Cinespia — Attraction in Los Angeles

Cinespia at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery is always a great time. I've learned you need to be patient with the entry process, and be prepared for your things to go differently than expected no matter how much you prepare, but it is all well worth it for a movie under the stars with some fellow movie lovers! A couple of tips I wanted to share that I would have found helpful my first time at Cinespia:

Parking/getting a good blanket spot: If you prepay parking on the grounds then you do not have to wait in the pedestrian line, BUT they do not let cars in until the "gate open" time and they do NOT let you line up on the street prior to the gates opening. So best advice is to circle around the area until a few minutes before the gates open before driving up to the entrance. If you are not prepaying for parking, people get there an hour before the gates open to save a spot in the standing line - the goal of all of this is to get a good spot for your blanket. Even then, they open sections one at a time to let people lay blankets down so you may be early in line but not get your first choice space. At the end of the day the experience is fun and any spot is great.

Photobooth: we love doing the photo booth! They always have a pretty elaborate one in theme with the movie being shown. Highly recommend making this the first thing you do as the line gets long. Sometimes they have props you can hold or use, but usually it is just a set/scene. They usually take 3 photos and they do it pretty quickly so you'll notice people and groups practicing their poses in line so they can keep the line moving. They sell the photos if you really like them but 1 photo of your 3 is posted to the cinespia website usually a day or 2 after the event so you can download/screenshot...

I went to the Hollywood Cemetery location; it looks like there are two or three other Cinespia locations. Looks like, because the website for the whole thing is not very helpful. So, right off the bat there's the problem of finding out what's playing, and how much it will cost, and, if you want tickets in advance, there's a problem there, too. Pretty much the only reason to go is for the general ambience of the whole thing, which sort of has 'Rocky Horror Picture' type vibes, except the experience is expanded to included other, different movies. So, literally, on the website there are photo galleries of people dressing up like characters in different movies, and posing in front of the same, related, backdrop. When I went, I didn't see any physical evidence of what I saw on the website, however, the audience was unusually noisy. The movies are projected onto a wall, so it's a wee bit like a drive in, except the projection equipment is below par, the wall wasn't designed for movie projection, and the sound quality is horrible, and, added in to boot, is all of the audience noise. So, basically, the actual movie watching is pretty bad, which is why the experience of the whole thing is mostly the reason to go. The only reason I went, is because I like to see movies in different spots, and I don't think I'll go back again. It's basically a place that doesn't try to provide a high quality service, and because of the promo and business aspects of it, you pretty much get whatever they decide to give you; guess if you like being rather surprised - not necessarily in a good way - you might like it. Or, if you don't really care, or want someone to make...

The movies in the cemetery are a cool idea, but man was it way too crowded! Went to the Nightmare Before Christmas show. Gates opened at 6:45 for an 8pm start time. Parked at the Lemon Grove parking structure for $30 since it was the only parking area that wasn't sold out. Arrived at 7pm and got in line at the Van Ness fare by 7:15. Didn't get through the gate until just after 8. (If there was another way in, there was nothing telling us so.) By that time, there was NO seating left anywhere on the grass. Hundreds of people searching for just some place to sit. Ultimately found a place on one of the roads. Then, after the film actually started, a bunch of people were told they had to move after getting well-situated because they were in a fire lane. My wife and I had to squish into a tiny little space to accommodate.

Plenty of people were NOT following the chair height requirement, so it was not terribly easy to see the screen in some places. Food was ballpark prices. Best part to me was the bathrooms being decent. I just couldn't enjoy myself. Not worth the $90 we spent for just 2 people to park and get in...