- Why am I not allowed to watch the first film on one screen and then move to the other screen to watch the second feature?
- The issue of screen swapping is a bit of a hot issue.
The reason for this, is, that the patron does not always understand the problems related to this action. We are not trying to be 'mean monsters' as some patrons may think. We are only trying to protect our business from the possiblity of product loss.
Distributors, the people who own the films, licence their films to us as a program. They receive a percentage of the money that is garnered from their presentation, that we show on each screen. Distributors quite often use 'silent spotters' to make sure that they receive their proper percentage of each customer that views their package.
Let us take Carload nights. If there are 20 paid cars in screen one, we then pay a percentage of each ticket paid to the owners of the films. Now, if there are, say 10 cars in screen two, we would also pay a percentage of those cars to the owner of the films shown on screen two. If 2 cars move half way through the presentation from screen one to screen two there are now 2 extra cars in screen two who did not pay to see screen two. That means that when a 'spotter' sends in his report he will show 12 cars in Screen 2 while we tell the distributor that there are only 10 cars. Now we are in trouble with the distributor and are forced to pay a percentage to the distributor of screen 2....but...we also have to pay a percentage to the owners of the screen one presentation.
To put this in financial perspective...we collected $20 for those two cars that 'swapped screens'. We will now be paying 50% of those two cars that swapped screens...a total of $10 to the distributor of screen one's films. Now, we would also end up paying 50% to the distributor for the films on screen two. That means we collected $20 for the patrons and gave $20 to the distributors which leaves us with $0.00 and so, obviously this is not really acceptable as we would not be in business very long.
If we do not monitor this action then distributors may refuse us their product and then, of course, you not be able to see their films...and we will not be in business.
When we allow people to move for a third film from one screen to the other at the end of the evening, it is because we have made special arrangements to do so with the distributor and we pay a flat fee for that particular third film, so moving over is allowed. When this situation occurs, we announce this to the patrons.
We think that our patrons will understand our reasons for this policy and co-operate with us.
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- Why are snack bar prices high?
- Here is an article that may help explain this question.
Moviegeek Feature:
"Why is my popcorn so expensive?"
So you decide to go to the movies. You buy your ticket, surprised that it seems to have gone up another twenty-five cents since the last time you were here. (In the big coastal cities, you might pay eight or nine dollars, or up to ten in Manhattan; in smaller Midwest towns, the average is around seven bucks. Matinees, of course, are cheaper.)
On your way into the theatre, you think about getting a snack, a popcorn and soda, maybe some Milk Duds. You stop at the concession counter, and look up at the prices: Three dollars for a Coke? A six-pack doesn't cost that much. And they want a buck and a half for the M&Ms you can get for sixty cents at the corner store. All told, including tickets and food, the cost for two people to attend a movie can top twenty-five dollars. It's enough to make you stay home with the VCR, and many people, in fact, do exactly that.
Why on earth does the theatre feel the need to gouge you on the food? As if you didn't already pay enough for a ticket to a movie you're not sure you'll like that much anyway, they have to then charge four times as much for a paper bag full of popcorn and a little salt and oil as it cost them to make it. What gives?
The answer comes back, as it often does, that it's simple economics. No, it's not supply and demand, where the captive audience, officially prohibited from bringing in "outside food," will pay whatever the theatre charges. Instead, the basic reality is that this is the only way the theatre can make money.
There are two major sides to the cinema game: the distributor and the exhibitor. The distributor is responsible for making all of the physical prints of the film, delivering them to the cinemas, printing the posters, running the TV ads, and so forth. Often, with Hollywood movies, the distributor is the studio that actually made the film, but this isn't necessarily the case, such as with independent films that are "acquired for
distribution."
The exhibitor, on the other hand, is the cinema owner -- the one responsible for installing the screen, projector, and sound system, for putting in the seats, for establishing the box office and ticket-sale system and concession stand. The exhibitor pays the electric bill, the labor costs for the cinema staff, the property taxes, and so forth.
The exhibitor also rents the movie, the physical reels of film, from the distributor. A deal is struck whereby the exhibitor pays the distributor a flat fee (the "rental"), plus a share of the ticket revenue (the "box office"), and the distributor sends the exhibitor a copy of the movie to be shown in the exhibitor's auditorium. When the movie quits making money, or when a contractually agreed period has expired, the exhibitor returns the film to the distributor.
Seems like a fairly straightforward arrangement, doesn't it? Unfortunately, there's a small wrinkle.
