Drive-In Review: MIDWAY DRIVE-IN (Minetto, NY)

MIDWAY DRIVE-IN

2475 State Route 48

Minetto, NY 13115

(315) 343-0211

Date of visit: 9/3/2010

Grade: A+

Mr. Rice, our driver’s ed teacher back in high school, used to warn us about becoming “velocitized by the road,” a term we’ve casually dropped in traffic court on more than one occasion to avoid getting points on our license after a guilty plea for speeding. Wellllllll, the Temple crew wasn’t technically speeding down N.Y.S. Route 48 on that Friday night of this past Labor Day weekend, but we were certainly going the limit on a pitch-black country road during a rainstorm and maybe had become slightly velocitized when our car rounded a corner coming off a winding hill and we suddenly found ourselves face to face with a giant cat in a Hannibal Lecter facemask that was flapping its tongue at us menacingly. Once our driver eased up on the brakes and got the car straightened out (and all the screaming stopped), we caught sight of CATS AND DOGS on a theater marquee and realized we had reached our destination.

The Midway Drive-In, so named because of its location midway between Fulton and Oswego on N.Y.S. Route 48, is an exemplary ozoner that has been in business for 63 summers, 24 of them under the present management. Cinema Treasures claims the theater has a 600-car capacity, but the night we attended heavy rains had reduced all but the first 7 rows muddy and unusable. The concession staff did a professional job of suppressing laughter when, 10 minutes before the intermission, Po-Man staggered in soaking wet and purchased a bottle of water.

Because of the lousy weather and our delayed arrival, we missed the whole pre-show vibe and therefore cannot comment on the general attitude of the Midway’s audience. However, we were impressed enough with the Midway to award it an A+ rating for the following reasons:

1. The “Lights Out” rule is strictly enforced. On a night that was pitch black and pouring rain, not once did we see headlights flash across the screen.

2. "Look, mom, it's Herbie!"

We're ashamed to admit that we drove right past the lovable bug and didn't see him during our first dark and stormy visit. Thankfully, we had time the next morning to return and take pictures.

3. In between features, the Midway runs classic concession stand and intermission spots from the 1950s through the early ‘80s.

4. A decent-sized screen with a sharp image

5. Membership in the United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association (UDITOA)

6. A nice, clean concession stand with friendly employees

7. The theater offers special deals to their repeat customers by issuing Regulars Cards to both adults and children

8. They also give out a free large pizza with toppings every night during the intermission (Hold on to your ticket stub!)

9. The Midway was the first drive-in to show open-captioned films for the deaf and hard of hearing, and for the past 7 years they have held an Open Caption Show during Deaf Awareness Week.

10. They hand out lots of reading material at the box-office!

Bravo! Now that's an A+ drive-in!

The Midway Drive-In is now closed for the season, but for more information please visit their website.

Drive-In Review: MESA DRIVE-IN (Pueblo, CO)

MESA DRIVE-IN
2620 Santa Fe Drive
Pueblo, CO 81006
(719) 542-3345

Date of visit: 5/21/2010
Grade: A

The Mesa Drive-In was opened in 1951 as a single screen ozoner and, according to Cinema Treasures, two more screens were added in celebration of the theater’s 50th anniversary. All three screens are of average size and appear well-maintained. We caught a double bill of IRON MAN 2 and SHUTTER ISLAND on screen 1 back in May and found the experience satisfying overall.


The box-office opened at 7:30 that evening and the best spots filled quickly, so if you plan to attend a show at the Mesa, especially on a weekend, it’s recommended that you arrive early. We did, nailing a front row center space, and with over an hour to go before sundown had plenty of time to make a few phone calls while folks in the vehicles around us set up lawn chairs and sprayed themselves with insect repellent, kids gathered under the screen to play Frisbee or just hang out, and a nearby car radio blared a head-scratching mix of music ranging from Thin Lizzy, AC/DC and Rainbow to early ‘80s R&B hits like Mtume’s “Juicy Fruit” and Lakeside’s “Fantastic Voyage.”


The concession stand is reasonably priced and the staff friendly and helpful; two different employees, a male and a female in their late teens/early 20s, apologized for keeping us waiting when a problem arose with the soda machine, but the delay was negligible. A typically filling dinner at a Cracker Barrel a few miles away had eliminated our need for food, but we ordered a large Diet Coke to keep us awake during IRON MAN 2 and went back for a pretty good soft ice cream cone at the intermission. We’re happy to report that there were no green meatball sightings.


We walked the grounds twice during the course of the night, once before the first feature and again during the intermission. The men’s room is large and seemed to be clean during both of our visits, and we assume the same can be said for the women’s room (There was no line to get inside anyway). The theater boasts a 1000 car capacity and is certainly family friendly. Kids of all ages were everywhere, with teenagers roaming in packs, but everyone was well-behaved and security guards were plentiful. At the start of SHUTTER ISLAND, a few boys in their early teens camped out in lawn chairs next to our car and asked if we could keep the windows open so they could hear the movie. We obliged, and at two in the morning when the movie ended they thanked us. [Whatever happened to teen-age independence? We remember sneaking into the DeWitt Drive-In on ten-speed bikes with our Walkman headsets for a double bill of HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY and HORROR PLANET and there was no interaction with adults whatsoever].


In fact, everyone was so friendly that we feel like jerks for having to point out their ignorance of proper drive-in etiquette -- but there it is, and we place the blame squarely on the shoulders of the management for not telling the residents of Pueblo to turn off their goddamn headlights when entering or leaving the theater. If it had only happened two or three times during the course of the double bill we would’ve overlooked the faux pas (along with the occasional stereo interference during the first feature) and awarded the Mesa Drive-In an A+ rating, but every two or three minutes some affable know-nothing was lighting up the screen. Memo to the manager: You have a potentially great theater. Put up a sign and tell the patrons to turn off their headlights. They seem like really nice people. They’ll listen to you. :)





For more photos of the Mesa Drive-In, check THESE out.