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Author Topic: Drive-In owners...How long is your Season? Steve Matz Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 672 From: Billings, Montana, USA Registered: Sep 2003 posted 09-10-2014 02:35 PM                     Just Curious to see how long of a season you have compared to other States. Obviously if your Drive-in is in AZ,N.M.,parts of CA,etc. then you are probably open all year round.Montana IMHO was never a good DRIVE-IN State if you were only interested in Money. We have a good 6+ months of Fall and Winter so when the Drive-in's were operating back in the day;they were usually closed after Schools started or by the end of September. I remember one year in the mid 70's;one of our Drive-in's planned to stay open all winter and put these heater contraptions on your window that consisted of a propane torch connected to what looked like the Old Round Speakers that another Drive-in used. Needless to say it didn't go over too well and after a couple snowfalls the Theater Management(TOI) must have got the message that people weren't going to go to a Drive-in when it's 30 degrees out and still have to start your own Car/heater/defroster, so you didn't freeze your A$$ off. All those old Drive-in's were closed before the end of the 70's. The Only Drive-in around here now is a 2 Screener that's been in operation since 2005. I just checked with him and he is now only open on Friday's & Saturday's and all the Rides are shutdown for the season(He has a Rollercoaster that goes around his entire Drive-in) He and his Wife run this Drive-in because they Love it not that they ever expected to get Rich from...  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-10-2014 03:06 PM                        When I worked at the local drive-in here, they would be open as soon as the snow melted in the spring -- usually around May 1, but I remember a few times going to work in April. They would run until the first snow stayed on the ground or the end of October, whichever came first. I remember more than once huddling around the lamphouses to warm up. They did a pretty nice business in that place because the indoor theater would close in the summer (until I came along and had year round bank payments to make).  |  IP: Logged Justin Hamaker Film God Posts: 2253 From: Lakeport, CA USA Registered: Jan 2004 posted 09-10-2014 04:31 PM                        The drive-in I operate in Northern California runs late April through late September. Late April is when we start having reliably good weather and we have some movies with enough appeal to be worth putting on screen. We operate weekends only until early June when schools break for the summer. Then we are open nightly through mid August. When we shut down in late September it's more from a dearth of product than because of weather. We also find business dwindling as the night's get colder and people are more focused on things like high school football. This year we're going to be limping to the finish line as we have pretty much played through all the titles that are worth having on screen. This week we have Guardians of the Galaxy with Let's Be Cops. Next weekend will probably be Let's Be Cops with The Expendables 3. Not sure what we'll play the weekend after that as there hasn't been anything worthwhile released since Guardians.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 09-10-2014 09:55 PM                     True, can depend on the weather, but seen some open early as mid March, but the majority will wait until the first wknd of April to open the gates. Closures is variable: end of September, October, or even week before "Turkey Day."  |  IP: Logged Harold Hallikainen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 906 From: Denver, CO, USA Registered: Aug 2009 posted 09-10-2014 10:22 PM                        I believe our local drive in runs 12 months of the year. It's just down the street from USL. There's a nice video at http://calcoastnews.com/2010/02/the-sunset-drive-in/ . This was shot in 2010 when they had film projectors. They're now running a Barco with a USL CMS-2200. Harold  |  IP: Logged Steve Matz Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 672 From: Billings, Montana, USA Registered: Sep 2003 posted 09-10-2014 10:36 PM                     When this Couple opened this Drive-in in 2005(they had bought out a closed DI in Cody,Wyoming) They had plans to have it like it was in the 50's and 60's. That included having a Cartoon,a 2 Reeler and Old Serial plus at least 2 features on both screens. Those Plans quickly came to A halt when they found out the Film exchanges didn't carry Cartoons,2 Reelers, or Serials(Chapter Plays as Cathy Bates would say) any longer. So being in the Carnival Ride Business prior to this Venture he filled the place with Amusement Park Rides and a Adult size Rollercoaster(Hence the name "AMUSEMENT PARK DRIVE-IN") that encircles the Complex. He also has a miniature Golf Course on the Property. One of his Projection Booths is an old 1909 Caboose from a Train and the other is an Old Circus Truck. Don't see too many Projection booths like that They try and keep their concessions at a low price and they will deliver Pizza right to your Car. I thought the DI would Close when it was time to make a decision on whether to go Digital; but they invested heavily in Digital Equipment for both Screens and literally threw their 35mm Century Equipment in the Dump(too bad for me)They are a Nice Friendly Husband & Wife Team;the kind you want to have running a Mom & Pop Drive-In and hoping they can keep it running for many years to come. I think every kid should experience the thrill of going to a Drive-in like when we were Kids; but I don't know if the new generation of kids with all their Video Gadgets would even be interested(maybe for the carnival rides)in a Drive-in experience.Different thinking Generation that's for Sure... http://www.amusementparkdriveinonline.com/ BTW: Harold, that was both an entertaining and moving video of the SUNSET DRIVE-IN. Seeing at the time of this Video that he was still projecting Film was a nice memory moment.Show this clip to a new generation of kids 20 yrs from now and they will look at those projectors and say "What are Those"  |  IP: Logged Barry Floyd Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1079 From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 09-11-2014 09:41 AM                        For us here in middle Tennessee... our drive-in season runs from the first weekend in March until the first or second weekend in December. We typically don't get any snow here, so spring comes in pretty early for us and the winter is rather mild. Temps in December can still be in the 70's on some weekends, so it's not that bad. Attendance drops off considerably after Labor Day weekend, but still brings in enough to keep the doors open and keep the bills paid and the employees happy. We run weekends only (Friday - Saturday & Sunday) from March through Memorial Day, then 7 nights a week through mid-August. Once school starts back, it's weekends only again until December. We don't have in-car heaters, but we do have a really nice "fire pit" in our patio area that the customers love. It pretty much smells like a combination og "scout camp" and "Cracker Barrel" from Labor Day till after Thanksgiving at the drive-in!  