I know, right?!?
I can hardly believe it either. We live in the city of Dallas/Fort Worth with roughly three million peeps and counting. How can such a place not be extinct? Where can you possibly go to SEE the screen through all the pollution hustle and bustle?
Well….. the country. Just head South of the metroplex. It’s really not that far.
Welcome to Galaxy Drive-in Theatre, Ennis, Texas. A step-back in time.
This place is awesome. There are five screens showing double features, and they have a kid’s screen too – showing Hop. We decided to take the girls – who thought it was like CAMPING. I wasn’t so sure about taking them, but turns out? They LOVED it. This is the perfect family outing.
Picture of the screen to the right of us. There are five lots with screens at this drive-in, but only one concession, one bathroom – just sayin’.
My oldest step-daughter doesn’t play model often, but tonight she was happy. No sun in her eyes. No wind. Lots of snack foods and fun. This is one girl who loves the great outdoors and movies.
I recommend arriving early, so you can get parked, and settled BEFORE the movie starts. At nightfall, there are NO lights, just the screens. The roads are dirt and grass. It is hard walking to the concession – forget driving with kids and families everywhere.
As it became later, we anxiously waited for the sun to exit the theater.
We quickly took our seats. You can sit anywhere…in the car, or on the lawn chairs (if you bring them). We had some set up in a mini theater at the front bumper. I saw some families with tents, and blow-up beds. Seriously! *totally stealing this idea for next time*
Hello Moon.
Hellooooooo movie!
Hop is an excellent movie. The kid’s loved it. Seated in the mini-chair area wrapped in fuzzy blankets. Jason and I, had our first kiss at the drive-in (many moons ago – heh!). We had another.
The only advice I would give when taking the fam to the outdoor movies is this…..don’t run the radio on car battery before and during the movie. If you do…….have jumper cables, and nice car neighbors.
🙂
I can’t wait to go to the Drive-In again!
Do you remember the Drive-In? Do you have one you still go to?
Great Post! We have a drive-in as well and I have never been there. It is in a very rural part of town, I always have this image of very scary looking people going there who don’t want to be seen. I think it’s all the horror movies I’ve seen! 🙂
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I really miss drive-in movie theaters. Too bad they are such a thing of the past. It was such an event. The playground. The concession stand. The freedom to walk about without really disturbing anyone.
Those schlocky horror movies from the 70s were always best at a drive-in.
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Drive in’s are great. We still have one in the Upper Valley of Vermont. It is a great deal also as the charge by the car so stuff in as many as you can! And how can you pass up the drive in food!
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Very cool, I had to read this post. We have something just like this in Rochester, NY. It’s a flea market by day and the drive in by night. I love the idea of bringing a tent with a blow up mattress. I wrote a post the other month about selling my beads at the flea/drive in.
http://francescadecaire.com/2011/03/25/vending-at-the-avon-flea-market/
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I have a lot of fun memories of the drive-in when I was a kid. I do not think there are any more around here and that is too bad. It was a relaxing thing to get out and do with family (especially if you had small children) and friends.
Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed.
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Sorry I think West Nile Virus kill them for me. Sorry if I spelled that wrong. Sad face miss them days.
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Baltimore still has the Bengies Drive-In. As a matter of fact, it was featured in John Water’s film, “Cecil B. DeMented”.
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I’m 25 and my friends and I used to regularly go to the drive-in during high school. We have a great one about 45 minutes away that would show 2 movies. Great deal for your money now that theaters are asking almost 10 per movie! We’d play frisbeen waiting for the sun to go down and would sit in the back of our friend’s pickups with the tailgate down. The best is when I was in elementary school and we all went for a friend’s birthday. They showed “Twister.” Imagine watching a drive-in movie theater being torn apart by a tornado while you’re at a drive in! Ahhh! I have never liked tornadoes since then. Living in the midwest this time of year… that is a problem!
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I grew up watching movies at drive-in theatres and hadn’t revisited one until just recently. Scottsdale, AZ still has one with 6 different screens, and plays late night movies, even. The atmosphere and setting of a drive-in beats out regular movie theatres tenfold. It doesn’t matter if your vehicle’s not comfortable, there are 237,760 different positions and places to watch the movie in/from…you don’t get that from bucket seats in a regular theatre.
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What a nice outing! Sounds fun. Too bad they don’t have one these closer to Austin.
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So fun. I wonder if we have one close by us. I guess I will be googling it tonight.
