posted on February 26, 2001 11:50:43 AM
If no one bought food in the theaters they'd all go out of business. Concessions sales are a huge amount of theaters' profits. So... I think it's OK that it's not allowed to bring in food from the outside, but of course "sneaking" will always happen and that's OK.
posted on February 26, 2001 12:14:02 PM
Had a friend who used to stop at McDonalds
buy hamburgers and fries and put 'em in
an old pocket book....course when she
opened it up in the theater you could smell
the stuff all the way to the ticket booth.
She finally had to stop...they told her one
more time and no more movies!!
Meant to mention this was her idea
of "Dinner Theater" on the cheap!!
[ edited by zilvy on Feb 26, 2001 12:14 PM ]
posted on February 26, 2001 12:45:30 PM
We'll sometimes get some candy to take in, and my kids have taken a can of pop sometimes, but we usually buy popcorn and or pop there. I have a friend who smuggles in all kinds of food, sub sandwiches etc. I wouldn't go that far myself.
posted on February 26, 2001 01:02:20 PM
I rarely go to the movies unless I know almost no one else will be there. I can't stand hearing people crunch popcorn. It drives me nuts. I also can't stand the smell of that nasty half-rancid butter they put on it. It also kinda bugs me to have to sit with my feet on squashed-up popcorn and spilled cokes.
I don't mind people eating, I just wish they didn't so often have the need to share their experience with everyone around them. And why do so many people think they can just get up at the end of the movie and leave all their trash in the seat and on the floor? Pigs.
posted on February 26, 2001 01:19:02 PMAnd why do so many people think they can just get up at the end of the movie and leave all their trash in the seat and on the floor?
xellil - I always thought that was rude, too, until I started working in movie theaters. After every show we'd go in the auditoriums with a rolling trash can and just go down the aisle and pick all that trash up. It was never really a bother, just something routine that we did. After that, I've always thought it's totally normal to leave stuff on the floor after a movie.
My mom won't ever see a movie in a theater, though, because she doesn't like to stick to the floor.
Edited to add: old, wet popcorn is one of the worst smells in the world!!
[ edited by RainyBear on Feb 26, 2001 01:20 PM ]
posted on February 26, 2001 01:42:36 PM
Depends... are we talking 4 course meal or a bag of peanuts? Some families have finicky children who will only eat 'certain' things too.
My younger son actually doesn't like popcorn but he loves KitKat bars. I am not about to pay 2.00 for a freakin KitKat bar, though. So, sometimes we stop at a minimart along the way so he can grab one. Then he's happy and my older son and I get a big ol' tub of that inimitable movie popcorn with lots of movie butter, and I cough up the chingo for 3 big ol' movie sodas.
posted on February 26, 2001 02:38:27 PM
RainyBear I wish you worked in the last theater I went to! There was so much crap in the aisle we tried to go into we just gave up and tried another. And the stuff on the floor, everywhere, I felt like I needed to throw away my shoes when I got out. And I did, because I don't think it was just coke on the bottom. Maybe they were just having a busy day, or didn't have enough people to help.
SilkMoth that's a great idea -- how about a "chewy foods" only section? Milk Duds and Hot Tamales allowed, no popcorn or ice crunching. And while we're at it, where are the balconies? And the red velvet curtains, and the ceilings with murals on them? I miss my old Campus Theatre. And no drive-ins any more. Phooey.
I don't bring stuff in to the movies but I understand why people do -- $4.75 for a frigging COKE? If you've got 2-3 kids tagging along and buy them all popcorn and cokes, you could spend $40 or $50 without even thinking. Then, of course, most kids want to play all the oh-so-prominent video games sitting around.
posted on February 26, 2001 03:02:20 PM
Ahhh yes, balconies, red velvet curtains...etc. I can even remember each theatre having a separate, glass enclosed room, where parents who brought children with them view the movies. That got me thinking about how that wouldn't work now as many parents enjoy movies with their children.
Thinking about that made me think about how many children were even in the movie theatre. I can't remember ever going to the movies with my parents. I remember going to movies with my friends, our parents dropping us off and then picking us up when the movie was over. We didn't have the safety problems parents today have to deal with.
posted on February 26, 2001 05:13:17 PM
Since we're on the subject of bringing food to an event, and the idea is that the theatres want to limit outside food being brought in so as to keep their concession sales up, what do you all think about all the theme and amusements parks that limit food being brought in?
