Petoskey Cinema — Attraction in Bear Creek Township

What an awful, disappointing experience this place was.

When my wife, Stacy, and her guide dog, Sophie, my sister-in-law, Sara, and her guide dog, Tyler, and I arrived to see a movie, Marie, the person taking our tickets, stated, "The service dogs can't come in unless you show me their papers."

Here's a friendly tip for those intelligent enough to understand you can get sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act. When a service dog enters your establishment, you may ask two questions: (1) Is this dog needed for your disability? (2) What task has your dog been trained to perform?

That's it. Anything else, including requesting documentation, is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

We asked to see the manager. Marie told us she was the manager. She assured us she had the right to demand proof that the dogs were trained service dogs. Stacy attempted to educate her about the two questions she was legally allowed to ask, but to no avail.

We showed the cards provided by Guide Dogs for the Blind so we wouldn't miss any more of the movie. You'd have thought that would be the end of the already most unpleasant interaction, but Marie wasn't done yet. She felt the need to inform us that the dogs needed to remain on the floor, and not sit on the seats.

My wife said something to the effect of, "Are you kidding me right now?" I was too busy trying to visualize the look on Sophie's face when asked to sit in a movie theater chair to say anything. Sara couldn't say anything because her jaw was on the floor. (She did mention she'd never been asked to show guide dog documentation in 21 years of working with guide dogs.)

I don't know...maybe she didn't like the look of people with disabilities in her theater. However, based upon the eighties era decor and filthy floor (which, I'm pleased to report, eight paws were on at all times), it wouldn't appear they much cared about what their theater looked like.

I feel the need to post this on Google reviews because I, and others, posted this to their Facebook page and the theater keep taking them down. A commented "apology" was a nice half-measure, but they never actually asked us if they could do anything to make it right. There are times when simply saying you're sorry...

Every starting preview is out of frame(very unprofessional) so it has to be framed after starting. It is not hard to load a movie in frame, I did it for 7 yrs. Probably 70% of the movies I have seen are screwed up in odd places. Scratches or sprocket holes running down the picture. I paid extra for the Star Wars midnight party showings. Episode 3, for example, had a scratch down the movie wiggling back and forth about ¾’s of the way across it for about 12 minutes at the starting of reel 6. How do you screw up a brand new first showing like that? A 2 hour movie is made up of six 20 minute reels. So they have to splice them together, like the previews at the front. I went to one movie 3 days after it had started and after the first preview it went out of frame(bad splice), but instead of fixing it, very easy to do, they just stood there and reframed it when it when out of frame. For every showing! Very lazy and unprofessional. Last movie I saw there didn’t have a problem, Pacific Rim, but as soon as the credits started they turned on the lights, the bright ceiling lights, so everyone left. We stayed and got to see when the movie came back on, along with 2 others that stayed. It was hard to see the screen with the bright lights on. It was the Sunday 11:30am showing. I would go to more movies, but with the quality of the place, I only go when there is a movie that you need to see on the big screen. So I rent 99% of the movies that come out. ...

and the saga continues. when they say the movie is at 1:30 YOU BETTER BELIEVE!!! that movie starts right at 1:30. you’d think if you see a movie a few days after christmas, and the theater is really busy, and the concessions line is realllyyyyy long, they would put some more trailers or something before the movie starts to give people more time to get popcorn and get to their seats. But the problem is actually that you forgot this is a WILD WEST STYLE THEATER, it’s like the purge in here, so you better show up 30 minutes before your movie. popcorn and soda was good. but the screen quality wasn’t very good for nosferatu, couldn’t make out his penis in many scenes

the theater i was put in the doors were closed and had no posters or markings on them of any kind, just the number of the theater. just two really plain looking doors. i’m guessing they were supposed to be cleaning, but it was pitch black when i entered and i was alone for 15 minutes before the movie started. a little boy peaked his head in, saw me and immediately closed the door. truly immersive to the theater experience. ticket and concession prices are average for theaters right now, seats have stains, smell bad, floors are slippery? like im sliding around? actually kind of awesome. Should have later showings at like 11 pm just for me....