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-11-2014 12:39 PM                        quote: Steve Matz Adult size Rollercoaster(Hence the name "AMUSEMENT PARK DRIVE-IN") that encircles the Complex. I think the rollercoaster goes around the SCREEN, not the whole complex. It's a carnival-type coaster from what I can see in the photos. I do wish their website had better pictures....you can't really see too much. Every year we talk about going to that drive-in and never seem to get the time!  |  IP: Logged Steve Matz Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 672 From: Billings, Montana, USA Registered: Sep 2003 posted 09-11-2014 01:27 PM                     After seeing that SUNSET DRIVE-IN Video clip and noticing their Lot was Paved and the spaces White lined, I remembered that none of our DI's had Blacktop or any kind of Space Markings. I'm sure as large an area that the Sunset seems to occupy; an asphalt Paving and Striping Job would set a Theater owner back some heavy change. The first DI I remember having a paved lot was in Gardena,Ca. In 1968, The Drive-in was across the Street from the Race Track "ASCOT PARK" The motorcycles would race on Friday Nights and then we would go to the DI on Saturday when the Sprints were Running. When I think of all the miles of wiring and planting speaker posts/speakers in the larger DI's; The owners back then wouldn't believe all the Money and hassle they could have saved if technology had advanced a little quicker and they only needed AM/FM Transmitters. Of course many cars in the old days didn't have Radios because they were an option. I remember some of the early vettes I bought in the late 60's early 70's. You had to order an AM/FM Radio which was over 200 dollars even back then or your car came with a Radio Delete and there was this colored plate covering where your radio was inserted.They didn't have an ordinary AM Radio as an RPO. (GM's way of selling expensive AM/FM Radios) The one 4 plex DI we had here for one season in 1981 used this FM Transmitter system and I thought it was pretty neat not having to mess with speakers hanging on your windows, but the screens were so poorly put together that the picture quality wasn't worth watching. He said they added 16ft to each side when SCOPE came along. Our one DI "MOTOR-VU must have added 50 ft to their screen. This thing was gigantic compared to the other DI's in town. Their projection Booth was also back with the concession stand so it had an exceptionally long throw. I wish DI's could make a real comeback and have the numbers they had back in the Day, but like he said they are a dying breed and when their gone they most likely will never be again BTW: Your right Mike, the Coaster goes around the 2 screens;I don't know why I said complex. The Photo Gallery is pretty Poor. I should go out there and take a bunch of good large JPG's and have him redo his Gallery. The DI is less than 2 miles from where I live...  |  IP: Logged Sam Graham AKA: "The Evil Sam Graham". Wackiness ensues. Posts: 1431 From: Waukee, IA Registered: Dec 2004 posted 09-11-2014 03:36 PM                        It's weather dependent, but the 99W, Newberg, OR, usually starts up the last or second to last weekend in March, and runs at least to Halloween, sometimes into early November. I recall one season in the nearly two decades I've done their website where they went to the weekend before Thanksgiving. This is a weekend-only operation, Fri-Sat-Sun, though the early and late parts of the season are Fri-Sat only.  |  IP: Logged Joe Elliott Master Film Handler Posts: 497 From: Port Orange, Fl USA Registered: Oct 2006 posted 09-12-2014 06:22 PM                     I managed the I70 in Kansas City for a number of years, and we would be open from around March 1st to the end of October. Weekends only until about May, and back to weekends only about the end of September. Once school is in, many fewer people come out on weekdays.  |  IP: Logged Scott Jentsch Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1061 From: New Berlin, WI, USA Registered: Apr 2003 posted 09-15-2014 05:41 PM                        Of the 364 active drive-ins in the U.S., we show that 57 of them have showtimes currently (any showtime on any day from today onward). It's early in the week, so it's difficult to use that number as an accurate judge (it would have been a good query to run last Friday).  |  IP: Logged Harold Hallikainen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 906 From: Denver, CO, USA Registered: Aug 2009 posted 09-16-2014 12:54 PM                        And one of those is the Sunset Drive In with a double feature every night. Harold  |  IP: Logged Steve Matz Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 672 From: Billings, Montana, USA Registered: Sep 2003 posted 09-25-2014 02:41 AM                     Found this Short Film on U-tube.Both Moving and Sad if you Grew up like I did with them Everywhere... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWAszS_nI0o  |  IP: Logged Scott Jentsch Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1061 From: New Berlin, WI, USA Registered: Apr 2003 posted 09-26-2014 03:11 PM                        Since it's Friday, I figured that it's a much better day to re-run the query. We currently have showtimes for 163 drive-in theaters in the U.S. That includes theaters that have any showtimes (on any date) from this date forward.  |  IP: Logged

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