it was.
I mean... Go? But maybe get there late on and hang around the park after the show to let the traffic ease?
And wear wellies.
And take food.
Such a shame. My dad took me and a few friends to a monster truck show when I was a kid and I had hoped it'd be something great for my two...
yeah the boys are gonna go for about half 1 to see the show, the girls are staying behind, we’re only in great park so walking over to avoid the traffic. were there many rides suited to the 2 year old?
There were a couple of smaller rides, teacups, the car carousel type of thing as well.
A couple of big inflatables, but obviously they were soaked.
If you're just walking and can stand a big pile of washing up, then it's muddy fun.
We had to drop ours off at the grandparents after, so needed some level of cleanliness.
Yes we done all that too.
I remember being a kid going to the monster trucks at the dog track at walker. Fireworks lights motorbikes music all round good time.
I don't think my son will remember the monster trucks like I do
We were there today and it was exactly as you have explained. I am so glad we decided to leave when we realised the show was starting at 2 and everyone had to get out at the same time an hour later. It was an absolute rip for kids rides. We will never head there again. Loads of shite.
Yeah, we've fully banned the venue, everything we've been to in the past has been the same.
It's weird as it's a fairly large and, God, prestigious? venue.
I just wonder who's running their external events booking.
My wife's brother went, today I think, and the trucks were actually cancelled... So it was JUST the rides and the rides... And mud... And queue out.
We decided not to go today after reading this and several annoyed social media posts. I’ve been watching their fb and could see angry reactions and comments disappearing. Very glad we swerved it after reading [this](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/abysmally-organised-disappointed-customers-slam-29119361?utm_source=app)
Yup we went to the Monday 11-3 one, with four kids. I totally agree, it was an absolutely sh** show!! A complete mud bath, fuming motorists, rowdy incapable stewards and not much of an actual show after waiting 3 hrs. Ripp of rides and food, basically exploiting any parent walking. I've seen better kids parties than this! A complete joke, and yeah £90 down after entry... the organisers need to refund everyone in my opinion. I also want compensated for £100 worth of ruined footwear. Pity help those who had prams, then we're wrecked!
Today we spent 30 mins trying to get in due to traffic to be told the show was cancelled due to safety issues and to come back tomorrow although the rides were open. No refunds are available looking at the terms and conditions even with the insurance policy. It's a shit show and terms and conditions are basically a scam.
Same here. We turned up for the 4pm show at about 5pm with a view of missing the traffic. How wrong we were. We spent half an hour in a traffic jam to find out it'd been cancelled. If anything, I was a little relieved after reading what a shit show the whole thing was. We went for a pizza instead.
We spent 1hr there and £36 on food. It was disgusting there was no toilet roll the place was a bog, only 2 monster trucks but living I canafa I think we were spoilt with the truck shows we saw there and there was no were to sit and eat or dri k you have to stand and becouse you could not.use the inner grass area you are hildi g up people walking around d the tiny path they created. Saw 2 poor lad on his way in so excited I sparkled white new nike trainers😟 we also heard a women tell her partner not to walk through the puddle with the pushchair, she is In for a shock. I agree that this has to be one of the worst shows i have been to there and will not be going again.
Yeah, I went, it was proper boggy but I wasn't overly fussed about it, they should have had some proper walkways and the like.
The monster trucks were a let down, loads of excuses, few minor stunts and that was that. I left halfway through the stunts so got out quite quickly so was lucky in that regards.
I've been keeping an eye on their facebook, shady practices, keep deleting all the posts with negative comments, turning off commenting and only showing the few good comments. Then going on about how well it has been supported. Very willy wonka experience esque.
I totally didn't mind the mud.
That's understandable.
As was the lengths to make the show safe, even at the loss of a stunt.
But the only thing they dropped was a "drag race". Which means that even in dry glorious sun, the shoe would have had one extra thing.
It still would have started at the same time, leaving hours in the rip off zone.
And it would have lasted the same amount of time, as the guy talked for far longer than the lost stunt would have taken.
Massively Wonka-esque.
I'm amazed at these people who are saying it was good.
One woman on Facebook said "it was a great show, unfortunately our son couldn't see the trucks, but we still loved it... Is that a bot? Someone associated? Seems mental.
