A nostalgic drive-in theater in Santa Monica Airport

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Now all the theaters in California are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

I love watching movies on a big screen because it has more impact and sound than a home TV screen. I am so sad that I cannot go to the theater and watch the latest movies right now 

The Los Angeles city government announced that restaurants have to stop serving to dine-in customers in the restaurants last December. So, many people have lost a source of excitement now.

One day one of my friends told me that there is a drive-in theater in Santa Monica airport. Santa Monica airport is a small airport for private planes, and it takes just 5 minutes to get there from my home.

I searched on the website. Then I found that we can watch movies there almost every day. However, the movies are old    There are many cartoons or movies for kids that families can enjoy. 

I chose a classic movie called “Casablanca.” 

 

Actress Ingrid Bergman is so beautiful!

 

My husband isn’t excited about watching movies in the theater. I asked him to go there. “A  Drive-in theater? Are you kidding? We should drive all the way to Santa Monica Airport to watch some old movie?  We will hardly see the screen or hear the sound!  If I want to go to the bathroom, what would I do? Why don’t we watch movies at home?” He replied to me with grumbling 

Eventually, he accepted my suggestion on the condition that I would buy a ticket. So I bought a ticket for two on the website.

 

How to get a ticket and the fee  🎟

This driving theater is managed by a company called ” Rooftop Cinema Club.” First access to the website as below then select the movie.

 

The website is from here.

↓ ↓ ↓

https://rooftopcinemaclub.com/los-angeles/venue/the-drive-in-at-santa-monica-airport/

 

To use the website, just choose the number of tickets and enter the information on your credit card. That’s it!

By the way, about the cost, it’s $18.00 per person for two people in one vehicle. More than three people will be $16.00 per person. However, eight years old or less are free.

Once you have paid, a confirmation with information including an online ticket and the theater map will be sent to your email.

 

 

This is the confirmation mail.

 

On the day of the movie, bring the online ticket printed out to show the barcode to the staff at the entrance.

 

This is the online ticket. Bring the ticket which you printed out or show your cell phone with the barcode.

 

The day of watching the movie   🚖

Well, I went to the drive-in theater for the first time in more than 40 years! 

Doors for this screening open 30 minutes before the movie start time. We thought that on a weekday, nobody would be interested in such an antique style drive-in theater.  Also, the movie is so old.  So we left home close to the starting time. However, when we drove to the airport, we saw a long line of cars to get into the airport!  Unbelievable scene!

 

Before the front gate, there was a traffic jam! It is better to get there more than 30 minutes early.

 

People want to go outside, so it was so busy, I think. So it is better to get there more than 30 minutes early. Each vehicle was assigned a parking space upon arrival. We waited for 20 minutes, then finally parked inside.  The movie has already started at that time  

The staff guided us to where we should park, and they enforced social distancing not to park close to each other. So, therefore, we could watch the movie without any worries.

 

This is the map of the drive-in theater.

 

After we watched the movie 🚘

In the beginning, I felt the screen was a bit far. However, I eventually got used to it, so I didn’t feel uncomfortable. The sound was clear. I was satisfied to watch the movie at the drive-in theater. My husband, who had been grumbling, seemed to enjoy this epic movie  

 

Low-key actor, Humphrey Bogart!

Portable restrooms are on the left side of the screen. When you use the restroom, you should wear a mask. We must watch the movie inside the vehicle.

We could hear the sound with an FM radio in the vehicle.  We brought a portable radio with us, to conserve the car battery charger.

Usually, they serve drinks or snacks, but now they stopped doing that. So I suggest you bring something to drink and eat with you. By the way, we brought cans of sparkling wine, guacamole, and tortilla chips from Trader Joe’s.

 

We bought sparkling wine, guacamole and tortilla chips with us.

 

Also, I suggest that it is better to bring a blanket with you. Because of the winter season, it is sometimes cold, even in the car. 

So why don’t you go to the drive-in theater with your kids or family?

We can watch movies not only at Santa Monica Airport but also in many places in Los Angeles city. You can search on the website.

 

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