With movie theaters closed, we have been trying out different alternatives to have the movie-going experience here in Orange County.
The first one we did was a couple of weeks ago during Free Family Movie Night at The District at Tustin Legacy. Thy set up socially distant tables in the plaza in front of the movie theater and assign each household a different table. Tickets need to be reserved online. I signed us up for E.T., which would not have been my first choice of movie. However, the date just worked for us because it was the Thursday before the Fourth of July so D did not have work the next day. The movie started around 8:15, but we did not stay for the whole thing. (Although the kids had never seen this movie before, we have yet felt motivated to finish the movie on our own). Patrons are encouraged to pick up food at one of the nearby restaurants and dine while they watch the movie. n had soccer practice right before, and it was too late for us to wait to eat, so we just shared a couple of boba drinks as our movie snack.
There was a DJ playing music before the movie, and D was inspired to play the air flute.
Just last night we went to see Jurassic Park at a drive-in movie set up by Orange County Parks. They charged $10 per vehicle, and sold out three nights pretty quickly. I find that signing up as soon as you hear about something like this is best, because deliberation often leads to disappointment. None of us had ever been to a drive-in movie, so I thought it would be a fun thing to try out.
I really appreciated how they tried to make it an experience. The employees were quite enthusiastic, and they even had Jurassic Park jeeps lined up at the entrance. They also had the wonderful soundtrack playing as soon as you entered the parking lot.
We picked up dinner at Bunz, which was our first time. n declared the Western Bacon Cheeseburger (with onion rings) as the best he’s ever had! It was kind of fun to eat in the car.
We scored a primo spot in the center second row, mainly because we were one of the few sedans. They had SUVs and vans park in the back and to the side. I was worried about the sound situation since we did not have a reliable battery FM radio, and I did not want to keep our car engine running. However, the sound was just fine from where we were parked when we had the windows rolled down.
D and n started out watching the movie on lawn chairs in the front of our car, but came in when the mosquitoes started to bother them. Watching the movie from the back of a Mazda3 was not the most comfortable, but we had plenty of blankets and pillows to keep us cozy. The kids had never seen Jurassic Park, so it was a nice way to see it for the first time. It was a late night out for us (movie did not start until 8:30), but it made for a nice summer memory.