I did something so fun on Friday night, I have to tell you about it.
My neice Amanda & I went to the Galaxy Drive In Theater. It's located South of Dallas, just past Ennis off of I45, which might involve a little drive time if you live in the northern or western parts of the Metroplex, but trust me, it's worth it. The box office and concessions open at 6:30 and the first movie starts at 9. Never one to be early (as my current band will tell you!), We arrived around 8:00 and got in, got a good spot and got in and out of the concession stand in plenty of time for the start of the movie.
What a blast! I have many fond memories of drive in's growing up, as my grandfather was a movie projectionist (from the time he was in his late teens until they made him retire in his 70's) and my family went often as we got in free, but Amanda, because of her age (she's 18), had never been to a drive in. Both of us had such a great time! Megaplex multi screen box movie theaters have taken over the movie going experience these days, but there was a time in when the Drive In Theater was king. Read this bit of Texas Drive In Theater history from the web site http://www.driveinmovie.com/ :
Texas was host to the 3rd drive-in theatre to open in America, at Galveston in July of 1934 (the 1st & 2nd had opened in New Jersey and Pennsylvania), and thereafter - as in most things, Texas went at it in a BIG way .. by the late 50's,generally the peak years for American drive-ins, Texans had thebiggest peak in the industry, hosting nearly 400 outdoor theatres.
Although the state had held-out in true Alamo fashion, longer than most,and, was still harboring nearly 200 drive-in theatres even 20 years afterthe boom .. but ultimately, Texas would see their number decline by 96% and presently, there are only 16 Drive-ins operating in the Lone Star state. On an UP note: 5 of these were built or revived in the past four years, and the next .. a new twin-screen Drive-in (Lubbock) will be lit in July of 2003.
Every single thing about our experience at The Galaxy was fantastic - the ticket prices extremely inexpensive (especially for a first run double bill: $6 - adults, $2 - children 5 to 11, children under 5 free), the food was good quality and reasonably priced - a hamburger was $2 and a giant Texas sized popcorn $5.50 (and the popcorn was fresh and hot!), the facilities were clean, the classic window speakers very cool (as well as the 50's rockabilly style tunes played through them before the movies) and every person we came in to contact with was helpful and friendly. We brought bug spray, but didn't need it. And with the very mild Texas summer we're having, it was quite comfortable with the windows rolled down. We stayed in the car, but you can bring your lawn chairs or blankets and sit outside your vehicle if you like. We had so much fun, we're planning on returning very soon.
Open every night, 364 nights a year (closed on Christmas Eve), a night at the Galaxy Drive In would be a great as a family night, a night out with the girls (or boys) or a nostalgic, inexpensive (and romantic) date night.
Blue Lisa whole heartedly says check it out. http://www.galaxydriveintheater.com/
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