[charmed59]

I wasn’t sure what to expect when heading to the Villages Theatres, and was a bit worried their safety protocols might not be up to what I’m comfortable with. However, today we went to the Old Mill theater, with the thought we’d back out if it looked scary. Given that I thought I’d tell you our experience in case others are wondering if they could see a movie out while feeling safe.

First we bought tickets. There are markings for a socially distancing line, though we were the only ones there, so I don’t know if people follow it. There is glass, as always, between the cashier and customers. You do have to hand them your credit card, and they hand you tickets.

Going in the sign says MASKS suggested. If you don’t read the whole sign you might think they are required. They are not. I didn’t see other people there others than those eating, so I don’t know how many wear masks. All employees are wearing masks and gloves. And there is a hand sanitizing station right inside the door for folks like me that touched the credit card and door handle.

There are social distancing marking for both the theater lines and popcorn line. We sent to the popcorn line and they do give you two tubs of popcorn, one in a huge plastic bag, rather than have you come back for refills. We didn’t ask for refills, they just did that automatically. They put lids on your drinks, get you straws, and hand you lots of napkins. So none of those are available for customers to paw through.

In front of your theater is an usher to walk you to your seat. Very posh. Once in the theatre they are only seating every other row, and then offsetting the seats. For instance, in row A you can sit in seats 1-4, but not 5-10. In row C you can sit in 6-9, but not 1-5 or 10-15. The available seats are in 4 seat sections, but only one social group can sit in that section, even if you are by yourself.

At the end the ushers come back and walk people out by rows, so a hoard of people is not exiting at the same time. We didn’t really see how that works, we were the only two people in the theater. When we walked out the manager said there were only 5 more people spread across the rest of the theaters, though this was for noon showings.

I felt they did a good job of making movies theaters a place I’d feel safe.

[Stu from NYC]

good to know but waiting for a movie we really want to see

[JohnN]

Interesting, but I'll wait quite awhile longer before I visit again.

[EdFNJ]

Sadly, with only 3 or 4 people (or even 20) at a show they won't last long as their expenses will far far far exceed paid tickets plus most movies aren't even being released at this time because the movie companies don't expect many people to go and most have stopped production. A few new movies are being released on PPV instead of in the theaters. Very tough times for theaters. Broadway just announced they will remain shutdown until January 2021 and most think it will go into the Spring of 2021. Hopefully they will recover from this disaster. Very sad situation.

[Carla B]

Another scary thought....we are not post-Covid 19. Sounds like we're in the thick of it.

[tophcfa]

Notice how most of the Covid hotspots are in the very hot sunbelt states that have reopened many indoor space activities. People are flooding to indoor air conditioned space and getting in close proximity to lots of other people, which in my opinion is a very bad idea, especially bars and gyms. I will pass on movie theaters for the indefinite future. Golfing and swimming laps, both outdoor activities that lend themselves to social distancing, are the biggest risks I am willing to take. Stay safe : )

[davem4616]

thanks for the OP...nice to know how they are handling it

there haven't been many flicks that have really caught our interest over the past few years....we go about 3 times a year.

at $5/pp and so few people in the movie houses it's doubtful that they're going to be operating with the hours that they are currently open....makes absolutely no sense to offer that level of service if the public isn't showing up

And when they do cut back on the hours / number of movies, the folks that are always quick to come out of the woodwork to bash the family will reappear

[EdFNJ]

No more "venturing" for a while. As of tomorrow 7/6 they are closed again due to "lack of movies" (and people).

[DeanFL]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

We have all gotten more used to watching movies on TV in our homes. The high priced movie "stars" are not going to get paid what they are used to.

As a result they might not be telling us who to vote for in the future as they will not have the dollars to spend.

Bottom line for us - It would take a VERY SPECIAL first-run movie to get us to the theater again. Last year, we went ALL THE TIME (Movie Pass). This year - zero. I would expect that to continue - We have Netflix, free HBO many times with DirecTV, and a nice big flatscreen and cushy seating, and cheapo eats. That does the job very nicely.
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[Kahuna32162]

As of Saturday, they are all closed again. Not because of the virus, but because there are NO new movies coming out.