The reason the exhibitor can't make money just showing movies is that the distributor's cut of the box office is very, very steep at the beginning of a picture's run. The deals are usually arranged so that the distributor's cut decreases over time; that way, a film with "legs," i.e. a movie that continues drawing audiences for a long run, will eventually pay big bucks to the exhibitor. However, if a movie spikes early and falls off fast, the distributor takes the lion's share, and the exhibitor loses money on the deal.
The percentages are worked out case by case; there are general guidelines and precedents, but no hard-and-fast rules. Films projected as blockbusters, naturally, have the most leverage for establishing deals favorable to the distributor, while smaller movies will take what they can get.
During the month before Godzilla came out, for example, the distributor, Sony Pictures Entertainment, was making noises about wanting eighty percent of each and every ticket. Up to that time, most big movies were getting between seventy and eighty percent, but allowed the exhibitor a small overhead exemption for basic expenses, like utilities, the building lease, and so on. For Godzilla, however, Sony tried to float the idea of cutting the overhead allowance, and asking for a flat eighty percent right off the box office. The exhibitors grumbled mightily, but they didn't have a lot of leverage, given the film's omnipresent publicity and its high "want-to-see" ratings based on audience research. But then they actually got a look at the movie, at their advance exhibitors' screenings, and the grumbling turned into outright refusal: They realized the movie would be a turkey, and Sony's bargaining position disappeared.
Similar behind-the-scenes manipulations take place prior to other high-profile premieres, of course. Although nobody's willing to discuss the details, you can be sure that 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm were pretty much free to dictate their terms to the exhibitors for the release of guaranteed moneymaker Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace. Although some quality-of-presentation conditions were confirmed in advance (e.g., the theatre had to be outfitted with the latest sound systems, the movie had to open in the largest available auditorium and stay there four weeks before being moved to a smaller screen, etc.), the box-office percentage payouts were never officially made public. But it doesn't take a genius to figure out that they must have been extraordinarily rich for the distributor. And this will only get worse, with the exhibitor's share getting smaller and smaller, as the bar continues to be raised for big "must-have" event movies.
Another important factor is the distributors' relatively new "wide release" strategy, which has become the standard in recent years. When a major film comes out, it's not unusual for it to open on upwards of two thousand screens nationwide; the really big movies, like the latest James Bond, may top three thousand. The strategy here is for the distributor to saturate the marketplace, and to get everyone who's going to see the movie to do so within the first week or two. This guarantees the distributor the maximum possible profit from the film's total box-office return -- but it stiffs the exhibitor.
This is why when a movie with "legs," a movie that continues pulling in viewers, will play for literally months, while a less successful film will disappear relatively quickly. To illustrate, let's take a look at a couple of examples. We'll assume a relatively straightforward arrangement, where the distributor and exhibitor split the box office 75/25 the first week, after which the cut slides along a straight line for, say, eight weeks. At that point, the balance has reversed, with the distributor and exhibitor going 25/75, where it generally
levels out.
Now let's apply that model to a couple of recent box-office bonanzas -- Titanic and The Sixth Sense. Both films were smash hits from the get-go, and kept drawing audiences, week after week. The first couple of weeks, the distributor makes a lot of cash, while the exhibitor sees very little. However, as the film continues playing, and the audiences keep coming, the exhibitor starts to see more and more of the take. Even if attendance falls off, the exhibitor's share continues to increase. A smart exhibitor, then, will want to keep a true hit in the theatre as long as possible, so as to maximize revenue. If, after eight weeks, the audience is half the size it was at the beginning, it's still more profitable for the exhibitor; a little quick math demonstrates that 75% of half is still more than 25% of everything. Attendance at this point would have to fall below a third of its initial level for the film to be less profitable for the exhibitor than it was at the outset. And if you watched the movie section of your local paper, you saw that both Titanic and The Sixth Sense kept playing, week after week, even after other movies had come and gone. As I write this, The Sixth Sense is still playing on a couple of screens in my area, even after months in release, and only a few weeks prior to its home video premiere.
Contrast this with movies that make a lot of money very quickly, and then fall off drastically, either due to a limited one-shot audience, or from negative word of mouth. Respective examples might be Pokemon and Wild Wild West. With the first, every kid in the world went the first week, sometimes more than once, in order to get the trading cards and to be part of an undeniable pre-teen cultural event. However, once they'd done that, there was no more audience, and the film's box office plunged in the second week like driftwood off a waterfall. Similarly, with Wild Wild West, the ubiquitous and insistent marketing drew large crowds the first week; but then, with audiences describing it as a stinker, there was no repeat business, and those who hadn't seen it suddenly lost interest. Again, revenue dropped steeply the second week; it didn't exactly crash and burn, but it certainly wasn't the money machine the studio was expecting, taking an excruciating four weeks to pass the hundred-million mark, after which it dropped off the radar. Unsurprisingly, then, both films disappeared from cinemas fairly quickly, as they didn't just start out unprofitable for the exhibitors (as do all movies) but stayed
that way.
