I can’t believe it. For the first time in 12-weeks we went out-out as a family last night! We didn’t venture very far, just the 10 miles or so from home to Knebworth House to see a drive in movie!
Luna Drive In Cinema
The first thing to mention is that the experience is fantastically well organised. I wish I had taken a photo of the mobile loos, because even these were socially distanced! We never left our car at all, so didn’t have to worry about the proximity of others etc.
We chose to watch Jurassic Park – Toby’s favourite film. There are so many we could have picked though, including La La Land, Romeo & Juliet, Pretty Woman, Sister Act, The Blues Brothers, Rocketman, A Star is Born, Back to the Future, The Goonies, Dirty Dancing … and many more.
Luna Drive-In movies also take place in North and East London, Oxford, Midlands, Leeds, and Manchester. New venues are added all the time.
This was our experience …
Arrival
The film was scheduled to start at 9:30pm. We arrived at the entrance to Knebworth Park at around 8:15pm and joined the organised queue of cars being checked in.
ANPR cameras log your registration number as you approach. You are handed a speaker to put on your dashboard. Any pre-booked hampers were handed to you here. We preordered a Gourmet Box, which included marshmallows, biscuits, sweets, chocolate, popcorn and two cans of fizzy cordial.
You then need to follow the stewards’ instructions and park in long lines in front of the huge screen.
Ordering food and drink
A position number was placed on the driver’s wing mirror – ours was G13.
You can access the food menus via the website or directly by scanning a QR code on the speaker box. Options we had included a selection of burgers and hotdogs, crepes, sweets and a range of hot and cold drinks. We ordered drinks and two crepes to share. Aftering ordering and paying on your phone, the food is delivered to your car.
Toilets
The only time you are permitted to leave your car is to visit the bathroom. There are lots of mobile toilets close by – noone need walk very far. They are clean, and there was an attendant cleaning them at regular intervals.
Film
The sound from the portable speaker we were given, was fantastic. Luckily, we had full control of the volume as the film sound track was rather loud.
As for the big screen, for those sitting in the driver’s seat and front passenger seat had unobstructed clear, bright views of the movie.
Sitting in the rear seats, the view is not very good. You have to bend yourself between the headrests and crouch down to see the screen! Opening a sunroof is not allowed (not that we had one or we would have considered it, given that it was raining!) You are not allowed to leave car boots open, or sit on the bonnet etc. Movie-goers must stay in their vehicle during the film. Though you are allowed to open the driver-side windows.
Our thoughts
Attending a drive-in movie is a new experience for us. It was a shame that it rained as it meant we spent the whole film having to flick the windscreen wipers. We steamed up too! Of course, this would have been unnecessary in dry weather. For cars who used aircon to keep their windscreens clear during the film. I hope you managed to jump start and get home safe.
If you sit in the front seats you have a fantastic view of the screen. If you sit in the back, you need to be a bit of a contortionist.
The coffee was really nice and the food was just ok. Bringing your own food is allowed. I think we’ll do this next time.
It’s an experience … try it! Let us know what you thought, what you saw (and where) in the comments below x
This looks amazing, i wish we had something similar where i am!!! #TotsTravel
Really interesting post – I’ve seen that there are lots of these outdoor cinemas popping up and had wondered what the experience would be like 🙂 #totstravel