AMC Lake Square 12 — Attraction in Leesburg

We actually drive to this theater frequently from Sanford, even though the Altamonte location is closer. It has much nicer theaters than the Altamonte location, Dolby Cinema aside. The recliners are very nice and much worth it vs the old seats in the Altamonte location.

There are two reason why I don't give this theater a five star rating. First is the staff. I don't know why, but the staff is not very friendly at this location compared to the other theaters I have been to. For example, we arrived 25 minutes before showtime, which is early, but I wouldn't say it's unreasonably early, and were told that we couldn't enter the theater area until closer to showtime, something I've never been told at any other location. Also, we're A-List members, which means we get free refills on large popcorn purchases (something that is very common in the industry and has been for decades), but when I asked for the refill, my status was questioned and I had to show them proof of my A-List membership, something that has NEVER been requested at the other AMC locations (and completely unnecessary IMO, given the prices). I believe even the free stubs program gives free refills, so it seemed pretty stupid to me to question it, they are definitely not aiming for good customer satisfaction. I've been to every theater in the area including Disney Springs, Universal's former AMC location, Altamonte Springs, West Oaks, and New Smyrna, and this is the only one that I've had multiple issues with staff. They seem to be so focused on following company policy, to extreme degrees, in my opinion, that they forget that the whole point of their employment is to serve paying customers. It's easily correctable and I hope they do better in the future. The other theaters have excellent staff, I'm not sure why this place doesn't. It's not that the staff members are bad, but their approach to customers/guests needs to change.

It's also split across the mall, so some theaters are on one side while the other half of theaters are on the other. So if you plan to do a double feature or have multiple members of your party seeing different movies, that can be a bit awkward compared to other theaters. It wouldn't be as much of an issue though if the staff was more accommodating, but at this time, I don't see it. They're more eager to say "no" than "yes".

Overall, it's worth the drive for us, because we're coming to see the movies, not the staff. The quality of the (I think they're recently renovated) theaters is worth it for us. We wish the staff would be a bit happier to help instead of acting more as a roadblock, but until the Altamonte Springs theater gets a much needed upgrade, we'll continue to make the drive if we're looking for a movie not in the Dolby Cinema in Altamonte. I actually find the recliners at this theater to be more comfortable than the Dolby...

A few things to note. I was a bit leery to go to this theater as I've heard negative comments about the upkeep and customer service. After reading Google reviews, I decided to take my two grandsons to see a 3D experience and give it a try.

I was pleasantly surprised. The theater was clean and updated. The staff was welcoming and accommodating (see below). The reclining seats were very comfortable. I have a bad back and can not sit long in a sitting position without pain. The reclining seats were perfect for my condition.

Problem #3: there was no one patrolling the theater. The row in front of me was assigned to full row of teenagers who talked, got up and down to leave and come back several times, giggled and just disrespected those behind them. Just before I got up to alert a manager, they quickly left before the end of the movie. I assumed someone else reported their behavior.

Problem #2: I purchased tickets on Fandango and reserved seating according to the Fandango seating chart. When I arrived, I realized the seating chart on Fandango did not match the seating in the theater. The Fandango chart showed two seats then an aisle, two seats, than an aisle...etc. There were no aisles between the seats. Since I thought there was an aisle between the seats, I reserved two seats in front of me for my grandsons so I would not have to reach over the aisle.

I went to the ticket taker and explained the seating chart online was incorrect and I wanted to change my seating to be next to my grandsons. He alerted a manager and the manager approved my request without any hassle. Great customer service!!!

Problem #1: The food was way too pricey. I don't go to the movies often and totally forgot about the overpriced concession options. The same box of Junior Mints at Walmart for 99 cents costs $4.50. Since the experience was more for my grandsons than my pocket, I shelled out $25 for large butter popcorn, and 3 candy options. It just added to the awesomeness of my grandmother stature.

I hope they survive the brand new movie theater, just about 10 minutes away in Mount Dora which...

We caught the 7:30pm showing Nosferatu movie on Tuesday night. The main area concession was closed ;they were having a temporary issue taking any payments for merchandise. We were told we had to get any drink or snacks down on the other side. Okayy, so we walked down to the other half of the theatre and got in line for the concessions and were stopped abruptly by a girl asking to see our tickets. I explained the other station was down and we were just here for concessions. We approached the counter where a man and young women were working. There was no greeting of “Hello” or “Hi”. She stormed up to the counter and curtly informed that, “We’re only selling candy, popcorn, or drinks.” Me and my sister looked at each other briefly taken aback by her tone, “Our managers are doing inventory so yeah, no hot foods.” We ordered a medium popcorn and drink (a whopping $24 dollars!!) and she asked, “Cash or Card?” I indicated I was paying with a card. “Perfect! That’s my preferred method, insert your chip when you’re ready.” And stalked away. Popcorn was scooped out of a plastic bag, not even slightly warm or semi fresh. So happy that interaction was over, I went to the drink station. Were the same girl who asked for my ticket is closely watching the family standing near the machine as I walk up. I notice the machine to the left is missing the tray in the bottom where you would place the cup while it dispenses the ice and soda. She’s looking at me and I’m looking at her waiting for some clarification. When she doesn’t say anything I lead with,” Is this machine out of order?” She rolls her eyes and replies, “ You can try but it won’t dispense.” Okayyy. She follows with a snarky,” Yeah feel free to make drinks at the other station.” The dad from the family next to us was like…”They told us we couldn’t use that stand..?” She stares uncaringly,” Hmm, yeah, weird.” And walks away. All this to say bad vibes, staff that clearly didn’t want to be there and didn’t want us there more, dry ass popcorn, and to top it off, a shitty movie too. I wonder what else I could do on a weeknight with...