Drive-Ins.com

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
unixpirate said:
We had a drive-in up here for 1 whole season. :confused:
Up here in Frederick. Well, actually it was Hagerstown, but close enough. They had it open for 1 season, then they closed it down to do night racing.
 

unixpirate

Pitty Party
Up here in Frederick. Well, actually it was Hagerstown

Didn't know. :peace: Thought you were still in St. Mary's.
:flowers:
Didn't know where up here was?
 

Dymphna

Loyalty, Friendship, Love
I love drive-ins. We used to go to them a lot when we were kids. We lived in Waldorf, so of course, we went to the 301 Drive-In, but we used to go to Super Chief and the ABC over on Indian Head Hwy a lot too.

There was another one though, I can't remember it's name. Maybe someone else knows. I don't really remember how to get there, except that you turned onto a residential street, then onto the driveway for the theater and went up a steep hill. Could it have been this one?
 

BuddyLee

Football addict
CableChick said:
I really wish that drive-in theaters would make a come back. I remember going as a little girl ... getting to wear my pjs and fall asleep in the back was way cool!!!

This has been one of my dreams to build and operate a drive-in movie theatre. Since high school I've thought of it. You just don't see them around anymore. It is a fleeting dream at that though. If it is to be it will be in the future when I have some money. There are a few things you have to be cautious over and I think most drive-in's closed because of the following:

1. Vandalism. If someone vandalizes your titontron your pretty much screwed into buying another and those big screens aren't cheap.

2. Why have the choice to see only one movie when you can have multiple choices at the sheltered theatre? You could put on 3 or 4 different movies a night at the drive-in but you still have to keep in mind that people are not going to cater to your time schedule. Why go to the drive-in when they have multiple choices in movies and multiple time slots in the sheltered theatres?
 

unixpirate

Pitty Party
drive-ins

What a great thread..:angel: Where's the :love: , I mean Karrizma. I mean Karma? :confused:

:lol:

We are showing our age are we not? :cool:
 

Dymphna

Loyalty, Friendship, Love
BuddyLee said:
This has been one of my dreams to build and operate a drive-in movie theatre. Since high school I've thought of it. You just don't see them around anymore. It is a fleeting dream at that though. If it is to be it will be in the future when I have some money. There are a few things you have to be cautious over and I think most drive-in's closed because of the following:

1. Vandalism. If someone vandalizes your titontron your pretty much screwed into buying another and those big screens aren't cheap.

2. Why have the choice to see only one movie when you can have multiple choices at the sheltered theatre? You could put on 3 or 4 different movies a night at the drive-in but you still have to keep in mind that people are not going to cater to your time schedule. Why go to the drive-in when they have multiple choices in movies and multiple time slots in the sheltered theatres?
1. no, they aren't cheap. I would imagine that it would be difficult to damage one to the point that it couldn't be used. I've seen them with tears and stuff, but a 6ft tear on one of them is like a 1ft tear on a smaller screen. Of course, there are always :loser: determined to ruin stuff.

2. the advantages to Drive-Ins... cheaper, they usually charge by the car, not the individual, so they are great for families. They used to have playgrounds so you could send the antsy kids to the swing set. Bring a station wagon and set up blankets in the back and the kids will fall asleep and Mom and Dad can watch the movie in peace. You could go to the concession stand w/o missing any of the movie. Screaming kid or a talker sitting next to you? Roll up the window and turn up the sound.

I think there's a market for it. Lots of people will go for the nostalga alone. I'd go all the time...the last movie I saw in a theater was "Finding Nemo" :rolleyes:
 
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Dymphna

Loyalty, Friendship, Love
Of course, the real question is... Is there any real estate left where you could put one up?
 

BuddyLee

Football addict
Dymphna said:
1. no, they aren't cheap. I would imagine that it would be difficult to damage one to the point that it couldn't be used. I've seen them with tears and stuff, but a 6ft tear on one of them is like a 1ft tear on a smaller screen. Of course, there are always :loser: determined to ruin stuff.

2. the advantages to Drive-Ins... cheaper, they usually charge by the car, not the individual, so they are great for families. They used to have playgrounds so you could send the antsy kids to the swing set. Bring a station wagon and set up blankets in the back and the kids will fall asleep and Mom and Dad can watch the movie in peace. You could go to the concession stand w/o missing any of the movie. Screaming kid or a talker sitting next to you? Roll up the window and turn up the sound.

I think there's a market for it. Lots of people will go for the nostalga alone. I'd go all the time...the last movie I saw in a theater was "Finding Nemo" :rolleyes:

Good points.:yay: Maybe one day I'll build one, when your old and decrepit.:lol:
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
Dymphna said:
Of course, the real question is... Is there any real estate left where you could put one up?
That's the problem. I had this idea that I wanted to make a drive-in, too, so I emailed a couple of the owners I found on drivein.com. They all came back and said that the main thing is getting enough land. One of the gals said that she'd been offered over $2 million for her land by a developer. Said the only reason she didn't take it is for sentimental reason.

The racetrack is a perfect place for a drive-in. Up here at Mason-Dixon, they had a portable, inflatable movie screen that they'd put up after the race, then show the movies on that. People parked in the field next to the track, there was already restrooms and concession stands, so it was a natural. Every time we went there, they were packed - even though there were no first-run movies. Grease, Days of Thunder, Top Gun, The Terminator, like that. We got a double feature for $10 a carload.
 
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