The importance of the exhibitor's tiny slice of the pie in today's marketplace should be obvious, and with it the justification for the inflated prices at the concession counter. To be sure, the exhibitor has other means of increasing the profit margin besides charging five bucks for a bucket of popcorn. One cost-cutting practice is to use the same set of reels to show a film on two different screens; each reel is approximately twenty minutes long, so by staggering the showtimes, the exhibitor can save the price of a rental by swapping the reels back and forth between two or more auditoriums. (Lucasfilm explicitly forbade this in its conditions for exhibition of Phantom Menace.) It's hard on the film, causing scratches and pops to accumulate much faster than normal, and it doesn't save a lot of money, but every little bit helps.
Another important factor the exhibitors and distributors must consider during their negotiations is the length of the film. A shorter movie, like Inspector Gadget at 80 minutes, can obviously be shown more times each day on a given screen than, say, The Green Mile, at 188 minutes. (Add 10-15 minutes for previews, plus 30-40 minutes between shows for cleaning and pre-seating.) Obviously, if the movie's a bomb, it doesn't matter how many additional shows per day you have, but revenue for a successful film can be significantly impacted by the removal of even one daily showtime, let alone two or three. And of course, fewer showings doesn't just mean fewer people buying fewer tickets -- it means fewer people spending money at the concession counter. Over the last few years, average runtimes of Hollywood movies have been getting longer and longer, and exhibitors have been feeling the crunch.
So obviously, they look for every possible means of maximizing their margins. One obvious method is the selling of "preview time" to advertisers; if you've seen any number of movies in the last year, you've most likely had to sit through a soft-drink or automobile commercial. You may also have noticed people handing out free goodies, like newly released brands of candy or gum, to audiences leaving or entering the theatre; food companies pay the exhibitor a small fee for promoting their products in this way.
And, of course, they charge an arm and a leg for soda, snacks, and whatever else they offer at the concession stand. It's not their fault, really; if they didn't, they wouldn't be able to stay in business. If you want to blame anyone, blame the distributors: Because they keep making longer and more expensive movies, and run them for shorter release periods, they have to gouge the exhibitors out of their fair share of the box-office revenues; the ever-shrinking profit margin forces the exhibitors to do whatever they can just to keep themselves
afloat.
And that, my friends, is why your popcorn is so expensive.
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- What happens if the show is fogged out?
- When the weather is so adverse that the show can not go on we issue fog checks so that you can come back for another visit at anytime.
We do not issue cash refunds. We will only issue fog checks once management has determined that the show can not go on. The fog checks
WILL NOT be issued because people simply do not wish to see the movie or feel they do not want to wait. If you leave before a fog out is officially
declared you will not receive a fog check. You must be inside the drive-in park, when a fog out is declared to receive your fog check.
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- Why can you not stop or delay the picture when it fogs?
- Well, we just got home from 'seeing' Shrek 2. I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I am that you continued to play the film when
it was so very foggy. Our children were really looking forward to watching this movie, and had eagerly anticipated it all day. I would have
thought you would have stopped it when the fog was so dense. We could hardly see any of the scenes, and most were nothing more than
murky shapes, amorpheus light and dark, for the most part indistinguishable.
We finally left at 10:36 when you began playing 'Anchorman', and the fog was just as bad, the visibility totally ridiculous. We have always
had fun at your drive-in (not fantastic customers who are keeping you in business or anything, we only go a few times a year), the food at
your snack bar is good and reasonably priced, and it's usually an enjoyable experience.
Perhaps in the future, if you are playing a film and people can't see the screen, you might consider pausing it for a while to try to wait out the
fog. It wasn't a matter of refunding the money, it was a matter of getting to actually see the movie that we could hear, and which was therefore
spoiled for us. The fact that we paid admission to essentially do no more than come in and park, and then pay even more to eat at the
diner, certainly was a waste though.
- We did stall the beginning of the second feature for almost 30 minutes to wait out the fog. We received news that the fog was lifting and tried
to make patrons aware of the fact. Unfortunately rude and irate people would not listen and began a near riot at the boxoffice so the sad thing
about that particular night was that we called it a fog night after about 10 minutes going into Anchorman. As people were leaving it became a beautiful
star lit night and nice and clear, unfortunately there was no way to stop the proceedings.
