APPLE VALLEY, Minn. — One thing is for sure: you will be wowed when you visit the Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular at the Minnesota Zoo . But if you know the story behind the spectacular, well, it makes it even more impressive.

First of all, you’ve never seen more carved pumpkins all in one place. I’m guessing here, but it has to be true.

"There's over 5,000 jack-o-lanterns that light the whole forest from the ground to the trees,” said Brian Christensen .

He would know, because Christensen is with Passion for Pumpkins, the company hired by the zoo to make the night come to life.

Planning starts in early September -- designing the trail, getting the lighting set for each and every jack-o-lantern and getting a jumpstart on pumpkin production.

“We'll do over 200 pumpkins before the show

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