Seeing Barb on this thread reminds me of something she has that seems like paradise to me - childcare AT the movie theater that she and her child both like. I want that.
I tell ya, if every theater did that, their sales would skyrocket. And people there watching sans kids would be so much happier. Too many people still bring babies and toddlers into R-rated movies because they can't be bothered to hire a babysitter - and in this very theater! Trouble is, they don't take any kids still in diapers because of liability issues, so it doesn't help out those people. But they do at least offer Baby Tuesdays - matinees on Tuesday mornings at 10:30 specifically for parents with babies and toddlers. They're PG and PG-13 rated movies and everyone can bring their little ones. I tried it once with Will, but he didn't like the darkness and the volume, so we had to leave.
Another thing this same theater (Muvico) has is an "Upper Deck" - you pay twice the ticket price, but you get assigned seating (which you can reserve a few days ahead of time online), seats that are small couches, tables between the seats that you can put your food and drinks on, free valet parking, and free popcorn. If you're someone who likes to get popcorn at your movies, it almost pays for itself because the popcorn is the "medium" size bag, which goes for 6 bucks at the concession stand anyway. And the valet parking is usually five bucks, so if you would do that, too, it's a great deal. It's perfect for opening night of a blockbuster like Transformers or Harry Potter or Hairspray - you can waltz in (which I did on Friday night) to your front row/center seat at five minutes before showtime, with your martini in hand (they have a full bar and restaurant up there, too), and chuckle to yourself at all the ignorant masses vying for the last few seats together in the front three rows, with their huge popcorns and sodas in hand, who just paid as much as you did (not counting the martini). HA!
The only thing I'd change at this Muvico I love so much is I'd put at least 2 art house/indy movies on all the time - they have 20 theaters, for Chrissakes! Is there some reason why they now don't do that - do the little guys have the monopoly on that because it's the only way they can survive? I feel for the really little guys - the true art house theaters that only have at most 4 screens and show nothing but indies. But they're doing fine - at least down here. It's the Regals and the AMCs that I couldn't care less about. Every once in a while I go to one because it's the only theater in the area that's showing an indy I really want to see. But except for the movie itself, it's such a depressing experience. It's a shame, but I'm becoming such a spoiled, Ugly American when it comes to the comfort I expect in my movie theaters now.
My dream is to own an arthouse drive-in. Sounds stoo-pid, I know - how would I keep it afloat? If I had a disposable income and didn't care if I didn't turn a profit, I'd love to do it. I'd get the highest-quality screens and equipment available, and I'd have a *nice* restaurant on site, so you could just park your car, go in, eat and enjoy, then go back to your car and watch the movie. I'd make carry-out available so you could take it back to your car and eat it there if you wanted. Alcohol would be tricky, because it's a drive-in, after all. I wouldn't want to limit it, but I wouldn't want to curtail it, either. Maybe I'd put a cozy little B&B right on site, too, so if you had a little too much, you could crash there for the evening - at very reasonable prices, because, again - I'm not in it to turn a profit in my dream. I'd have on-site child care in another enclosed, highly secure, safe, and fun place for the kids so you could watch your R-rated movies (because let's face it - most of the best ones are) and they could have their own brand of fun, too. I wouldn't want it to be circus-like with too many distractions, but there would be a great playground down in front of each screen like they had when I was a kid. You could take your kids there in the late afternoon/early evening, tire them out, then they could go in the kids' play area and watch a nice Disney film or play video games or whatever.
Sigh. Sorry to go OT - nothing firing current Hollywood could do would make this possible. Just something I like to think about from time to time.