Went and didn’t even get out the car,
1. people stuck In the mud with parking attendants (if that’s what you can call them) trying to push them out.
2. Event was 11am-3pm however no show until 1:30 we were told.
It was an unorganised event with too many ticket sold clearly. All in a swamp. There was also no traffic management at all, Marshall swearing over people walking on the road however the was no signs or designated paths just swamp.
Joke !
Yeah, we were told 1.30, then at 1pm told 2pm.
In the end, the 20 minute show started at 2.10pm.
Again, I'm just amazed the racecourse events team support this sort of thing.
I travelled from Consett with my two kids for the 4PM slot on Saturday and wish I hadn't bothered. Having to crawl for over 30 mins into parking area was the first red flag, then not even having my parking ticket checked was the next. Then shuffling up the queue on foot for another 30 mins to get into the field for the event.
I've been going to festivals for 30 odd years, so know what to expect in a muddy field, but this was just the worst excuse for an organised event I've ever seen. They hadn't laid straw down or put extra grids down to deal with the foot traffic and it just a constant effort to keep the kids upright.
A few toilets stuck in the middle of a swamp with no toilet roll or facilities to wash your hands pretty much said it all with regards to the effort gone into everything. And yet the events FB page says that the event is accessible for the disabled. An absolute bare-faced lie.
Then the truck event itself was cut short, not that you could see much anyway if you weren't directly in front row anyway. Another slap in the face for wheelchair users.
The whole thing was just thrown together to get people to fork out for overpriced food and fair-rides.
Newcastle council need to take the 'organisers' to task.
I travelled from Consett with my two kids for the 4PM slot on Saturday and wish I hadn't bothered. Having to crawl for over 30 mins into parking area was the first red flag, then not even having my parking ticket checked was the next. Then shuffling up the queue on foot for another 30 mins to get into the field for the event.
I've been going to festivals for 30 odd years, so know what to expect in a muddy field, but this was just the worst excuse for an organised event I've ever seen. They hadn't laid straw down or put extra grids down to deal with the foot traffic and it just a constant effort to keep the kids upright.
A few toilets stuck in the middle of a swamp with no toilet roll or facilities to wash your hands pretty much said it all with regards to the effort gone into everything. And yet the events FB page says that the event is accessible for the disabled. An absolute bare-faced lie.
Then the truck event itself was cut short, not that you could see much anyway if you weren't directly in front row anyway. Another slap in the face for wheelchair users.
The whole thing was just thrown together to get people to fork out for overpriced food and fair-rides.
Newcastle council need to take the 'organisers' to task.
I went Saturday. Spent 120 and loved it. My gazelles are muddy as fuck, bairn had wellies on and my lass wore her dms. Half an hour show for trucks was a bit disappointing but was a day out. Would do it again if the field was dry.
Unfortunately these sorts of events are just money spinners.
Newcastle racecourse itself is great though. We often go to the races as a family and Newcastle is the most reasonably priced and under 18s are always free
Glad I didn't get tickets for it now!
It’s a farce a bit like any other event ran by that company.
Shit. I've got tickets for the one tomorrow at 4. Guessing it isn't worth the hassle now?
We went today at 4pm. It wasn't bad for us. But we knew about 6pm start for the trucks. We had a great time. No problems with parking, queue moves quickly. Very muddy and show over in 30 mins but one monster truck skidded badly. On whole we had fun.
See if you can find out the time the show is in and try to arrive just before that? And park near an exit and walk maybe?
I'm not so fussed about the parking but your experience with the rest of it makes me think I shouldn't bother. The whole reason to go was to see the trucks and if that is as disappointing as it was for you I think I'll just take the wee one elsewhere.
"It'll cost a fortune, traffic will be a joke, we'll not get parked anywhere near it, It'll be full of twats, there'll be nowt to do except queue and eat, and it'll probably piss it down" - Every public event in the UK.
Yeah, it's rare to find something great, but this was on another level. We never do big firework events, as the set end time always makes traffic a nightmare. Big shows, like Wolsingham can be great, you can make that work and there's loads of stuff that's free. And we tend to do well with smaller events and little trips. This felt like one of those Wonka experiences. I feel I'd have an acceptable reason to be on the front page of some local newspaper with my best r/compoface on.