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i wish we have one here in our place. 😦
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There was one just 15 minutes from where we were stationed in California. We had so many great times out there. I would agree wholeheartedly with the whole “have jumper cables available” thing though… learned that the hard way. We always start the car between movies now, just in case. It’s the double feature that is the killer!
The closest drive-in here is about two hours away, and we have to cross over into the crazy state of Alabama… but we risk it on occasion for a night of adventure.
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I grew up watching movies at drive-in theatres and hadn’t revisited one until just recently. Scottsdale, AZ still has one with 6 different screens, and plays late night movies, even. The atmosphere and setting of a drive-in beats out regular movie theatres tenfold. It doesn’t matter if your vehicle’s not comfortable, there are 237,760 different positions and places to watch the movie in/from…you don’t get that from bucket seats in a regular theatre.
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Drive in’s are great. We still have one in the Upper Valley of Vermont. It is a great deal also as the charge by the car so stuff in as many as you can! And how can you pass up the drive in food!
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lovely
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All of our drive-ins are now in the past. Yep, they were loads of fun when we were younger! I have many fond memories of the drive-in when I was in high school. In the winter, we would take containers of hot soup to keep us warm!
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I love it! I haven’t been to a drive-in since I was a teenager. Wish there was one near me.
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We have a drive in movie theater in my town, and I beleive every kid in high school goes on Sunday nights during the summer. I think I will really miss it after I move. It is a thing of the past that should be broughten back!
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We have one in my town! It’s such a lovely blast from the past.
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I read freshly pressed almost daily
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I’m incredibly jealous. There isn’t a single drive-in anywhere near me, to my knowledge, anyhow. I would love the hit of nostalgia! Thanks for the excellent post.
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Loved hearing about your trip to the drive in. We have one by us and funnily enough it is called the Galaxy Drive in, in Kingsley Western Australia. We love taking the kids there. My husband takes his truck with a matress in the back and the kids all snuggle down on there to watch the movie. It’s so cheap too compared to the Cinemas.
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Awww, I hope we had those here in the Philippines. The thought of watching a movie with the sound of real crickets in the background seems lovely.
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There was one just 15 minutes from where we were stationed in California. We had so many great times out there. I would agree wholeheartedly with the whole “have jumper cables available” thing though… learned that the hard way. We always start the car between movies now, just in case. It’s the double feature that is the killer!
The closest drive-in here is about two hours away, and we have to cross over into the crazy state of Alabama… but we risk it on occasion for a night of adventure.
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Drive in’s are great. We still have one here in Rhode Island.
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I’m so late but…great shots!! You’re really growing as a photographer!
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I have always wanted to go to a drive in and never have been able to make the time to find one around. Thanks for the reminder! Great shots!
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I really miss drive-in movie theaters. Too bad they are such a thing of the past. It was such an event. The playground. The concession stand. The freedom to walk about without really disturbing anyone.
Those schlocky horror movies from the 70s were always best at a drive-in.
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I am blown away by your post and your pics of the drive-In. It give me that warm feeling of there still is a world around us and we should open our eyes and see, feel and experience what it has to offer, before well thats something I leave for you to fill in
Your pictures are very beautiful
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What a great post! My closest friends try and go a few times a year to remember our “hay-day”! Thanks for the reminder that summer is right around the corner!
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cute pics
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Good photos & a nice post, I sure do miss drive in movies, GOOD TIMES! It’s nice to know that a few still exist.
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Do I remember drive-in movie theaters? Actually, yes, I do.
Do I have one near me? In Los Angeles? Not a chance.
That’s because we’ve got so many actual movie-theaters nearby, any drive in theater would be knocked out of business quickly. And well, there really is no space for the drive-in theater to set up. Unless you count the huge backlot of Century City.
Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed!
Ashley, aka TheEverydayMuser
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Very nice! I’ve often thought of how cool it would be to own a drive-in in today’s market. Unfortunately, it might not be the most lucrative of ventures, but being able to bring a nostalgic feel back to people’s movie watching experience would be a nice feeling! I don’t think we have any still operating in this area in North Carolina that I know of at least.
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Oh how fun! I’ve always wanted to do this. It’s on my bucket list in fact. Now to find one nearby….
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Drive in movies should come back!! Can you imagine how different they could be now, but still remain simple?
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Wow, that brought back memories. Remember watching many great movies at the Drive-In. The one I remember most is probably “PT109” the story about JFK. That tells you how old I am. Nice to know the kids of this generation will still have the opportunity to do the same.
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