It was a rainy morning, so I decided to take the kids to check out one of the summer movies around town. Since I decided this at 8:30 am, the best choice seemed to be the 11 am showing at Studio Movie Grill in Alpharetta. (Most kids movies around town start at 10am.)
We hurriedly got ready, and while I was online checking for directions, I decided to go ahead and purchase the tickets online. The last time my husband and I showed up to see a movie there, it was already sold out. I didn't want to drive over there and be disappointed, so I paid the $3 surcharge to reserve our tickets. This made what would have been a $4 visit (two kids tickets at $1 plus one adult ticket at $2) a $7 visit out of the gate.
The Drive: It's quite far to the theater from Canton...26 miles to be exact. I was quite stressed on the way over because we left later than I had planned and we were also running low on gas...VERY LOW. And, there are about a million stop lights on the way. Well, not exactly a million, but a lot. We finally arrived about 10 minutes in advance. Just enough time to hit the restroom and pick up our tickets. I was pleasantly surprised that the theater was not sold out. We chose our seats and got settled for the movie. Another bonus, was that there were only two previews, and the movie started at about 11:10am.
The Theater: If you've never been to a Studio Movie Grill before, I'd recommend it. The biggest difference between Studio Movie Grill and a regular theater is that food and drinks are served to you inside the theater. A full menu of food, drinks and snacks is available for purchase. Another difference is the seats are padded, rotating office-style seats instead of stadium-style seats. The seats are set up with either a small table between two chairs, or along a countertop. There's a red button to push for service. It feels very open rather than crowded and the kids seemed to enjoy it.
The food: One of the possible drawbacks of the movie starting at 11 am was that it was close to lunchtime. I had packed lunch for the kids to eat on the way home, so we just ordered some snacks.
We spent $11.75 on a popcorn, a soda, and Milk Duds and left a $2.25 tip. Our total for the trip was $21. I would consider this a TREAT rather than cheap. But, overall, I felt it was worth the money spent. We have friends in the area, so I would maybe save some extra cash so we can eat lunch next time (kids meals are $5.95 not including a drink). Not something to do often, but definitely a nice treat for a special occasion.
Final Thoughts: I would highly suggest purchasing your tickets in advance. We did see a group of kids from a summer camp while we were on our way out. It would really stink to drive all the way over there from Canton and find out the movie is sold out. I'd also suggest arriving 20-30 minutes ahead of time so you can have the best selection of seats and time to look over the menu. Studio Movie Grill was a clean and friendly place with a comfortable atmosphere. It's a good choice for treating your family to summer movie flick, but an even better choice as a date night with your spouse.
For more information about Studio Movie Grill, check out their website at http://www.studiomoviegrill.com
Happy Movie Going!
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