Malta Drive-In Theatre

Reviews 5

AA

Aaron Turetsky Sr.

I thought that the April opening of this theatre would provide an opportunity to cheer up my wife, who has been largely homebound in recent weeks. So we drove in with our son to see Oblivion and Identity Thief at a price of $9 per person. Although it was the second day the theatre was open, it was explained over the public address system that it actually was the first day the theatre’s new sound system was operating, as it had failed on opening day. There were no car speakers so you had to tune your car radio to a designated frequency to hear the soundtrack. Our car has automatic lighting and we couldn’t do that without draining the battery. However, it was announced, “If you don’t want to drain your battery, give us your driver’s license and we’ll give you a radio.” (It also was announced that if you had trouble starting your car, they had cables in the snack bar and would give you a jump start.) I soon learned that “give us your driver’s license” didn’t mean “give us your driver’s license and we’ll take down the number” but rather “give us your driver’s license and we’ll keep it as assurance you’ll return the radio.” Now sitting in the driver’s seat of a car without my driver’s license is something I don’t ordinarily do, so I asked, “Can’t I give you something else?” “These radios cost fifty dollars.” I thought, my driver’s license is probably worth only a few cents, but I complied. When I related this to my family, my son said, “Dad, if you don’t like the rules somewhere, you don’t have to go there.” Of course, he was right. Now it may be that you who are reading this wouldn’t have felt as uncomfortable as I did. So in fairness, heres how the theatre in its own words explains its policy of requiring patrons to purchase a permit to bring in outside food and beverages. “It was a very difficult decision to impose this fee upon patrons. It became necessary when faced with the public’s perception that the theatre makes enough money on the price of admission to support itself. This is simply not true. That’s why indoor theatres and most any other entertainment venues do not allow you to bring in outside food and beverages at ANY price. The problem here is compounded by the tremendous operating expense of running a drive-in theatre. Before you decide that we are trying to take advantage of you, please consider that we are maintaining 14 acres. That’s cleaning, cutting, painting, repairing, and on and on and on. Whereas an indoor theatre can support their efforts with multiple showings everyday, all year round, we have one showing per day during our peak summer season. Please remember that we have great weather only some of the time, and only part of the year in which to operate. Indoor theatres have none of these obstacles. If this theatre is to survive, it must begin to operate with some of the advantages of the indoor theatres. However, unlike them, we are not forbidding you to bring in outside food and beverages; we are giving you a choice.” This language appeared on the permit that had to be displayed on the outside of the window, under the wiper blade. Since "FAILURE TO ABIDE BY THE CONDITIONS OF THIS PERMIT WILL RESULT IN EXPULSION WITHOUT REFUND TO ALL OFFENDING PARTIES", it was a little unnerving thinking that one of the attendants might be peering into our car with a flashlight to see what we were eating or drinking. The "white trash" complained of by other reviewers might have earned this theatre higher scores from me, but it is still cold in upstate New York and we didnt get to meet any.

---

TH

Thomas Badera

Dont waste your money here. The owner cant be bothered to enforce the rules. In between the two movies tonight a jeep moved into the car only parking and parked backwards. Someone else in a new jetta switched from screen 2 to the screen we were watching. They parked their car next to us and left it running with the parking lights on while they all went to the snack bar. So the jeep owner took it upon himself to turn on his headlights, blinding us and everybody else behind the second row. The owner/manager of the drive-in told the jeep owner to turn off their lights, then looked at the jetta... but when he couldnt find the owner, instead of checking the snack bar, he just went back to the front office. So the jeep owner turned his lights back on. The manager told him to turn them off again, but he didnt, and the manager just walked away. As the manager was wandering around useless, I went to the jetta next to us and took out the keys and dropped them on the seat. The owner of the car happened to be FINALLY coming back to the vehicle and started swearing at me. I get back in our car, and say something to my girlfriend about the guy next to us... and the manager runs over to my window and tells me to leave. So we demanded our money back and left. Wont be spending any more money there. They cant be bothered to remove people who are breaking the rules and ruining others night. Youre better off paying more and seeing it in a real theater.

---

SA

Sandra Baldewicz

Drive in has gone very down hill. Bathrooms and snack bar are dirty. I drive a small hatch back Jeep Cherokee, not a grand Cherokee. We were parked next to a red pole near other similar sized hatch backs. A younger gentleman came over and told us we needed to move our car to the section in the back by trucks and SUVs. Before we could start our car a women came over who was an employee also and told us we needed to move. She was very rude and aggressive. Telling us we were not supposed to park near a red pole. We moved to the back near the correct color pole. Yet the other hatchbacks were able to remain next to the red poles. Meanwhile we were made to move. No where is this posted. If we didnt have a car full of kids I would have requested my money back. We will not be back.

---

A

A Private User

CROSSOVER VEHICLES BEWARE!!! I brought my family to the Malta Drive Ins and was confronted by one of the lot attendants who told us we were parked next to the wrong pole after the person who accepted our payment told us what color to park next to (yellow for SUVs, trucks, etc.). I tried to explain that to the woman who proceeded to threaten me with getting the owner and ranted and raved to the point of making a scene. They need to define their process for check in so cars have proof of what they were told and its clear on where you are allowed to park. As for the experience its what you would expect from the drive in; kind of ghetto and run down with plenty of white trash floating around and food that will hit your stomach like a ton of bricks. GOOD LUCK!!!

---

CH

Chris Murphy

One of my favorite summer spots for over 15 years now. Great deal, inexpensive snack bar with huge selection, fun date spot, very nostalgic with that "classic" drive-in feel/experience. The second screen allows you to mix things up if you time it right. Freedoms you cannot have at a regal cinema, and overall a WAYY more fun and memorable time. Ignore all the haters on here...they all sound like people I wouldnt want there anyways, much less parked near me. If you have a problem paying an extra $3 to bring in a pizza to feed your fat family...go to regal cinema and try bringing in your buckle-buster. OR you could just use your brain and put the thing in your trunk before you go in...moron. This place is a treasure. 5-stars all the way!!

---

---

Other organizations