Hannah E.
Yelp
I went to a drive-in!!!! Do you know how long I've wanted to go to a drive-in!?!??!
The experience at the Wellfleet drive-in was delightful. There is no other word. When I came out of the bedroom wearing a 1950's style cocktail dress (complete with bright red lipstick and heels), my boyfriend (who knows me oh-so-well) warned that I could be getting my expectations a little too high for the drive-in experience. "Nonsense!" I cried, as I put on some Ricky Nelson music and pinned my hair. "I'm going to a drive-in!"
Luckily, I was completely right to get my hopes up, bcs the Wellfleet Drive-In delivered. We got there super early on a Tuesday, bcs I was NOT about to not get a good spot at my first drive-in experience. There weren't too many cars there, but my understanding is this place gets crowded. It def filled up on a Tuesday night! If you're here on vacay, I recommend planning ahead. Eat dinner early and bring a book! Just before the film started (double feature for $9 people!!! [cash only]), Joe went and got popcorn. You get to butter it yourself, which is such a nice change from the fascist snack bars of modern cinema. Yeah, I said it.
Before the film started, they play the national anthem!!! How GREAT is that?!? I was only mad bcs no one sang it. I mean, they had the lyrics right on the screen. I bet back in the day, everyone got out of their cars and sang. OH! and there is also a version of Let's All Go to the Lobby that plays. Complete with frolicking animated snacks.
The screen was good. No issues there. Sound was fantastic bcs, even though there are AWESOME little speakers, you actually play the sound through your radio (oh, so make sure your radio works!) That's nice bcs you can turn it down or up if the scene demands (or I guess if you have kids and they're starting to snooze. I saw lots of people with little kids in their jim-jams. So adorbz.)
Things I wish I had known before going in:
- Bring chairs or camp out in your hatchback. Or own a convertible. Your windshield is going to fog up and it's kind of uncomfortable to sit in a car for two hours. If you must sit in your car, bring a towel.
- Bring bug spray, bcs w the windows down, your basically a mosquito restaurant. I wonder if mosquitoes go to the drive-in on special occasions "It's our 10-minute anniversary, mosquito wife! Let's go to the drive-in and let the food come to us!"
- Hell, you might as well bring a cooler of snacks or dinner too! Unlike the regular cinema, you could sit at the drive-in and eat a rack of ribs for all they care (no open fires, btw)
- Know your car. This seems stupid, but I had a heck of a time getting the dashboard lights off w/o turning the car back on, which would have been rude to do. Ended up throwing a towel over the steering wheel.
- Choose parking wisely. Most big vehicles go in the back, but that doesn't mean other peoples' hatchbacks won't be in the way.
- If you and Little Susie fall asleep past curfew, start planning right away what you'll tell her mama and what you'll tell her pa, and of course what you'll tell your friends when they say, "Ooh la la!"