The reason I mention this is to illustrate the point that we have no control over the weather and as such you have to use your judgement when
coming on a night that is a potiental fog night. We have stopped the films part way into the presentation in the past and would have done so again
but actually no one came in to ask us to and it was near the end. A lot of people would have been upset if we delayed the film an hour while we
waited the fog to clear. Just like this patron, complaining that we did not stop, we would have had others complain if we did stop the film so close to the end.
To illustrate this point we asked people to wait it out that night for another 15 minutes because we had sent people out to check the surrounding area for
clearing and saw it was going to clear up. Unfortunately other patrons were not happy we stopped the film and wanted fog checks there and then and
started a near riot because we asked them to wait those 15 minutes, so can you imagine what may have happened if we stopped Shrek for an hour to wait
for the fog to lift?
So as you can see when it comes to fog no one wins. We lose valuable revenue and the patron does not get to see the films they really wanted to see.
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- Is smoking permitted?
- In compliance with provincial laws, smoking is
prohibited inside the snack bar and restrooms. This is not something that is negotiable as heavy fines are the result for both parties.
You may of course smoke in your car or outside the building. PLEASE NOTE: We do not sell cigarettes.
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- Where should I park?
- For the viewing comfortable of all our guests, we encourage and strictly enforce the following common-sense
rules for parking at The Starlite Drive-In at all times:
- Cars and certain short vehicles only, may park at the red poles. We ask cars to please not park at white poles.
- Taller vehicles, such as SUVs, pickups with raised suspensions or oversized
tires, must park at white poles or yellow poles only. Cars parked at white poles will be moved.
- Oversize vehicles, such as large vans, trucks must park at yellow poles only. Campers, semi-tractors, commercial vehicles
tow trucks must park in the last rows of the theatre on all busy days. You must not block shorter vehicles.
- If patrons do not exercise these common-sense rules, or otherwise block the view of a patron who has already parked,
we reserve the right to move vehicles and parties to other locations.
- All hatchbacks must be kept at roof level as to not block the view of those parked behind you. Please tie down the hatchback.
Field security staff overides any direction given by boxoffice. Please do not argue with staff as to why you are not allowed to park outside your designated area.
The rules are simple and if you fail to abide by them you will be asked to leave without a refund.
If you fail to leave, argue, or otherwise cause any disturbance we will call the police and have you evicted and charged with trespassing. This rule
applies on busy as well as quiet days.
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- Can I take two spots and/or sit on the grass?
- Each vehicle is entitled to one parking space. Most of our spaces can handle two vehicles.
Please do not occupy additional spaces with lawn chairs or blankets.
Please Note - You must park close enough to the poles so that someone can pull in beside you. We also reserve the right
to move tall vehicles or ask people to not sit on vehicle roofs if that obstructs other customers' views. Hatch backs must be tied down so as to be level
with the roof and not obstruct the view of the vehicle behind you. You may not park sideways or at any angle unless you first receive permission. Use
your common sense.
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- Can you tell me when or if you will show a particular movie?
- Unlike the megaplex chains that know, that eventually, they will show most top run movies,
the Starlite Drive-In theatre has only 1 screen, and thus can only book movies for one, two, or maybe three weeks
in advance. So, all the information we have will be listed on the NEXT ATTRACTION
page, usually within 24 hours of us finding out ourselves.
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- Why do you show the movies in the order you do?
- This question comes up all the time. The reason we show in the order we do vary according to the movies we show.
Yes, before you even say it, economics has lots to do with it; we are a business after all. Family or children films will always show first,
unless it is the main feature. We try to show the main feature second as this gives people more time to arrive for or primary feature.
Often patrons that do not have children become upset that we show those first before the, say, more adult or main feature. Well it would be
ridiculous to show the children or family film last as the children would end up falling asleep.
- Do I have to pay twice, once for each movie?
- NO! Not only are our admission prices below that of local theaters non-matinee prices,
but our price admits you to see two features (if listed) each night and you only have to pay one time to see both films. We sometimes even
give you a third feature at no extra price. For a slightly higher admission on Dusk To Dawn Shows you admission is split between at least 4 film
presentations; sometimes more.
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- What if I object to film content?
- Everyones taste in film content is obviously different. As hard as we may try, there will never, ever be a time
that everyone will be pleased with what they see on the screen. Whether it is objectionable language,
or nudity or even story content please keep in mind that what you find distasteful, someone else enjoys.
