Drive-In Movies?
By webeishere
@webeishere (36313)
United States
March 16, 2007 12:47pm CST
How many recall the days of yore when the Drive-In was the daters hotspot? Where on Saturday nights car loads of teenagers could be seen necking? Where kids hid in trunks to get in for free? Where a car load would cost $5 or $10 some weekends? Where also on Saturday nights families piled into the family station wagon for a double feature? How about the great cartoons before the movies started? Those silly concession cartoon commercials? Do you remember as a child playing on the swings with the huge white screen as a backdrop? The walk to the concession stand in the dark holding hands with your date? The fog of the mosquito spray as the movie began? Standing next to the projection as it whirred and spun loudly? The pinball games in the concession stand? What are your memories of the Drive-Ins? The very fresh hot buttered popcorn? The ice-cream treats? Please share with all Mylotians.
Well here in Minnesota we have I think just 2 Drive-Ins left. It's a shame they went to the wayside as have A&W Drive-In restaurants. I miss the fun I had with my children at the Drive-Ins. We even packed a portable grill to BBQ a few times. How I wish there were still plenty left. Thanks for letting me take this trip down memory lane with you all. The 60's rocked. LOL
HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB!!
14 people like this
34 responses
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
16 Mar 07
The town I live in, has virtually nothing entertainment wise, but it does have 2 drive-ins. Every year I say that I am going to go but somehow the summers seem to slip by.
I used to take my son to the drive-in when he was little, there was no playground (probably due to lawsuits) but preparing was 1/2 the fun - going tot eh store for snacks and drinks, packing the cooler, making the popcorn. Gathering the blankets, pillows and chairs.
It definitely was a fun thing for us to do.
6 people like this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
17 Mar 07
Now since I read your post, all night long..I have an earwig...
Saturday night at the movies,
Who cares what picture we see...
I know it is about the theatre...but the song is just stuck there going around and around...at least it is a good song.
Thanks.
3 people like this
@hopefaith27 (1)
• Canada
30 Jun 07
Would love to know where there are any drive-ins in nova scotia I haven't been to one scence I was 5.I would love to be able to take my daughter 2 a drive-in.
1 person likes this
@howard96h (11640)
• New York, New York
16 Mar 07
Grandpa Bob I remember when the drive-ins had the speaker that you had to hang on the inside of your car window. That was before you could listen to it on your car radio. Oh the memories of the great drive-ins. After paying the entrance fee, you would drive around slowly looking for a pole in the ground that had a working speaker and when you drove over a bump you would laugh and say - Oh I wonder how freddy and mikie are doing back there locked up in the trunk. Hhahahaha The good ol' days!
5 people like this
@emeraldisle (13139)
• United States
17 Mar 07
Heheh I also remember the speakers and heaters. So that those of us up in the north could have some heat during the cooler weather without draining the car. The heaters didn't do a whole lot except for the driver but it was a nice idea.
@webeishere (36313)
• United States
16 Mar 07
Also how many times did people drive off ripping the speakers from the pole? HAHAHA! Ahhhh such great memories huh?
3 people like this
@dixielol (1579)
• United States
16 Mar 07
Well, Im only 20 so I dont remember alot of them. There is only 1 around were I live. I've only been to it 3 or 4 times. They are getting ready to close it down in July of this year. My mom talks about going to them when she was a teenager alot. I would love to take my niece to one but she wont sit through a movie & it'll be closed befor she's old enough to really watch any movies.
5 people like this
@emeraldisle (13139)
• United States
17 Mar 07
We took my niece to see one at the drive-in before she was a year old. It was "Oliver and Company" and she loved it. She had room to move about and she held on to the dash or the steering wheel so she could bounce to the music.
4 people like this
@hottie0728 (1732)
• United States
16 Mar 07
I haven't had enough memories with drive-in movies but I'm glad that I've experienced it. Drive-in movies are pretty cheap compared to a regular movie house. It doesn't really appeal to me, I prefer the normal movie theater.
@Grandmaof2 (7579)
• Canada
16 Mar 07
Oh yes I remember and will Never forget those days. People had less money then but I think we also had less problems and half the stress. Good grief does this ever bring on the memories, lots of times I was one of the kids that had to ride in the trunk, usually there were three. I'd love to see those days again, hell I wouldn't even fit in the trunk, so maybe I could drive. LOL. Yes those cartoons before the movie, and I swear I could smell the popcorn before we even got to the gate !!!And the ice cream, that's why they don't make truncks big enough now a days. Those days are gone I'm afraid. I also miss the jude boxes that were mounted on the tables in the restaurants.
Thanks once again for an excellent post.
5 people like this
@RachelleDD (823)
• Canada
16 Mar 07
Alas we don't have drive-ins in Newfoundland. The memories you listed sound wonderful...I can almost imagine it in my minds eye...I was almost 25 before I even went to see a movie, they didn't have a movie house here to even go to until the late 80s I believe...and there is still only one here that we can go to and only one screen, most of the time we just have to wait until the DVD comes out or search for it online...
@webeishere (36313)
• United States
16 Mar 07
They were sooo much fun. ta sat in the car rain or not watching the movie. Speakers with wires in a box hanging on your drivers window glass. I sure miss those days. Thanks for the response. I wish you could have experienced a Drive-In movie.
5 people like this
@RachelleDD (823)
• Canada
17 Mar 07
When I went to Chicago a few years back a friend of mine took me to see a old vacant drive-in, the place was huge, she was delighted to explain to me how it worked, just standing there on the empty lot with this huge wooden white screen brought back pleasant memories for her....
