Jack's Pumpkin Pop-up — Attraction in West Chicago Township

If you like establishments with inefficient security and bad customer service then this is the perfect place for you. My mom got assaulted in this place and security refused to do anything about it.

On the night of October 23rd, my family of 5 went to this place along with a large group of about 18 people (all part of our family, including young adults and elders). At the entrance, staff instructed people at the front of our party to gather the whole group together, which is why one person came to get the rest of us (only my 2 parents, my brother, my sister and me). A group of about 5 women in line started to yell at us over the fact that "we cut the line". Even after an employee explained the situation, they seemed extremely aggressive and irritated (even though it took less than 5 minutes for the rest of us to get admitted to the place). I noticed they were specially displaying violent behavior towards my mom as she was the closest to them in line, but she remained calm and soon after explained to me that this group reeked of marihuana. We set foot inside and decided to move on from this incident in order to enjoy the night, but I had a feeling of discomfort as the other group was clearly very conflictive. No longer than 15 minutes passed when this group started harassing my mom. These people were about 30 years old, and my mom is a 53 year old woman. One of them elbowed my mom as she walked by. My mom called her out for it, stating that she would report her to the authorities of the place, the woman immediately pushed my mom. As things started to escalate I kept looking around for security but ended up deciding to run towards the entrance of the place to seek help as no staff member was on sight inside. I guided security to the place and shortly found out that my mom had already been punched in the face. I would not have believed it if it wasn’t for the instant bruise that showed up on her forehead. My mom did not once hurt them, even after this event. What seemed to be the manager of the place (Carol Johnson) finally arrived at the place and we assumed she would kick the aggressors out. She asked us to walk with her and we then realized she was planning on kicking US out! We explained the situation to her and she stated that her team was looking over the “security footage”. We quickly realized that the place did not have cameras. Security never got back to her because there was nothing to look at. Even when over 20 people explained to her that my mom was the victim, she had the wonderful idea of suggesting that everyone stayed in the place in order to make it fair, swearing that this would not happen again. We clearly did not feel safe sharing a space with criminals so my family and I decided to leave the place. Carol is not trained to handle a situation of violence or any issue for that matter, she is incredibly incompetent, unskilled and ill-mannered. To name a few examples, here are a few things she did: -When we pointed out my mom’s injury, she insensitively mentioned that she had earned her own bruises when she was young (again, my mom is 53 and she literally got assaulted). -She was willing to quick our whole party out, without even considering refunding the tickets. -She would not let her staff call the police in order to adequately report the situation (she clearly does not care about customers, she exclusively minds the image of the place).

Attached to my review is a photo I found of Carol for anyone who wants to see! She looks a LOT older now though!!!

This was one of the worst experiences of my life and I will never forget the fear I felt for my mom’s security. I am certain this place does not comply with the necessary security requirements as we were not once inspected before going in, which means the situation could have gone a lot worse. As tourists we were confused on how to act, thinking surely the manager would act in our best interest, but she did not. We now know we should have definitely called the police in order to get help from people who have an...

The first red flag should have been that the signs outside advertised the “pumpkin patch” as “SAMUEL ADAMS Jack’s Pumpkins”. Parking was a nightmare - one sign pointed down the street, and then two more pointed into an alley full of junk, and to a closed gate for some private property. We parked about a block away and walked in. We paid 200 dollars for four peoples’ admission - this included two medium orange pumpkins, 1 dozen donuts, and ten carnival tickets. As far as I understand, you can only buy these tickets in lots of 5 - which makes the six-ticket price on the games a little bit obviously extortionate. The games, by the way, are all the same - throw a ball to hit the clowns, throw a ball to hit the plates, throw a dart to hit the balloons, shoot a BB to hit the cans. Now, when we got in, it was obvious as to why it was sponsored so heavily by Samuel Adams, Goose Island, and Angry Orchard - the entire first clearing was organized entirely around a central cocktail stand. In fact, that’s how the whole “pumpkin patch” was laid out - three or four clearings, each with an alcoholic drinks bar at the center. Lining the walls were numerous Instagram photo opportunities, a la the “selfie museum”, including one that said “Drink up” and one that mockingly referred to “#FreeBritney” with pink pumpkins and a pink jail cell. The decor also included some plagiarized Yayoi Kusama-style polka dotted pumpkins, which looked fine from afar but up close revealed their shoddy quality, as well as some obviously-unlicensed supersized Funko Pop boxes themed after the Nightmare Before Christmas (also obviously unlicensed). The ground was completely covered in a layer of hay, which was not only slippery to walk on, but covered multiple trip hazards such as power cables on the ground. Next to the games were three pin-board-style installations, the kind where you press your hands and body against it to create impressions. This ordinarily wouldn’t be an issue, if not for the fact that these were clearly not being actively disinfected or sanitized, as both small children and adults touched it (in a pandemic). The “pumpkin patch” was disappointingly small, as well, with all four games taking up the back of a single clearing. Pumpkins were strewn haphazardly around each area, with the implication that you could pick any up and buy it. We skipped the overpriced food (9 dollars for a burger, 13 for a vegan one) and just sprang for some pumpkins. Two medium and one small, the checkout lady informed us, ran 50 dollars. We were thoroughly disappointed by this pop-up, which clearly was so highly priced because whoever is running it is buying pumpkins elsewhere and having them shipped to Chicago to be arranged into a “pumpkin patch” in a parking lot. If you like to drink, you’ll have a good time. If you like tacky Instagram photo ops, especially ones themed after drinking, you’ll have a good time. If you go, expecting a fun family-friendly pumpkin patch experience, you will be sorely disappointed. The best part for us was when we left, and all four of us were able to bond over our shared...

It was a very disappointing experience. My friends and I only lasted about an hour for the entire event, and for $40 online w/ taxes, or $46 at the door w/ tax, it was not worth the price for the experience. (To do any of the axe throwing, carnival games, fortune telling, etc. it will cost extra.)

The website says that food trucks will be there on select weekends, but they never stated which weekends that'll occur, so dont rely on the 1 food stall with overpriced food to be fulfilling/enjoyable. In addition, there is a TON of drink stalls everywhere on the property, even some that are hidden away.

My friend paid extra to receive 2 drinks included with her ticket purchase called "Drink Up Witches." (The ticket was an additional $15.) When we went to scan our tickets, my friend was allowed to go through the gate. However, when it came time to redeem her drinks and went to one of the various drink stalls, she was told that she can only use drink tickets, of which she was never provided at the gate when she scanned in, nor was she ever informed that she needed the tickets. (We assumed that the QR code for her entry ticket functioned as her drink redemption method.) Furthermore, when she went to redeem her drink tickets for a warm cider and a cocktail, she was told that the cider was excluded, even though nowhere on the website's ticket description nor their FAQs mentioned anything about any drinks that were excluded. (She switched it for a hot chocolate, which was not only really bitter, but also the exact same price as the cider.)

Finally, because all of the other activities was an up-charge to the regular entry ticket, there was nothing else to do other than the corn maze and the excessive amount of photo op backgrounds. In sum, you are paying $40+ for a corn maze and taking photos. For me and my friends, Jack's was not worth the price for the lack of experience we received. To make matters worse, if you wanted a pumpkin, it'll...