We make every attempt to see films before booking them for our screen, but again tastes come into play as well
as the economics of it all. No, we are not going to avoid showing a film because you feel your 4 year old may
imitate the language they hear. If children hear a word the parents object to, then be a good parent and tell them
that it is something they should not say. The education of your children is your job, not a filmmakers and certainly
not our staff or the films we show. We recommend several options for you. First read as many reviews as possible. The
internet and community newspapers are loaded with reviews for you to read. Second, if in doubt, go to the film first and see it
and decide whether you want your child to see the film. Also, remember that no matter how many times you ask, we can
not change the order of a picture to suite your individual taste.
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- What time do you open each evening?
- We usually open the ticket booth and concession stand around 90 minutes before showtime on Fridays and Saturdays.
The rest of the week we usually open about one hour before show time. Feel free to arrive early and park in line at the ticket booth if you wish.
People who wish to grab their favourite spot tend to come and get in line extra early. If you arrive early you can make use of the services at the
new Starlite Diner found in the parking lot.
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- What if I arrive after the movie has started?
- No Problem. Usually the ticket booth is manned until shortly after the second movie begins on regular nights. The boxoffice stays open longer
during Dusk To Dawn shows. If the boxoffice is un-manned, PLEASE slowly and carefully drive to the
snack bar and pay inside. If you attempt to enter and hide your vehicle to avoid payment you will be required to leave.
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- Can I leave and re-enter the Drive-In once I've paid?
- Only under extreme circumstances. Please go to the boxoffice and obtain a Re-Admit pass to be able to leave.
You will need it to come back in without having to pay again. If you go out and return with outside food you will not be re-admitted
unless you relinquish the outside food to the boxoffice attendant. Do not abuse this privelege or it will be removed.
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- Why do I need an FM Radio?
- Unlike the OLD Drive-In days, you won't find speakers attached to the speaker poles. The movie
sound is broadcast to your vehicle on 107.5 FM so please make sure you have a working FM radio in your vehicle or bring a portable with you.
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- What if it rains or fogs once I pay?
- If it begins to rain, snow, sleet, lightning, or fog to the point that the projectionist can
no longer safely run the movie, we may interrupt temporarily or cancel a showing. A film is rarely cancelled for rain.
Fog is the only thing that can prevent us from showing a film as the fog tends to disperse the light and deflects it away from the screen.
If the show is cancelled, we will issue fog cheques; these passes entitle everyone in your party to free admission at a later date.
No Cash Refunds are given except in extraordinary circumstances.
Note: The issuance of fog cheques is determined solely when we stop running the movie,
not when patrons decide to leave prior to that time.
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- Can I bring my own food?
- The answer is no, to any outside, commercial foods. If you bring required medical related food, fruit or prepared meals from home then
we will allow that, as long as you do not use our condiments. Commercial foods from other food establishments are not allowed as it hurts our sales.
We are a food establishment after all. You would not bring your Wendy's food to a MacDonalds, correct? It is discourteous and hurts our business.
Any outside food must be consumed before entering the drive-in park or it will be confiscated. Any outside food found inside the park will also be confiscated.
If you refuse to relinquish the items you will be reguired to leave. The Starlite Drive-In Snackateria and The Starlite Diner have the largest selection of foods
of any Ontario theatre so there is really no reason to bring in outside food.
We ask that you place all food refuse in the plastic bags provided to you at the boxoffice. We ask that if you do not wish to carry your trash to the provided cans,
then please tie it up and leave it by the pole next to your car. You may also practice your 'dunk' shot by pitching the bags in the pails at the exit gates.
Please do not just "dump" it. We will provide extra bags for you if needed.
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- Do you close for the winter? If so, when?
- Unfortunately, the Winter is summed up in one word: SNOW. Therefore, we wait until March or April to open,
and continue playing movies until you stop coming but usually we try to stay open until after Halloween and sometimes until
mid November depending on the weather.
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- Do you have any photos of the Drive-In?
- Yes, see our PHOTO section of the website.
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- How late is the snack bar open?
- The snack bar closes about 10 to 15 minutes into the last feature after the normal in-between show intermission presentation..
A "LAST CALL TO VISIT THE SNACK BAR " will be announced to give you a last minute chance to grab some late night snacks or coffee.
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- Can I spend the night on the lot after the show ends?
- No. All vehicles must leave the theatre immediately after the show ends. If a vehicle has broken down and it has to stay over night, you must
alert management to the situation. You will be requested to leave your name, a phone number and your driver's licence number. The vehicle
should be removed as soon as the gates open the next day. We will not come up during the day to wait for someone to remove the vehicle. If it is
necessary to do so, you will be required to pay a staff member their hourly wage (3 hour minium) for their time to come in and wait for you
and let you in.
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- My car battery decied to give up the ghost and I can’t get anybody to jump start me. Will I have to push it all the way back home?
