Drive-in movies

Whenever we move to a new area, we try to find a drive-in theater. Why? Because they're fun! They're also usually cheaper than a regular movie theater.

A couple weeks ago I went online and found that we actually have two theaters that are each about an hour away, though in different directions. We were going to go last weekend to watch Toy Story 3, but then I realized if we waited till this past weekend we could watch Toy Story 3 and Eclipse. Since I would rather watch Eclipse than Prince of Persia (the second showing last weekend), it was a no-brainer to wait a week.

LMS climbing through a tunnel on the playground, not quite looking at the camera

The theater we went to was actually built just a few years ago, and was quite nice. They've worked hard to make it family friendly, and I think they succeeded. There's a playground for the kids to run around in while waiting for the movie to start

having fun on the teeter-totter

and the concession stand had really good prices (nothing over $3.50). We got huge snow cones for $1 each,

LMS spent a good 30-40 minutes working her way throught that giant snow cone!

then went back just before the movie started for a soda, M&Ms, and 2 tootsie pops (25 cents each!) and only spent $2.75 for those. $2.75 might get you a drink or a small box of candy at a regular theater, but that's it. And I don't remember the last time I saw a $1 snow cone, big or small. Oh yes, and we only paid $7 to get in. That's two movies for $7! Technically they should have charged me $3 for LMS, but the kid at the gate didn't make me pay for her. Score!

Altogether, we paid less than $12 for the whole experience. Considering the prices theaters are charging these days, we would have paid a lot more for just one movie. And we might have had to leave early because I don't think LMS has ever sat still through an entire movie (unless she's buckled in her car seat). She was able to climb around, sit on me, snuggle in her blankets, stand up, and so on, all without bothering other people.

We brought cushions, pillows, and blankets, and were nice and comfy the whole time.

Since you need to arrive early to get a decent spot, we ended up arriving around 6:10, so we had almost three hours to kill- good thing they have the playground! The only real downside was that the first movie didn't start till 9 pm (when it got dark), the second didn't start till after 11 pm, and we were driving home at 1:30 am. I hate driving in the dark. Other than that, it was a ton of fun and we'll be doing this again!

Have you ever been to a drive-in?