Drive-in movie? (Phoenix, Tucson: home, movie theater, live)

[milliebfit]

Back east there was a real nice safe drive-in movie theater.
I noticed one here "De Anza Drive-in" on alvernon way...is it a nice place to go?

[ZonyPony]

Originally Posted by milliebfit

Back east there was a real nice safe drive-in movie theater.
I noticed one here "De Anza Drive-in" on alvernon way...is it a nice place to go?

Haven't been there (22nd St & Alvernon) since the 60's when it was then called the Cactus Drive-In Theatre! Ahhhh... what great memories! There were several other drive-ins in Tucson back then as well: Midway, Biltmore, 22nd St, Apache, Rodeo... and I may be forgetting some...

The DeAnza is the very last holdout from a very different era, for sure. I don't remember when it became the DeAnza, but I noticed that the letters fit just fine where Cactus used to be. The movies which they show are some of the latest, most up to date movies that are shown anywhere else in town, except its in a drive-in environment.

I can't speak to the "safe place to go" part, but I would call DeAnza and see if they can give you more details on safety issues, if any. I thought I heard somewhere that the DeAnza may have recently been sold, and if so, I'm not sure what will happen to that very wonderful historical place (in my opinion)! I hope they continue the tradition!

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by ZonyPony

Haven't been there (22nd St & Alvernon) since the 60's when it was then called the Cactus Drive-In Theatre! Ahhhh... what great memories! There were several other drive-ins in Tucson back then as well: Midway, Biltmore, 22nd St, Apache, Rodeo... and I may be forgetting some...

You probably have some sweet memories from these days in the drive-ins...

[ZonyPony]

Originally Posted by sierraAZ

You probably have some sweet memories from these days in the drive-ins...

Most of which I'd be unable to talk about here on this mostly G-Rated forum!

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by ZonyPony

Most of which I'd be unable to talk about here on this very G-Rated forum!

Exactly! I was gonna suggest you hop over to the Relationships forum and let us know. It's a novel topic. Nobody's discussed it before.

[Mi_Mom]

Originally Posted by ZonyPony

Haven't been there (22nd St & Alvernon) since the 60's when it was then called the Cactus Drive-In Theatre! Ahhhh... what great memories! There were several other drive-ins in Tucson back then as well: Midway, Biltmore, 22nd St, Apache, Rodeo... and I may be forgetting some...

The DeAnza is the very last holdout from a very different era, for sure. I don't remember when it became the DeAnza, but I noticed that the letters fit just fine where Cactus used to be. The movies which they show are some of the latest, most up to date movies that are shown anywhere else in town, except its in a drive-in environment.

I can't speak to the "safe place to go" part, but I would call DeAnza and see if they can give you more details on safety issues, if any. I thought I heard somewhere that the DeAnza may have recently been sold, and if so, I'm not sure what will happen to that very wonderful historical place (in my opinion)! I hope they continue the tradition!

We took all 3 kids there back in April when my daughter had her 5th birthday. We don't really have any left back in MI so we were thrilled to be able to find one here. It was packed and lines go out all down the road on the weekends. There are a few drawbacks there. One being the facilities there. They look like they haven't been updated/upgraded since the 60's. My husband said he wasn't sure we'd make it through a double feature with the kids, as my girls might balk at having to use the bathrooms there. Pretty icky I guess. Also, if you have small children, just be aware that they have other screens there. Imagine the cars in the middle and the screens placed around the outer edge of a circle (of sorts). Which means there are R rated/graphic things going on other screens all around. IE...taking your kids to see a kids movie and Sex And the City is playing just to your left. That wasn't there when we were there, but you get my drift. My kids really didn't pay attention so it was fine. But other kids might have their interest piqued.

It's CHEAP to go. Kids were free and adults are $6. So it cost us all of $12 and bringing snacks from home to go to a movie. Not bad at all! And best part is you can pack a cooler, have sandwiches and whatnot while you are there. Bring your own drinks/water etc. They sell popcorn at the concession stand. People make a night of it and have blankets, chairs etc. We had a really good time.

Safety, I wasn't too worried about. Then again my husband hesitates when I mention taking my 5 and 8 year old to a movie for a 'girls night out' going over there.

Also here is a blog (Save Our De Anza Drive-In) that describes a bit of what the 'sale' was going to be. But for now, I believe that it has fallen through. Just an FYI. (Also the AZ Star probably has some stuff on it as well)

[Mi_Mom]

Originally Posted by sierraAZ

Exactly! I was gonna suggest you hop over to the Relationships forum and let us know. It's a novel topic. Nobody's discussed it before.

Ha! It's a move up to PG-13 over there.

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by Mi_Mom

We took all 3 kids there back in April when my daughter had her 5th birthday. We don't really have any left back in MI so we were thrilled to be able to find one here. It was packed and lines go out all down the road on the weekends. There are a few drawbacks there. One being the facilities there. They look like they haven't been updated/upgraded since the 60's. My husband said he wasn't sure we'd make it through a double feature with the kids, as my girls might balk at having to use the bathrooms there. Pretty icky I guess. Also, if you have small children, just be aware that they have other screens there. Imagine the cars in the middle and the screens placed around the outer edge of a circle (of sorts). Which means there are R rated/graphic things going on other screens all around. IE...taking your kids to see a kids movie and Sex And the City is playing just to your left. That wasn't there when we were there, but you get my drift. My kids really didn't pay attention so it was fine. But other kids might have their interest piqued.

It's CHEAP to go. Kids were free and adults are $6. So it cost us all of $12 and bringing snacks from home to go to a movie. Not bad at all! And best part is you can pack a cooler, have sandwiches and whatnot while you are there. Bring your own drinks/water etc. They sell popcorn at the concession stand. People make a night of it and have blankets, chairs etc. We had a really good time.

Safety, I wasn't too worried about. Then again my husband hesitates when I mention taking my 5 and 8 year old to a movie for a 'girls night out' going over there.

Also here is a blog (Save Our De Anza Drive-In) that describes a bit of what the 'sale' was going to be. But for now, I believe that it has fallen through. Just an FYI. (Also the AZ Star probably has some stuff on it as well)

Good info. Thanks. I've never been. Perhaps should go once before drive-ins totally disappear - it's part of history after all. The problem is my car antenna is broken ... among other problems... like my rear end preferring to be in bed while watching movies.

[j760]

There is nothing like going to the drive-in, we still have some out here in San Diego, although a good chunk of them have closed down over the years. When I lived in Phoenix I went to one up there to, it was pretty good.

I'm not a big movie goer anyway so I don't need the fancy theater with surround sound, I'd rather enjoy being outside on a nice evening and being part of a very nostalgic atmosphere.

[milliebfit]

Wow it is good to know that we can go to a drive in movie..thanks all for the info, I will give it a try. As for some of the "memories" we all have about the drive in....mine are really PG. I was a teenager in the 70"s drive in movies were not a big thing in my area. The memories I have was my family of 8 piling in the station wagon in our PJ's with snacks from home..fun but certainly not R rated!!!