- Well…at least off of our lot. If your car battery dies please come in and see staff and they will boost your battery. We do not charge for this but if you
want to tip the staff member who does it for you, well, that's quite acceptable. If we can not get the vehicle to start you may have to call the auto club or
towing. Please remember that the staff has been at work for long hours and they do not wish to stay around while you try to fix your vehicle. If necessary
your disabled vehicle may have to be pushed out into the front parking lot.
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- I'd like to book an event for my car club or other function. How do I do so?
- Yes, we like to book special events and we do so quite often. You can come in and see the managers anytime that we are open or send us an
e-mail at starlite@metrocity.com with your name and phone number and we will get back to you as soon
as possible.
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- Why don't you run some of the great classic movies such as "Gone with the Wind" or "Fast Times at Ridgemont High"?
- Even though we are fans of old movies and believe us we have run some, the unfortunate fact is most people want to see the new films and very few
want to spend their money on older films. We do show lots of old cartoons and shorts whenever possible. We even have an old style Halloween Night
Scream-O-rama show with old horror flicks. Sometimes we try to slip one in as a bonus flick but unfortunately old 35mm prints of films are hard to come by
as most film distrubutors do not keep copies and therefore it becomes extremely difficult to obtain some of these old treasures. Saying all this of course
does not mean we won't try some future special movies events.
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- Are there restrictions on the number of cases of beer I can bring on the property?
- Duh!? Drinking and driving is illegal. Should you bring alchol to the drive-in and then drive home? Do we really have to answer this question?
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- My car has Daytime Running Lights that I can't defeat, so "Lights Out" is impossible for me. What should I do?
- Find a spot, go directly to it, park, shut off your car, and don't turn it on again until after the show. Okay that is not always practical, so if you know
your lights will not go off when your vehicle is running or radio is on then ask for your free cardboard that is supplied at the boxoffice, snack bar or from
the ramp security staff. The menu you receive when you come in has directions and suggestions as to how to have your daytime running lights turn off.
The ramp security staff will show you one of the many ways to accomplish this feat. Before the show starts we make an announcement as to how to
have these lights turn off.
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- Can I back into a space and sit in the back of my vehicle?
- This may be done as long as it does not interfere with the view of the movie with any cars behind you. Lift backs, for example must always be tied
down no higher than the top of your vehicle. The ramp security staff will gladly bring twine to you to tie your hatchback down. You may not sit on the roof
your vehicle, both for safety and for reasons of blocking the view for others behind you. If in doubt always ask the patron behind you if they can see.
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- I have friends arriving later. Can I reserve a spot next to mine for them?
- No. Every parking spot is first-come, first serve. The best option you have here is to either all come together in the same vehicle, or come on
Sunday or during the week when crowds are smaller.
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- Can I sit in lawn chairs in front of my car or elsewhere on the lot?
- Lawn chairs are generally permitted only in front of your vehicle as every space that can park a car will be utilized for that purpose. Lying on the field
on sleeping bags or blankets is is not recommended as it is harder to see those lying on the ground. We ask parents to supervise carefully where your
children may lie down.
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- Can I use a barbecue on the drive-in lot?
- No barbecues of any kind, and no open fires. See above where we asked you not to bring in any outside food. If you want to bring home prepared
meals do so at home. BB'a and open fires are a fire hazard.
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- Can I bring my dog/cat/ferret/elephant?
- Yes, as long as the animal is harmless to the customers and our operation. Management reserves the right to refuse any animal
(including human) admission. Elephants and other larger animals will be charged a single-occupant car admission due to the fact they would take up
a car space by themselves. If you are bringing in your pet anaconda please make sure it is properly fed before you enter the park. Our other patron's pets
are not there to be your anaconda's dinner.You will be solely responsible for damage caused by your animal to the drive-in, yourself, other drive-in
patrons or property. You must keep your animal secured to your vehicle/parking space. NOTE TO ELEPHANTS AND GIRAFFES: Our ticket window
height clearance is 8 ft. Oh yeah, you must scoop their poop.
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- I have a 2,000-watt car/portable stereo with dual 18-inch subwoofers, twelve mid-range speakers, six cleverly-placed tweeters, and a spiffy faceplate that changes colors depending on my mood. Are there restrictions on my use of my stereo, like for example the volume?
- Volume is restricted especially if other patrons complain; use your common sense. In the event of complaints, the sound must be turned down.
Also, we only allow patrons to listen to our station while on the property (including before and after the show). If you are playing a commerical station
make sure you can only hear it in your own vehicle. Again, it's always good to check with your neighbors on this sort of thing before they might complain
to us. If you refuse to abide by these rules you will be evicted from the park without refund. The police WILL be called to evict you if you refuse to leave
voluntarily.
