Renting O’neil Cinema is the most fun activity we have done during quarantine.
I think of all of the fun activities Covid has taken from us, I miss going to the movies the most. In fact, my favorite surprise was dismissing my son from school early. He would come out with his head down, sure we were headed to the doctors for a jab. When I pulled into the movie theater parking lot, he would go crazy with excitement.
We would get his favorite fruit gummies and a large tub of popcorn, with layered butter of course. Then we would kick back and glutton ourselves while getting lost in some new big screen saga. I miss those days so much. And I can’t even begin to imagine when we will get back to sitting in a theater filled with people.
When I heard that movie theaters were offering private rentals, I knew it was something we would have to do. The rentals are surprisingly affordable, felt completely safe and it was so much fun.
We did a private movie theater rental at O’neil Cinema in Littleton, MA. They also have a second location in Epping, NH. If you haven’t been to this new theater, it will blow your mind. The screens and sound experience are state of the art.
The giant chairs are by for the most comfortable theater chairs I have every sat in. They fully recline and you have a little food tray that swivels in front of you. The screen in the Grand DLX is four stories high! On top of all that, the theater is squeaky clean. It’s hard to go back to any theater after experiencing O’neil Cinema.
We paid $200 for our private rental and had the theater for up to 2.5 hours. We could invite up to 25 guests and are asked to sit in family groups. Masks should be worn in the theater but can be taken off to eat.
They don’t play new released movies, you just bring a DVD of your choice. The biggest challenge for us was finding a movie that the little girls and the big boys would agree on. We settled on Ralph Breaks the Internet. I bought a new copy just to make sure there were no scratches on the disc. The theater accepted regular DVDS as well as Blu-ray.
We were allowed 15 minutes in the lobby. The entry times are staggered so that only your family group is in the lobby at any time. We pre-ordered our food from concessions, so when we arrived at the theater, everything was ready. This made the whole process run quickly and smoothly. The bar was even open, which made the dads very happy.
The kids were so excited to see each other, they were running around the lobby like crazy. This amazing woman from O’neil Cinema got them all under control with a game of red light, green light. She led them all to the movie theater giving us parents a few moments to get the food and drinks ready.
We had so much fun at O’neil Cinema. I would highly recommend trying a private movie theater rental. It is so affordable. If you divide the $200 rental fee between 25 people, that’s only $8 a person! I loved it so much, I don’t ever want to go back to the old way!
I have seen people do private movie rentals with work groups, families or school groups. Since you bring your own DVD, you could watch your wedding video or some old family movies. Or watch an old school classic like the Goonies or the Princess Bride. Then there are movies that were just made for the big screen like Star Wars or Jurassic Park.
Take advantage while you can! Not only will you have a blast, but you will help keep the movie theater industry alive!
Click here to visit the O’neil Cinema website to book your private theater rental today.
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