4 people like this
@4monsters4me (2569)
• United States
17 Mar 07
I remember going when I was a kid (back in the early/mid 80s). My parents would take me and my brother to double features on Friday nights. We would bring a huge bag of popcorn and we would sit on the hood of my dad's Nova, then fall asleep during the second movie (which was usually rated R). good times.
They are re-opening a drive in in the next town over from where I live now. I remember when we first moved here that I thought it was sad that it was sitting unused but I saw the sigh last month said re-opening in the summer.
4 people like this
@the_vicar (1477)
• United States
17 Mar 07
I remember them and they were a lot of fun! It was someplace for families and even small kids. We went to one that had a play groud so that kids could play until the movie started. Yeah, the 60's!!!!!
@raveena (1353)
• India
17 Mar 07
I have been to a drive in around 2 years back in Chennai and really enjoyed the experience. It is really great watching the movie under the big blue sky and the cold fresh breeze flowing. I really miss it.
Will surely visit the place if I happen to visit Chennai again.
4 people like this
@mfpsassy (2827)
• United States
16 Mar 07
We had a driv in here until a few years ago. They tore it down and built a Home Depot in it's spot gggggggrrrrrrrr It sure made going to the movies cheaper. A car load of people and 2 movies cost $5. I loved it. I wasn't here for the 60's lol
@susieq223 (3742)
• United States
17 Mar 07
We are dating ourselves, Grandpa Bob. I remember them well. As a teenager on dates....well maybe I better not go there! lol! Then as a young married couple who couldn't afford a baby sitter and we would take the kids with us! With a bunch of girl friends flirting with the guys in the car next spot over! What fun. I'm not sure how many movies I saw though! I miss them too. This generation is missing out on something great!
@whimsystoryteller (1743)
• United States
17 Mar 07
Boy, do I remember drive-ins! I saw "Gone With The Wind" for the first time in a drive-in with a group of neighbors and friends. I also remember the last time I went to a drive-in. It was when Die Hard 2 came out.
When I was a little girl, my Dad used to take me to the drive-in to see the old Sherlock Holmes and Dracula movies. I would hide behind the back seat so he wouldn't have to pay for me. We didn't have a lot of money back then so we had to save where we could. I was only 8 or 9, I think. Maybe a little older. I just remember going to see "Dracula Has Risen From the Grave" and "The Hounds of the Baskervilles" as a double feature. I was a night owl back then, too. And, since Mom didn't like those kind of movies and I did, Dad always took me.
I haven't thought about that in ages, so thanks for the memories...
4 people like this
@webeishere (36313)
• United States
18 Mar 07
wHAT A GREAT DAD. mY DAD NEVER WENT BUT MAYBE ONCE A YEAR. sO i WENT WITH MOM A lot.
HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB !!
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
17 Mar 07
we used to have 2 drive-ins,both closed now,sadly and the land sold for condos :(
the kids would set fire to the screens over the winter close,an the owner got tired of paying 5K every year to redo the screen.
i miss those days,tho.
sometimes i went just for the food the stand had.
they were awesome.
@jennybianca (12912)
• Australia
18 Mar 07
This brings back many memories. I was brought in an industrial city of medium size in the north. We had a drive-in-cinema. We also had a town hall that showed weekly movies.
Ohh, but our family loved the drive-in. If there was a movie on suitable for the whole family, we would go.
Sometimes my brother and I were allowed to sit in the front of the car, & my parents were in the back. My father would set up the old fashioned speaker. If it was winter we would have blankets & maybe pillows.
Other people would go to the drive-in, and sit on the sets at the back. They usually made a noise and threw things at one another.
The drive-in had a small deli, although we mostly brought our own.
It wass great as we could have hot drinks and hot food, which are banned in normal cinemas.
Also we could get up & move around, go the toilet without disturbing other people.
Other things happened in the back seats of some other cars!
I really miss not having a drive-in anymore. It's not the same at the local Greater Union cinema.
@lisado (1227)
• United States
17 Mar 07
Good lord. I haven't been to a drive in in.....years! Lemme think. I was pregnant with my oldest son and my parents took me to see a movie while my husband was at work, so it was about 9 years ago? My parents used to take me, my sister and brother about once every couple of months. We'd load up snacks and drinks (hide that cooler!) in the back of the truck and we'd all sit in the bed of the truck on blankets or lawn chairs to watch the movie. I don't even think that drive in is open anymore? Most of the ones I see now sit empty. The lots are often used for flea markets on weekends. One back home was bought by a junk yard since it was already all fenced in and such. It's a shame that they're gone. :(
3 people like this
@soccermom (3198)
• United States
17 Mar 07
We had a drive in theatre until about 10 years ago and they tore it down and built a huge 16 theatre movieplex. It's nice but I still miss the drive in, and all the shenanigans that went on there. We also have an abandoned drive in that someone just bought and wants to revitalize, I hope it goes through but the new owners are facing opposition by some people that built houses in the area. Also back in the 70's the place used to show adult movies and I think the property owners around there think that's the new plan. It's not, but the old stigma ya know. And A&W drive ins rocked! I don't understand how these businesses fell by the wayside. It's a shame. Good times, good times. :)
4 people like this
@Connie1013 (1098)
• United States
18 Mar 07
I have very vivid memories. I just saw like 5 movies last summer. We have at least 7 drive-ins that we can choose from around here. We take pop corn and pop and dinner. We always make a night of it. Kids love it. I love it because 12 and under is free. My 13 year old looks under 12 so we don't even pay for him. I am looking forward to seeing Spiderman 3 and other this summer.