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- You want our support but you are not showing films we want to see, why?
- "Hi there,
I signed up to receive email information for the Starlite DriveIn. The last email indicated that you really wanted our support to continue going to the drive in
in the colder months or the drive in would basically close up. Well me and my family love the drive in and we would continue to go throughout the colder
months BUT with the kinds of movies that you are planning on showing (eg the thanksgiving weekend) DO NOT encourage me to attend the drive in with
my 8 and 10 year old children. I guess me and my family are nonparticipants until HOPEFULLY 2004. "
There are times when we do not want to show children's films mostly because the average parent does not bring children during these time of the year...
for their own reasons; so we reserve these times to show more adult films. Playing a child's animated film to maybe 5 or 6 children seems rather silly to
us. So when we send out our weekly email messages at those times of year we really are not recommending that you bring your children. Even though the
ratings may allow children to enter and view the film we try to show more violent and gory films at these times of the year. While child attendance drops
sharply at these times of year, attendance increases in college and university patrons so we will continue to show more restricted and 18A films that are
more graphic in nature. We still want your support at this time of year and if you can give it, we will appreciate it. In the late fall we will only stay open as long
as we have attendance and it is economically sound to do so.
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- Why do you show family related first features while most drive-ins do not?
- This is a tough one. Management, since it began operating the Starlite has made every attempt to bring as much family entertainment as possible
to our screen because we believe many great memories are made here for children. They are our future in the drive-in industry and we want them to
someday bring their children to a drive-in to continue the tradition. So why do so many drive-ins refuse to show children's films at all unless it is some
special film that adults may enjoy as well? Below, we have included a letter that we received that will probably explain (The letter is slightly edited to avoid any
embarrassement to the patron).
Hello...
I normally don't take the time to write if I am dissatisfied with a product
however I was so disappointed by my experience at your drive in that I felt I
had to write.
My daughters and I (ages 11 and 7) decided to take in the labour day movies as
my kids wanted to see "Finding nemo" and "Daddy day care." I figured that we
should be able to take in the two movies as the ad states that the movies
start at dusk.
Dusk arrives..no movie..just very old cartoons my kids found
very boring! This went on for over an hour. The kids are getting restless and
tired of waiting. The constant barrage of food advertisements on the radio
channel were getting tiring. If I had to hear about Sausage, Tim Hortons coffee
etc. anymore I swear!
The "Finding Nemo" finally started at approx. 920pm....
Next problem...the movie ends and we wait for the next one to start...we
wait....and wait and wait. Again having to endure lame cartoons and
advertising. "Daddy day care" starts at approx. 1130pm! This was ridiculous.
the only reason I can see for the long delays prior to the feature attractions
was so that you could lure people to the snack bars to sell them more food! I
ended up leaving at midnight as both of my kids were tired and cranky from
waiting etc.
I have been going to this drive-in for years and I can honestly say that I
can't remember a more irritating experience.
I highly suggest that you change your methods and get back to what people pay
for..... "the movies!."
Sincerely, A very "ripped off" customer!
Attitudes such as this patron's is what turns off most drive-ins from showing children's films. Drive-in operators get tired of hearing complaints about late
starts for films. The patron who brings children feels that movies begin too late. Well people, drive-ins can not start until it gets dark and sometimes the
show will start late due to cars still coming in especially during extremely popular films. All the lights still coming in would totally wreck the film screening so
operators hold off the start. The problem is that parents feel that the late start causes their children to get tired and will fall asleep and therefore they feel
cheated. Well, most drive-in operators decided that listening to these complaints was not worth it so they just avoid showing children's films.
We, here, have been showing children's films for years and will continue to do so because we believe most parents use their intelligence and prepare the
children wisely. We always recommend that the parents make sure that their children have naps before coming to the drive-in. Wise parents are prepared
parents. As the letter shows, somehow she feels because she received more entertainment then listed that she was somehow cheated. We find that
strange, that she wants less for her money. If she was not there with her children she probably would not have complained. What we do not understand is
why a patron would not realize that the second movie is bound to start after 11pm when a show can not even start until after nine. Some the other issues in
this letter have been addressed in other faq questions.
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- Do you show cartoons or shorts before the feature film?
- We go to much expense to find cartoons to show to our patrons. We love old cartoons as well as new ones. Most of our patrons love to see these
cartoons as well. We usually show cartoons before the feature as well as during intermission. We usually show cartoons at dusk to entertain our audience
while late cars are coming in as well to allow it to become darker so that the first feature can be seen properly. We hope you enjoy these cartoons as much
as we do.
