Regal Naples — Attraction in Naples

I think we need to talk about 4DX...

But first a general review:

The newly remodeled Regal is everything you want in a modern theater; a luxe lobby, good food choices, great seating, and clean bathrooms. The staff was helpful, though there was some glitch so I still had to go to the kiosk to print a ticket for them from my digital version. Still all in all a good experience.

Now about 4DX.

If you are a movie person, like me, the sort that goes out to an actual theater, not watches bootlegs at home, or on their phone, like a misanthrope, you’re probably familiar with efforts to improve the theater experience. I’m very happy with the changes that have been happening; lobbies are nicer, seats are more comfortable, and food selections somewhat fancier, and generally tastier. One part of this upgrade effort is Regal’s RDX theater. Each is equipped with top of the line digital video and sound equipment, and designed to be the ultimate movie going experience. I’ve tried the RDX theaters before, and while a bit loud for my tastes, they do deliver a premium experience. 4DX is kind of like that, but if they took it to 11...tyhundred.

If you’ve ever ridden one of those 4D movies they have at many theme parks you’ll know what you are in for. The seats all move around, the sound is powerful, there are lighting effects, and mist, and even wind, all in the service of “enhancing” the movie. Is the screen showing people in a boat? Expect your seat to bob around like you are in a dinghy on the ocean, with occasional blasts of sea spray. Space battle? Be prepared to get tossed around like a chew toy in your dogs mouth. Fist fight? You will feel the kidney punches in the back of your seat. Does this sound fun? Maybe!

I happened to catch Spider-Man: Far From Home here, and it was probably the perfect movie to experience the full range of the 4DX experience. I was tossed, jostled, misted, and air blasted to within an inch of my life! Being in Florida, I was wearing shorts, and a t-shirt, and let me tell you, between the cranked AC, the water effects, and the intermittent gale force winds I was practically hypothermic! Since the proprietors won’t warm the place up to compensate I’d be prepared with long pants, and maybe a wind breaker, and that is not a joke.

Thankfully I did not grab any refreshments at the theater. I can’t imagine how I’d have been able to hang onto my seat, and my snacks at the same time. If you do I hope your outfit goes well with coke stains, and nacho cheese sauce drippings! Plus I expect you will need to strap that popcorn to your face like a feed bag unless you want half of it to end up on the floor.

To be fair, I’m an older gent, comfortably middle-aged to be sure, and maybe 4DX just isn’t for me. I expect older kids, and teens would probably love it. Maybe if I were dressed properly, or I experienced it with a different movie I’d have enjoyed it more. There’s also the possibility that the extreme novelty of it, which took me totally out of the movie, would fade in time, and I would come to appreciate it, but at this point, and at these prices, I’m not sure I’d be willing to experiment with it...

Avengers Endgame Spoilers: I wish I could give this less than a 1*. Absolute worst movie experience and customer service experience I have ever received from any company (I even have Comcast and they treat me way better than this theater has). I went to watch Avengers Endgame on April 29th. When showtime came around they played their 15 minutes of upcoming movie ads. Then right as the movie was supposed to start the film switched over to 3D. (We were in the IMAX theater so I was like okay maybe we were supposed to get 3D glasses?) They continued to play the 15 minutes of upcoming movie ads over again but this time in 3D. After these ads the film skipped to the scene with Iron man and half his face burnt off next to his wife and Spiderman. All in a grainy 3D with nobody in the theater having glasses. It showed a couple more still shots from aftermath of the battle and then skipped into credits. About a minute into the credits someone jumped in front of the projector (you could see his outline on the screen). After a few minutes they got it switched back to a 2D film and continued to play the same 15 minutes of upcoming movie ads for the 3rd time now. After those were over the movie went on without a hitch. I complained about this to movie theater staff immediately after it was over and they said they were sorry and had no idea but didn't do anything. I called Regal customer support on the way home. I have called them 5 times now to this day and have still yet to get a call back from the store manager or regional manager as I was promised several times from the customer service agents on the phone. When I called in today I was told again that they would escalate my issue and I would get a call back soon again as they have the previous times. Don't waste your money on this place. Popcorn used to be great before remodel, and now is just okay. Seats seem a touched more crammed compared...

Never coming here again. Awful customer service. I purchased our tickets through their site when it was still pretty much an open theater. I entered my card information and got all the way to a confirmation screen. I should have screenshot it but I figured I'd get a confirmation email and it wouldn't be necessary. Well today I noticed I never received one but when I went back to check out again the seats I had purchased were one of the only ones that had sold. So it looked like my transaction had actually gone through. I called THREE TIMES to confirm that these seats were under my name and no one answered! Well the theater was still almost completely open at that time so we decided to just go and if anything we could get the next seats over. When we showed up not only were the seats not in my name but the theater had completely filled up and the only seats available were the front row. We figured that since it was in IMAX they would have pushed the seats back far enough so that you could actually see the screen. Well we got in and that was not the case. You couldn't see half the screen at that angle. We left before the movie started and got a refund on the ticket but I had already wasted time and gas money to drive over there (I live 50 minutes away), and I wasted money at the concession stand. When I told the manager of my poor experience there he said "yeah it's been a busy day". ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? No apologies or anything, just a stupid excuse. I wouldn't even give them one star but unfortunately that's the...