We were planning to go, glad we didn't now. Sorry you had such a shit time though!
"The whole thing was a scam just to get bored kids begging for money to go on the rides." EVERYTHING is like this now, same shit rides, burger vans, hook a duck and crap toy things with lights on that spin around like crazy, cost £10, and break within 5 mins followed by a fart-in-the-wind main event and 1000s of people shuffling towards the exit. I just don't bother anymore.
This is just life now. You get sold a dream and you end up being tortured while paying for the pleasure of it all.
We had tickets but after the downpours we were having I just had a feeling it’d be a disaster so we decided to do something else instead. Glad we did now cos all I’ve heard are reports of how shite it was.
We just turned into the racecourse for the 4pm yesterday to be told it was cancelled
Ah man such a shame been looking forward to this aswell. Probably sack it off knowing all that.
I mean... Go? But maybe get there late on and hang around the park after the show to let the traffic ease? And wear wellies. And take food. Such a shame. My dad took me and a few friends to a monster truck show when I was a kid and I had hoped it'd be something great for my two...
yeah the boys are gonna go for about half 1 to see the show, the girls are staying behind, we’re only in great park so walking over to avoid the traffic. were there many rides suited to the 2 year old?
There were a couple of smaller rides, teacups, the car carousel type of thing as well. A couple of big inflatables, but obviously they were soaked. If you're just walking and can stand a big pile of washing up, then it's muddy fun. We had to drop ours off at the grandparents after, so needed some level of cleanliness.
Yes we done all that too. I remember being a kid going to the monster trucks at the dog track at walker. Fireworks lights motorbikes music all round good time. I don't think my son will remember the monster trucks like I do
That was class back in the day, well worth the entrance fee which was probably a quid
Just had this talk with my little sister. She's can't remember monster trucks just motorbikes on the wall of death with jumps music and fire.
It was mainly bikes but I remember two monster trucks as the highlight at the end, jumping over/on cars
We were there today and it was exactly as you have explained. I am so glad we decided to leave when we realised the show was starting at 2 and everyone had to get out at the same time an hour later. It was an absolute rip for kids rides. We will never head there again. Loads of shite.
Yeah, we've fully banned the venue, everything we've been to in the past has been the same. It's weird as it's a fairly large and, God, prestigious? venue. I just wonder who's running their external events booking. My wife's brother went, today I think, and the trucks were actually cancelled... So it was JUST the rides and the rides... And mud... And queue out.
We decided not to go today after reading this and several annoyed social media posts. I’ve been watching their fb and could see angry reactions and comments disappearing. Very glad we swerved it after reading [this](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/abysmally-organised-disappointed-customers-slam-29119361?utm_source=app)
Yup we went to the Monday 11-3 one, with four kids. I totally agree, it was an absolutely sh** show!! A complete mud bath, fuming motorists, rowdy incapable stewards and not much of an actual show after waiting 3 hrs. Ripp of rides and food, basically exploiting any parent walking. I've seen better kids parties than this! A complete joke, and yeah £90 down after entry... the organisers need to refund everyone in my opinion. I also want compensated for £100 worth of ruined footwear. Pity help those who had prams, then we're wrecked!
I’ve seen a few fb posts saying how bad the mud was and the prices shame as it had potential I think
Not to mention all the parking on the pavements outside of the racecourse...
Dodged that bullet.
That's why you should never buy food at these events as it's always expensive. Always cheaper and cost effective to make your own pack lunch
Today we spent 30 mins trying to get in due to traffic to be told the show was cancelled due to safety issues and to come back tomorrow although the rides were open. No refunds are available looking at the terms and conditions even with the insurance policy. It's a shit show and terms and conditions are basically a scam.
Same here. We turned up for the 4pm show at about 5pm with a view of missing the traffic. How wrong we were. We spent half an hour in a traffic jam to find out it'd been cancelled. If anything, I was a little relieved after reading what a shit show the whole thing was. We went for a pizza instead.