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- Why do you make so many food announcements?
- You already know the answer to this one. We are a business and we deal in food as well as movies. We need the sales to continue our operation.
The announcements are meant to inform you of our products just like film trailers inform you of movies that are upcoming. We do try to make our food
commercials as entertaining as possible. We try to supply our patron a full entertainment package. Sometimes you may feel we are playing too many
during the intermission. That is true of course, but not because we want to sell you more but actually it is done because the washroom lines are so long
or the snack bar line is so long. We try not to start the film until these lines shrink so as to not upset these people. Of course that means we probably
upset those who seem to be able to hold their bladders and have been served early at the snack bar.
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- Why are the women's washroom lineups so long?
- Could be because most of you can't hold your bladders for hours on end and because you do not want to go to the washrooms during the film.
Obviously most customers go to the washrooms during intermission therefore the long lines. We can only handle so many toilets so lineups will
always be a problem for theatres who show double features.
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- Why do the women's washrooms not flush as quickly during intermission?
- During the intermission I had
to make a trek to the "bathroom."
There was a line for the ladies room all the way out the door...After waiting
approx. 20 mins for a stall I found the bathrooms to be completely unsanitary
(toilets ..all of them..would not flush, the hand dryer did not work and there
was no hand cloths..spider webs all over the bathrooms etc...) I would have
rather gone in the bush behind the drive in!
Okay! First it is intermission and the lineups are going to be long and there is nothing we can do about this situation as long as you insist on needing
to use the facilities. The complaint about the toilets not flushing is legitimate but it really isn't our fault. This problem occurs only in the women's
washrooms. We use high volume pumps to try to fix the problem, but still they can not keep up. Here's a quick way to explain this problem in physics.
First go turn on most of your taps in the house and turn on the washing machine. Now go into your bathroom at home and do the following steps.
Pull them down, sit down, do your business, wipe, stand up and pull them up, now flush the toilet, walk to the door and now go back and do all the steps
again and then do it again. You may find that the toilet takes longer to fill up with water. Now multiply all this happening in 9 toilets at the same time. As
you can see it will take a lot longer for the tanks to fill up. Water can only travel so fast through the pipes. We can do a lot of things but we can not change
the laws of physics.
We do have two towel dispensers in the washroom but yes we do run out of towels in the washrooms when we have these gigantic lineups. During busy
times we have a female washroom and lobby attendant to take care of these matters but sometimes even they can not keep up.
Spider webs in the washroom? Yes there are. It is an outdoor theatre with doors open all the time. We clean up but the little darlings always come back.
Nature seems to win out around here. Besides those spiders take care of the flys that come in all the time because the doors have to stay open when
there are lineups. Please remember to adjust your sensiblities similar to camping trips when going to a drive-in that is surrounded by wooded areas and
dirt fields.
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- Why is there so much time between feature at times?
- When you really think about it we do not leave much time between movies. Indoor theatre regularly leave 30 to 40 minutes between films.
The reason we have so much time between features is to accomodate the snack bar visitors and those going tot the washrooms. It would be easy for us
to just start the movies at specific times and go home early ourselves. Unfortunately our customers and our service would suffer. Economics dictate that
we serve as many people as possible at the snack bar so therefore if we start the movies before they are served we would eventually lose the sales and
that would not bode well for the future of the drive-in.
We do attempt to keep those whom have already been served and those whom have already used the utilities, entertained. in various ways. We show
trailers of upcoming movies; we show extra cartoons or shorts and even have draws for prizes.
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- Why do you say the show starts at dusk but the feature tends to start later?
- When we say the show starts, it means the entire presentation begins. This includes the movie previews and cartoons which are followed by the
feature film. Sometimes if the situation dictates we will stop the presentation after the previews or cartoon and go to a dark screen because of customer
accomidation for very long lineups at the boxoffice or at the snack bar. When this occurs we usually add in an extra cartoon. If we did not do this then we
would get more complaints from those still coming in. Remember it costs the drive-in more money in labour and utilities todo these delays but we are
here to make every attempt at customer satisfaction.
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- Do you allow customers to go on the air with announcements?
- Yes during intermission and before start of show we always allow birthday announcements, wedding proposals and special hellos. We have had
many wedding proposal acceptances up here.Sometimes we allow kids to even tell jokes. This is such a thrill for most children, to be able to go on the
air and speak. We get to see the happiness in their faces that you do not get to see. It make us feel good to see the thrill on their faces.
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Questions? Comments? Email info@lindsaydrivein.com Page Updated Saturday, March 5, 2005
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