Dinner and a movie

[chrystalc77]

So DH decided that we would take our two boys to the movies today......we don't usually do this kind of thing so I said what the heck let's do it. We went to the 12:30 show and it was $31 for the four of us and popcorn,drinks and candy was $23.50. After the movie we went to Barnes & Noble (didn't buy anything) and Sam's (spent $20 on necessities). The boys were by this time begging to go to Golden Corral so we decided to go ahead and eat before coming home.....$48 for the 4 of us!!! I cringed!!! Although it was a good day I couldn't help thinking that this could've been $100 towards Disney!!! Anyone else ever felt this way?

 

[worm761]

Almost.... It is 60 bucks for us to go to a movie. Me, DH, and DS. That is tickets and snacks. Crazy if you ask me. I cannot imagine including a dinner out in that.

 

[wishesuponastar]

Think of it as a once a year thing. That's about how often we go out to a movie all 4 of us.

 

[purpledisneyprncess]

So DH decided that we would take our two boys to the movies today......we don't usually do this kind of thing so I said what the heck let's do it. We went to the 12:30 show and it was $31 for the four of us and popcorn,drinks and candy was $23.50. After the movie we went to Barnes & Noble (didn't buy anything) and Sam's (spent $20 on necessities). The boys were by this time begging to go to Golden Corral so we decided to go ahead and eat before coming home.....$48 for the 4 of us!!! I cringed!!! Although it was a good day I couldn't help thinking that this could've been $100 towards Disney!!! Anyone else ever felt this way?

Ok so Dh and I are in our living room, me on the Dis boards and him watching tv. I saw your post and had to read the whole thing to him (It sounded like I could have written that). His response to your question "UH my wife, all the time" Yes it's true, I think like that.... a lot. But I do cherish other non-Disney stuff as well but I can't help but think "Coulda saved that $ for Disney." When Monster's University comes out we are going to take the kids but they really want to see it so do we. We will shell out the $32 in movie tickets but as for all the snacks, I pack our own and it's just as good and it saves money. The only thing I don't mind spending extra $ on is for my son's sports. It's very pricey for baseball but the enjoyment I get out of watching him play, and seeing how happy and good he is too, I would never blink an eye towards the cost. My 4 year old DD is going to be doing sports too next year, double whammy, but those are things I see as pure pleasure and a "necessity".

 

[Marionnette]

So DH decided that we would take our two boys to the movies today......we don't usually do this kind of thing so I said what the heck let's do it. We went to the 12:30 show and it was $31 for the four of us and popcorn,drinks and candy was $23.50. After the movie we went to Barnes & Noble (didn't buy anything) and Sam's (spent $20 on necessities). The boys were by this time begging to go to Golden Corral so we decided to go ahead and eat before coming home.....$48 for the 4 of us!!! I cringed!!! Although it was a good day I couldn't help thinking that this could've been $100 towards Disney!!! Anyone else ever felt this way?

I wish that we could get away with only spending $31 for 4 movie tickets. Even a matinee costs $10.50 per ticket here. And $12 apiece for dinner doesn't sound too awful to me either. It's an easy c-note for just dinner when the 5 of us go out for casual dining.

But when we go out like you did, the money is already budgeted for it. So I never feel guilty spending it. Our vacation fund is a separate budget item. I guess that a case could be made that if we didn't spend it on an evening of entertainment, it could go into the Disney fund, but wouldn't we just be spending it on pricier food and expensive entertainment there?

Dinner and the movie was time well-spent with the family, just like a Disney vacation can be. I wouldn't spend too much energy giving a second thought to having spent the money.

 

[krayzmelmel]

We have a hole in the wall 'cinema cafe' that shows 1st run movies for $6.50 pp and also has pretty good and cheap food! So we try going there because for 2 ppl we pay abput $30...not too shabby! We also have a few budget first run theaters. Not the stadium stule seating but prices between 4.50-6 dollars during weekdays!

 

[englishteacha]

We're very lucky to live where there's a very affordable movie theater. Matinees are $4, ($5 for 3D) and evening shows are $6 ($7 for 3D). We went to a matinee movie yesterday, $10 for tickets, $8 for snacks. My sister in law took Z for the afternoon. Our theater is $1, $1.50, and $2 for drinks, and $2, $3, and $4 for popcorn. We were shocked when we went to a movie in another town and it was $12 a ticket and $6 for a small popcorn. Ugh.

 

[goofyfigment]

At our theatre a soda and popcorn (small) costs more than the ticket to the movie. We have matinees and I think its 7 and the night movie is 12

 

[chrystalc77]

Ok so Dh and I are in our living room, me on the Dis boards and him watching tv. I saw your post and had to read the whole thing to him (It sounded like I could have written that). His response to your question "UH my wife, all the time" Yes it's true, I think like that.... a lot. But I do cherish other non-Disney stuff as well but I can't help but think "Coulda saved that $ for Disney." When Monster's University comes out we are going to take the kids but they really want to see it so do we. We will shell out the $32 in movie tickets but as for all the snacks, I pack our own and it's just as good and it saves money. The only thing I don't mind spending extra $ on is for my son's sports. It's very pricey for baseball but the enjoyment I get out of watching him play, and seeing how happy and good he is too, I would never blink an eye towards the cost. My 4 year old DD is going to be doing sports too next year, double whammy, but those are things I see as pure pleasure and a "necessity".

Lol!!! I'm glad that I have a twin somewhere!!! I usually hit the Dollar Tree for candy but it was last minute decision and its 45 minutes to our nearest theater. My youngest DS 6 plays baseball too. He loves it!!! And I love watching him play!!! His last game is Friday night and I'm going to be sad when the seasons over!!!

