For years I hoped my kids wouldn't find out that movies existed. Around here, it can cost $40 for a family of four to get in to see the obligatory Disney flick. And my husband and I aren't hugely into movies, so we waited until movies came out on DVD, then tried to borrow them. (Told you I am cheap.) I've only ever bought one DVD, and that was off eBay. Anyway, our first movie was Up, so that was probably 2009, and my kids were 7 and 4. After that, we only took them when it was clear they would lose their will to live if they didn't see a certain movie. The first time we went, I bought popcorn and two sodas, and it was almost $20! So all told, it cost $60 for their first movie (but it was a good one). I don't think we ever bought popcorn again--our reasoning was that the kids would have more fun just eating out first, which would cost the same amount.
So fast forward to a few weeks ago. We decided to try out "The Grand," a theater in East Greenville, PA. I had heard it was cheap, but I had my misgivings because when I was a teen; my dad's business was upstairs from it in the same building, and the theater seemed like a dump. (I know, I'm cheap and picky--it's great.) Its name at that time alone made me gag--"The Valley."
But I heard so many good things about this theater, that I wanted to try it out. The website drew me in with promises that the theater had been restored to its 1920's glory. Just imagining the Upper Perkiomen Valley in the 1920's is crazy to me. For many reasons. Anyway, my husband and I love old movies and the 20's and 30's, so I checked the listings and made my plans.
I'm going to describe the theater in a minute, but here's the bottom line: for an evening show, the tickets cost $20, and the biggest popcorn is $4! So our movie plus snacks equals less than half of what we would pay at a regular theater. Woohoo!! Here's some more practical info:
*CASH ONLY--this is a biggy for me, because I don't carry cash so I need to plan ahead. Matinee tickets are $3, and evening tickets are $5. Popcorn is $2-4, soda is $1.50-2, and candy is a little over $2. They don't have Raisinets. Just so you know.
*You might not fit in the seats if you are large. I always look at chairs because I have large people in my family so I think about those things. The people that run it seem to be nice, so if you called ahead, they could give you some measurements.
*It's not a huge screen. If you are looking for a huge screen/theater, this is not the place for you. We don't really care about that, but a movie lover might.
*The movie starts on time. There aren't as many previews and ads, so you should get to the theater early and settle in.
*There is one men's room and one women's. I go at least three times a night, and I never had to wait more than a minute. There is a line when the movie is over. The restrooms are right off the back of the room, so you can continue to watch the movie as you wait. It's perfect if you want your kid to use the restroom by themselves, because they don't have to go out to a lobby. The snack stand is also right in back of the theater, so you don't miss anything if you grab more snacks during the movie.
*Park on Main St. (Rt. 29)
*They get movies about three weeks after they are released. Check out showings here: http://www.thegrandtheater.org/
I guess it is partly the money, because I feel like we can go more often as a family. I'm also looking forward to taking my kids to a matinee sometime (For the three of us, it will be just $9) When this theater was originally built, movies were so affordable that people could go to multiple shows in one day, or enjoy a movie every week. I won't be doing that, but it's nice to know that when a kid's movie comes out, we can all go enjoy it together and eat our fill of popcorn popped in a machine from the 1940's. Cool.
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