The Glow: A Jack O’Lantern Experience is the newest fall activity in the Charlotte area and it’s sure to delight your family, young and old! With over 5000 hand-carved jack o’lanterns, there really is something for everyone!
A big thanks to The Glow for hosting us for this fun, family event. We received complimentary tickets for admission but all of my opinions are honest and my own.
The Glow Charlotte is the newest location (you can also find The Glow in Washington DC, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh), and some of the pumpkins pay homage to the great state of North Carolina from the sports teams…
… to the historical figures. Look at that detail– the carvings were SO cool!
By putting pumpkins together, The Glow is able to create massive displays with everything from sea life…
… to dinosaurs!! We were all amazed at the level of detail in the carvings- especially since they’re all done by hand!
Pop-culture references abound so make sure to look for your favorite couple as you travel the 1/3 mile trail through the pumpkin wonderland. It typically takes 30-45 minutes to walk the trail but you can take as long as you want to make sure that you see everything.
The girls (really, all of us!) were super impressed with the castle display full of Disney princesses and villains. I think Jacob will have his work cut out for him when he’s helping the kids carve their pumpkins this year!!
Another favorite area was the Skeleton Band– make sure to look for the pumpkins featuring a variety of performers. Our kids kept asking if the pumpkins were real and the answer is that yes, a lot of them are real (and they come from local farms!) but some are molded from real pumpkins– ALL of them are carved by hand though.
When you exit the trail, you end up in a pumpkin patch FULL of pumpkins of all sizes. The kids had so much fun going through the pumpkins to pick out their favorite to bring home (pumpkins are an additional charge).
They also have fall food and drinks available so you can get a snack, or even dinner, before or after your stroll through the pumpkin trail.
The funnel cakes looked (and smelled!) absolutely delicious and come in several varieties so make sure to check those out as well!
We really enjoyed our visit to The Glow and will definitely include it on our list of fun things to do every fall. It’s really nice to have options that are family friendly since we have a wide range of ages of kids in our house. While our older ones like doing haunted houses and mazes, our youngest obviously does not, so it’s great to have activities that we can do together as a family!
Things to Remember When You Visit The Glow
- The Glow Charlotte runs from October 4-28th at the Rock City Campground at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
- Tickets must be purchased ahead of time for a specific date and time slot- they only allow a set number of people to enter the trail at one time so make sure to buy your ticket soon before your preferred time slot is sold out! You CANNOT buy tickets at the door!!
- Bring bug spray with you.!! The Glow Charlotte is located in a field and because of all the rain from Hurricane Florence, there were a TON of mosquitos. We didn’t think to pack any bug spray and we’re paying for it now.
- While The Glow is definitely stroller friendly, the bulk of the trail is on a gravel path and it’s very rocky. We brought our Maclaren umbrella stroller and really wished that we had our bigger Phil & Ted’s jogging stroller instead.
- The Glow does run rain or shine so make sure to plan accordingly, especially since you are unable to change your time or date. In the event of severe weather, check their Facebook page for updates.
What’s your favorite fall activity in your area??