 

[dakotix]

its harder to hide in the warmer months but usually the stores surrounding a movie theater sell the same boxed candy at a fraction of the price. So what if its "against the rules", what they charge is criminal inside the theaters. Those places rake in tens of thousands of dollars in a weekend so don't feel bad.

 

[MomToOne]

its harder to hide in the warmer months but usually the stores surrounding a movie theater sell the same boxed candy at a fraction of the price. So what if its "against the rules", what they charge is criminal inside the theaters. Those places rake in tens of thousands of dollars in a weekend so don't feel bad.

We just go to the local drive-in these days. They show first-run movies, tickets are only $7 each (kids under 12 are only $1, but we don't fit that demographic anymore LOL) and they WELCOME you bringing in your own food and drinks. It also feels more like an "event" because you get there early, chat with the folks in the cars next to you, the kids can play on a playground they have, etc.

 

[pigletto]

Our movie theatre has a pretty good system for earning points for free movies. Basically if I buy all 4 tickets online one at a time I earn 1000 bonus points per ticket. 10000 points is a free ticket and you also earn points for concessions and bonus points for certain movies. So it's pretty easy to get up to a free ticket. That and there are tons of cereal and granola bar box promotions for free tickets in the Spring. So we kind of use that system most of the time to cut costs. In the summer we go to the drive-in. $10 per adult, and $3 for ds. We'll bring our own snacks and buy a drink there.

This is the only way I'll do the movies anymore. It's ridiculous how much it costs. Full price for the four of us with snacks is easily $60-$75
Add dinner out and I am looking at $130 for a movie and a mediocre forgettable meal.
I am exactly like some of you. I spend that and I actually hear Mickey squealing "Oh no!! You're wasting the money to come see me!!!"

 

[lucyem]

Honestly we almost never go to the movies anymore.

 

[kkmcan]

WOW! That's a lot for movies and snacks! We go to the movies several times per year. It's about $7 for matinee. We have the theater refillable cup (Cost was $5, refills are $1.50 for the rest of the year). Largest popcorn bucket is $7.50 plus comes with a free refill.

So our total for 4 would be $28+$7.50+ $1.50= $37 Not bad. Kids usually share the soda. Dh and I usually just like to drink water. I don't care for soda. Sometimes if dh wants to share we'll spring for a second refill. But still under $40 for movies popcorn and soda.

 

[purpledisneyprncess]

Lol!!! I'm glad that I have a twin somewhere!!! I usually hit the Dollar Tree for candy but it was last minute decision and its 45 minutes to our nearest theater. My youngest DS 6 plays baseball too. He loves it!!! And I love watching him play!!! His last game is Friday night and I'm going to be sad when the seasons over!!!

Well they say each person has a twin out there, I found mine on the Dis, pretty cool! lol I know what you mean, my son's last game was this past Thursday and now that the season is over, I am sad. I always looked forward to his games.. It was so much fun watching him play. Have fun at your son's last game!! Is he in T-ball or Minors? I know the age cut offs are diff in each town/state, etc. My DS is 7 and was able to move up to the minors from t-ball this season. I was going to look into summer baseball leagues for him, since he already says he misses baseball.

 

[QVCshopper]

Yes, I feel like this sometimes, too, but I've found another way! I joined gofobo and have seen Parental Guidance, The Croods, Now You See Me, and The Internship (have tickets for show coming up next week) all for free. You get to see special screenings before the movies even come out. It's great, especially taking our whole family to Parental Guidance and The Croods.

I also take the kids to the Regal Summer $1 movies. They get the experience, and I don't get stuck with a huge bill.

But, eating out can be expensive, and beside coupons and night specials, there's no way to really get around it besides just eating out less.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

I guess I don't ever feel that way because I'm not footing the bill for a group. I don't have kids so when I go out like that, like dinner and a movie with a friend with either split both or one pays for the movie and the other for dinner. I don't know anyone that buys movie theater food because the big theater here is like 4 doors down in a plaza from Target so we just buy stuff there.

 

[Styx Fan]

I wouldn't feel badly about spending the money on a day with the family as opposed to saving the money for Disney. Disney is great, but never in a million years do I want to save all my extra money for Disney (or anywhere) and just sit home the rest of the time. I don't think my kids would like hearing "no" all the time with the explanation of saving for a trip months or years away. They understand saving some and spending some.

We go to the movies, just always hit matinees and hardly ever buy snacks. And we make sure any movie we see at the theatre is one that is really better on the "big screen". Sweet little romantic comedies play just as well at home. Something like Star Trek is better to us in the theatre.

 

[JaymeC]

I think that that money could have been spent on Disney... but I try to value the time as well. We love movies, and don't get to see them nearly as much as we used to (used to love the base theatre! Only $3 per ticket. And how I miss the drive in...) So I value movie time

Having said that, I try to go as cheaply as possible. Frosted Flakes and Fruit Loops were both on sale at Lowes and Harris Teeter the past couple weeks, so I snatched up enough with the Monsters University codes to get us a couple of free tickets. And our theater has value Tuesday where drinks and food are only a couple dollars for a popcorn and a soda. Plus if you go during the 4-5pm hours on value Tuesday your tickets are even slightly cheaper. So we try to make it rare that we go to the movies and pay full price, and even then it's normally for something like a date night for dh and I instead of the whole family going. And as a pp said, we try to only see movies on the big screen that will really play better on the big screen. The comedies I can see on our tv at home, but the big action flicks that we love we try to see on the big screen.

 

[danygirl]

I get my movie tickets from come rewards