I can say, definitively, that this theatre (the first in Delaware with stadium seating) opened to the public on June 6, 1997. It had some preview promotions before that, but this was the official opening day.
The original concept was to have a three-floor entertainment center with the theatres on the third floor. The first and second floors were part of a venture called FunScape, which had amusements like miniature golf, motion ride/simulators, a carousel, a Go-Kart track, video games and ticket-dispensing skill games (Skee-Ball, free-throws, etc.). The first floor also had some basic food court offerings like a Dairy Queen and a pizza place. The idea was to attract families and parties to eat, play and see a movie. My experience was that local summer camps would bring bus-loads of kids there to spend the day, but not every kid had money to spend, so it was crowded and the paying customers turned around once they saw all the dining seats taken up, videogames occupied by kids watching the demos (but not actually playing them), and general congestion.
After a few years, the FunScape stuff started to go away and was fully gone in the early 2000s. Some businesses set up offices there after a re-modeling and now the theatre uses an entrance on the other side of the building, which leads to a huge lobby with ticket booths, some games and restrooms.
The screens are still on the third floor along with concession stands. Of the 16 screens, I think 10 are stadium configurations. Screens 12 and (I think) 6 are the two largest with nice, wide auditoriums. Screen 12, for sure, has two areas in the stadium section where the stair aisle goes up a few rows, then turns in for about three feet before continuing up to the top. This creates two areas on either side where there are two seats with nothing in front of them and are ideal for streching out.
I’ve seen about 120 movies there since that opening day, most within the first 5 or 6 years. After a while, the freshness wore off and my experience with Regal souered. I understand the need to make money, but Regal seemed to try every new trick in the book to get more money out of every person who walked in the door: weekend evening prices starting at 3:00 in the afternoon, $10+ tickets, $7 popcorn, non-stop assaults from commercials and ads, etc. Worst of all: poor customer service. If the sound goes out, the picture is scratched or some other distraction takes place, don’t expect much satisfaction.
I’ll end on a positive note: due to the number of screens they have, they have been able to bring some smaller films to the area, which normally would not have been available because other theatres don’t have the space. Also, they sometimes show movies well before noon, which is great if you have places to go on the weekends.
I can say, definitively, that this theatre (the first in Delaware with stadium seating) opened to the public on June 6, 1997. It had some preview promotions before that, but this was the official opening day.
The original concept was to have a three-floor entertainment center with the theatres on the third floor. The first and second floors were part of a venture called FunScape, which had amusements like miniature golf, motion ride/simulators, a carousel, a Go-Kart track, video games and ticket-dispensing skill games (Skee-Ball, free-throws, etc.). The first floor also had some basic food court offerings like a Dairy Queen and a pizza place. The idea was to attract families and parties to eat, play and see a movie. My experience was that local summer camps would bring bus-loads of kids there to spend the day, but not every kid had money to spend, so it was crowded and the paying customers turned around once they saw all the dining seats taken up, videogames occupied by kids watching the demos (but not actually playing them), and general congestion.
After a few years, the FunScape stuff started to go away and was fully gone in the early 2000s. Some businesses set up offices there after a re-modeling and now the theatre uses an entrance on the other side of the building, which leads to a huge lobby with ticket booths, some games and restrooms.
The screens are still on the third floor along with concession stands. Of the 16 screens, I think 10 are stadium configurations. Screens 12 and (I think) 6 are the two largest with nice, wide auditoriums. Screen 12, for sure, has two areas in the stadium section where the stair aisle goes up a few rows, then turns in for about three feet before continuing up to the top. This creates two areas on either side where there are two seats with nothing in front of them and are ideal for streching out.
I’ve seen about 120 movies there since that opening day, most within the first 5 or 6 years. After a while, the freshness wore off and my experience with Regal souered. I understand the need to make money, but Regal seemed to try every new trick in the book to get more money out of every person who walked in the door: weekend evening prices starting at 3:00 in the afternoon, $10+ tickets, $7 popcorn, non-stop assaults from commercials and ads, etc. Worst of all: poor customer service. If the sound goes out, the picture is scratched or some other distraction takes place, don’t expect much satisfaction.
I’ll end on a positive note: due to the number of screens they have, they have been able to bring some smaller films to the area, which normally would not have been available because other theatres don’t have the space. Also, they sometimes show movies well before noon, which is great if you have places to go on the weekends.