| Freeda |
12-27-2020 06:02 AM |
The AMC Theaters inside the Lake Square Mall in Leesburg have been open since August. We go several times a month. We have A-List memberships, allowing up to three movies per week (at any AMC, and there are AMCs at Disney Springs, Altamonte Springs, etc; and they all have the same procedures as explained below) for about $23 per month per person; so it can cost as little as $2-3 per movie depending on how much you go. The theaters all have spacious recliner seating.
Actually there have been some good new movies coming out ever since August, and the number of them is gradually increasing; and they show some good ‘oldies’.
Masks are required everywhere (even during the movie, unless you are eating - just like at a restaurant; though they are not ‘surveilling’ patrons about this once the movie starts; but, as explained below, there is very good distancing, hand-wipes, special air filtration, etc; if you go to groceries, stores or restaurants during the pandemic, you will feel as safe, or actually much safer, at the AMC; it is nothing like the crowded theater experience of the past).
They have a bar, so you can take a wine etc into the movie. Plus popcorn etc of course. They are very fastidious and have special precautions in their food handling.
The theaters there are never crowded, and seating is limited to 40% and is spaced by a computerized seating chart; seats are numbered, and each ticket bears the seat number purchased. Often we are the only or nearly the only ones in the theater. You can check the seating chart at their website to see how many seats have been sold for a given movie showing; it’s usually very few. You can buy your seats online from home; and if you have A-List the convenience fees for doing this are waived. So you can know before you go where you will be sitting, so there’s no reason to get there early in order to get your preferred seats. Plus, seating is spaced at every other seat unless you are buying multiple seats, in which case their computer system allows you to buy seats that are adjacent to each other. But the seats next to either end of you/your party are unavailable for anyone else to purchase; so no one whom you don’t know can take the seat next to your party.
I think one of the problems as to why The Villages theaters haven’t reopened may be that they have no easy way to ‘distance’ the seating, other than physically roping off seats, which makes it difficult to accommodate parties of various numbers. Plus, when they reopened during the pandemic they had to literally come into the theater and create a manual paper chart of where people were sitting so that they would know which seats had to be cleaned after each movie, rather than have to clean every seat that had been available to use; whereas, at AMC they know from their computer seating chart which seats were in use during a showing and need to be cleaned afterward.
This week several new movies, including Fatale with Hillary Swank and News of the World with Tom Hanks have started showing there. (Update: we have now seen both of these and they are both very good; I would say News of the World is Academy award quality). Another just released movie that looks good from the previews is Promising Young Woman.
We have always preferred going to the AMC theaters in Leesburg, starting several years ago, although we have gone to The Villages theaters, too, even during the brief period they reopened during the pandemic.
We like watching movies at home, too, but we both prefer them on a big screen.
The mall, itself, is also never crowded, and is great for walking in cold, rainy, or hot weather. It’s a small mall and many stores are vacant or haven’t reopened yet, but we still love going there; after all, it’s the only nearby mall; it’s become like an extension of ‘home’ to us; a refuge, especially during the pandemic.
The Belk there and some of the other stores there are very nice. The mall also has a large and very nice bowling / video game arcade / billiards / indoor go carts / sports bar/cafe entertainment complex; and a small food court.
There is also Winterland ice skating (though Winterland has still not reopened yet since closing for the pandemic; but the other entertainment areas are all open).
We often combine a trip there with eating at the Ichiban Chinese Buffet next to the mall, which we love; or one of the many other nearby restaurants.
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