We had a really nice local amusement park near us that was bought last year by Six Flags. They had a big promo campaign that offered a season pass for little more than a one visit ticket, so I sprung and bought a family pack of season tickets. For years we had been going to this park annually and we always packed a picnic lunch. They had lots of pavillions with picnic tables and even grills were available.
Well, lo and behold, on our first trip there, I was stopped at the gate and told I couldn't take in my small cooler. All I brought that day was a few juice boxes and bottled water for the kids. I showed them the contents and was told that NO coolers or outside beverages were allowed in. I trudged back to the car with the cooler and returned (with a few drinks stashed in my jacket.)
Apparently, the new owners of the park have decided to run the park in a very different manner. I was saddend by this because I have such fond memories of the park growing up. There'd be a pack of us kids, never a parent, running around the park hitting all the rides we could until we got hungry and then we'd run back to the pavillion where Mom would have chicken, potato salad, and all kinds of goodies. Of course, you had to go over to your friends' table to see what treats you could scarf from them! And the parents usually stayed at the pavillion talking and enjoying adult company while the kids played.
I just can't believe that you're forced to buy the crummy, overpriced food that they have in the park. By the time you pay admission and buy lunch, you're out of the price range that many families are comfortable with. Why should a day at an amusement park cost hundreds of dollars? You know, even when we brought our own food, we still purchased some items at the park like cotton candy or ice cream, but at least we didn't need to depend on them for our main source of nutrition.
posted on February 26, 2001 05:22:22 PM
Oh I used to take all KINDS of food with me into Six Flags when we lived near Magic Mountain in Calif. I bought season passes every year, and when we went I would load up the diaper bag with chicken nuggets wrapped in foil, little tupperware thingies of sauce, sandwiches, pretzels, chips, capri suns, cookies, a few cokes, and one of those flat ice pack thingamabobs. We could spend the whole day from morning till night and not spend a dime.
posted on February 26, 2001 05:26:15 PM
I'll tell you what section there needs to be in the movie theatre, though... a CRYING BABY section... preferably out in the parking lot. It never ceases to amaze me that ppl will bring in these tiny babies who wail and wail and wail and the parents just frigging sit there like they're not bothering anyone! When my kids were babies if I took them at all to the movies, I would be outside at the first cry.
And that goes for restaurants, airplanes, and the line at the grocery store too... crying babies =
posted on February 26, 2001 06:27:13 PM
Well, I know I don't want to pay higher ticket prices, so the concession stands are just fine with me.
Since I go to matinees, I'm not bothered so much by the eating, especially now with the spacious stadium seating. There were only 14 of us in the last movie I attended and 10 in the previous one. (There were 11, but some guy apparently thought the movie stunk, as did I, and he walked out in the middle of it.)
When I do go to a movie, I treat myself to a small popcorn, but I get there early so I am finished by the time the movie starts. I'm a polite movie-goer. I'm not a soda drinker, so I switch to a larger purse and take a bottle of water with me. I don't care to pay $2.50 for a bottle of water.
There was a family of 4 (2 kids) in the concession line before me recently. That family paid $22!!! for their goodies. And, that was on top of the admission price for 4. Unbelievable to me that they wouldn't have stopped at a fast-food joint for lunch and just shared a popcorn in the movie.
posted on February 26, 2001 06:44:01 PM
We've got a nice new theater by us with the stadium seating (yeah! I can finally see over the head of the person in front of me!) and if I take my son to a movie, I usually bring a bottle of water and some candy. If I go with my husband, we will buy some soda & popcorn.
I don't mind them making a few dollars on the concessions, but charging $2.50 for a bottle of water that cost them less than $.50 is just outrageous. If they were a bit more reasonable, we would buy our refreshments there and I'm sure others would, too.
At Sea World, they no longer allow coolers and have moved the picnic area out to the front sidewalk, just off the parking lot. It's just wonderful eating your lunch while dozens of people are walking past. We usually plan on bringing lunch and then buying dinner there. They do have one really good restaurant. But then again, we are only a family of 3. I don't know how the larger families do it.
posted on February 26, 2001 07:59:58 PM
Last movie I took my kids to we did it spur of the moment so I hadn't stopped at the mini mart to grab drinks and candy as we usually do. We dropped over $40.00 just for the three of us, and the popcorn was crummy.