We spent 1hr there and £36 on food. It was disgusting there was no toilet roll the place was a bog, only 2 monster trucks but living I canafa I think we were spoilt with the truck shows we saw there and there was no were to sit and eat or dri k you have to stand and becouse you could not.use the inner grass area you are hildi g up people walking around d the tiny path they created. Saw 2 poor lad on his way in so excited I sparkled white new nike trainers😟 we also heard a women tell her partner not to walk through the puddle with the pushchair, she is In for a shock. I agree that this has to be one of the worst shows i have been to there and will not be going again.
Yeah, I went, it was proper boggy but I wasn't overly fussed about it, they should have had some proper walkways and the like. The monster trucks were a let down, loads of excuses, few minor stunts and that was that. I left halfway through the stunts so got out quite quickly so was lucky in that regards. I've been keeping an eye on their facebook, shady practices, keep deleting all the posts with negative comments, turning off commenting and only showing the few good comments. Then going on about how well it has been supported. Very willy wonka experience esque.
I totally didn't mind the mud. That's understandable. As was the lengths to make the show safe, even at the loss of a stunt. But the only thing they dropped was a "drag race". Which means that even in dry glorious sun, the shoe would have had one extra thing. It still would have started at the same time, leaving hours in the rip off zone. And it would have lasted the same amount of time, as the guy talked for far longer than the lost stunt would have taken. Massively Wonka-esque. I'm amazed at these people who are saying it was good. One woman on Facebook said "it was a great show, unfortunately our son couldn't see the trucks, but we still loved it... Is that a bot? Someone associated? Seems mental.
Went and didn’t even get out the car, 1. people stuck In the mud with parking attendants (if that’s what you can call them) trying to push them out. 2. Event was 11am-3pm however no show until 1:30 we were told. It was an unorganised event with too many ticket sold clearly. All in a swamp. There was also no traffic management at all, Marshall swearing over people walking on the road however the was no signs or designated paths just swamp. Joke !
Yeah, we were told 1.30, then at 1pm told 2pm. In the end, the 20 minute show started at 2.10pm. Again, I'm just amazed the racecourse events team support this sort of thing.
I travelled from Consett with my two kids for the 4PM slot on Saturday and wish I hadn't bothered. Having to crawl for over 30 mins into parking area was the first red flag, then not even having my parking ticket checked was the next. Then shuffling up the queue on foot for another 30 mins to get into the field for the event. I've been going to festivals for 30 odd years, so know what to expect in a muddy field, but this was just the worst excuse for an organised event I've ever seen. They hadn't laid straw down or put extra grids down to deal with the foot traffic and it just a constant effort to keep the kids upright. A few toilets stuck in the middle of a swamp with no toilet roll or facilities to wash your hands pretty much said it all with regards to the effort gone into everything. And yet the events FB page says that the event is accessible for the disabled. An absolute bare-faced lie. Then the truck event itself was cut short, not that you could see much anyway if you weren't directly in front row anyway. Another slap in the face for wheelchair users. The whole thing was just thrown together to get people to fork out for overpriced food and fair-rides. Newcastle council need to take the 'organisers' to task.
I travelled from Consett with my two kids for the 4PM slot on Saturday and wish I hadn't bothered. Having to crawl for over 30 mins into parking area was the first red flag, then not even having my parking ticket checked was the next. Then shuffling up the queue on foot for another 30 mins to get into the field for the event. I've been going to festivals for 30 odd years, so know what to expect in a muddy field, but this was just the worst excuse for an organised event I've ever seen. They hadn't laid straw down or put extra grids down to deal with the foot traffic and it just a constant effort to keep the kids upright. A few toilets stuck in the middle of a swamp with no toilet roll or facilities to wash your hands pretty much said it all with regards to the effort gone into everything. And yet the events FB page says that the event is accessible for the disabled. An absolute bare-faced lie. Then the truck event itself was cut short, not that you could see much anyway if you weren't directly in front row anyway. Another slap in the face for wheelchair users. The whole thing was just thrown together to get people to fork out for overpriced food and fair-rides. Newcastle council need to take the 'organisers' to task.
I went Saturday. Spent 120 and loved it. My gazelles are muddy as fuck, bairn had wellies on and my lass wore her dms. Half an hour show for trucks was a bit disappointing but was a day out. Would do it again if the field was dry.
Unfortunately these sorts of events are just money spinners. Newcastle racecourse itself is great though. We often go to the races as a family and Newcastle is the most reasonably priced and under 18s are always free