Can't afford to do that very often.
posted on February 26, 2001 08:09:43 PM
Last year we went to a movie and a big family came in and sat in front of us. I had never seen anything like it. They had fried chicken and hot soup - olives and pickles - overstuffed sandwitches and home made cookies. I had only one problem - The smell was driving me nuts. None of this was bought - No Kentucky fried for these folks - they had home made and it smelled wonderful. Don't know how they hid it all!
posted on February 26, 2001 08:19:04 PM
*Wincing at the thought of moms with crying babies stepping outside of the airplane.*
We've got a great new theater with the stadium seating, which I love. They have a special where if you bring your own bag, they'll fill it with popcorn for you. The tourists visiting our town don't know, of course, but it's a nice perk for the locals, and they still make $$$$ on the sodas. Makes me happy.
Lisa
posted on February 26, 2001 08:22:16 PM
Oh, gravid, that is so funny! I can just imagine it.
Reminds me of the time I was flying home from Italy and I swear every Italian person on the plane was related, or at least, they knew each other. They all had huge shopping bags filled with food and they kept passing it all around between each other. Bread, cheese, olives, and one guy had a whole huge salami! He kept cutting slices off of it and handing them out to all his "relatives."
That plane smelled so bad; the cheese and salami were highly odiferous! I wondered if they had never flown before and didn't realize that they would be served a meal or if they HAD flown before and knew how bad the food was!
posted on February 26, 2001 08:52:09 PM
jtland ROTFL! HAHAHAHAHA
A little cold medicine (on the pediatrician's say so) & a bottle or pacifier and my kids were angel flyers. I had the baby from hell behind me on a flight once... cried the whole time and the parents didn't even jiggle it or coo it or give it anything to calm it down. I offered them a hard pretzel for it to suck on but they said 'No thanks'. Humph!
posted on February 26, 2001 08:56:01 PM
I don't understand people who bring babies to movie theaters. I understand prices are kind of high, but is hiring a babysitter completely out of the question?
Where I live, we have what are called cinema/grills, or cinema bars that are all over 21. They serve alcoholic beverages and real food, quesadillas, nachos, burgers, pizzas, subs, grinders, fries, ya know, pub food. Buckets of popcorn are free. Seating is stadium elevated and they have really big comfy chairs. Waiters and waitresses wait on you at your table. These venues are quite popular and are alternatives to conventional theaters.
posted on February 27, 2001 06:50:07 AMBusyBiddy, that amusement park wouldn't happen to be in Northern Ohio would it? The one with the water themed park across the lake?
We always took coolers there, but haven't gone since Six Flags took it over. I did take my kids the last year before the takeover, and the place was a mess. Not enough help, trash everywhere, bleah. Not being able to take my own cooler would definately have an impact on whether or not we would go back.
The park I'm speaking of sold so many of those reduced Season Passes that the surrounding neighborhood was swamped with people who couldn't find places to park on the lot. There were tons of complaints, plus the park was said to be seriously over crowded. Lots of people were dropping of their kids there day after day, and using it as sort of a "Amusement Day Care".
The water/sea theme park was bought out too, although we don't ever go there, I know many families who do/did.
posted on February 27, 2001 09:16:00 AM
I love the popcorn! I miss the old fashion movie theatres. Are there any around that haven't been remodeled to show three or four different movies? I don't mind babies as long as the parents take it out to the lobby when it cries. I think parents leave children with babysitters way too much nowadays.
posted on February 27, 2001 03:53:16 PM
I once went on a blind date to a movie and my date made me sneak in two beers. And I'm not talking about in high school! The many faces of Muriel
posted on February 27, 2001 04:21:13 PM
Those odd times we actually go to a theater, we're the people the theater owners hate. We hit the matinees(cheaper, you know) and usually we've eaten before we go to the movies so we don't want any snacks but we will buy a large soda and the tom and I share.
As for not being able to take a cooler to an amusement park, my family got around that by eating off the tailgate in the parking lot. Hey, we didn't take the cooler into the park so they couldn't say anything.
I always fly with earplugs on hand, just in case there's a squalling child somewhere on the plane.
And I'm not talking about in high school!
The many faces of Muriel