AMC Kips Bay 15 — Attraction in New York

When you walk in, very clean looking, very shiny and glitzy and the theaters are generally very clean. I like the large open lobby and huge windows and how glam everything looks. Only 3 stars though because my coworkers mentioned mice there and I didn’t believe them. I mean, they’ll sometimes flip seats over to clean beneath them...how could they possibly have mice when they’re so thorough? But then I went to see Happy Death Day 2 and I spent the ENTIRE movie watching with Mickey Mouse. Very polite for a rodent....literally sat there in the aisle watching with me. He disappeared for the scary scenes but came back and watched the ending with me. I’ve heard people mention RATS but believe me...if you’re a real New Yorker, you’ll know the difference between a mouse and a rat. I was able to shrug off the experience because it was a mouse and mice are small, fluffy with cute little tails and are generally skittish so if you really don’t want it near you, just make a movement and they’re gone. If it was a RAT...I probably would’ve had to square up over my nachos and slushee. They’re HUGE, dirty, mean and when you make a movement, you can see them consider whether or not to fight you. Definitely would’ve been NO stars if it was a rat. Also this was a one time instance out of like ten. Haven’t seem them on any other occasion and I frequent that theater a lot. Also, three stars cause it’s a flip of the coin if the staff you interact with will be friendly. Most of the time they are and that’s why I keep coming back. Friendly staff who actually care about and do their job...but there have been one or two times when I accidentally get in the way of a disgruntled cleaning staff. Like walking into a theater too early...they are snappish about that and it takes the air out of an otherwise pleasant evening. Oh and not a fan of the IMAX theater here. No reclining seats and it’s very old and outdated, I think. I still go to this theater because 90% of the time, it’s a nice experience and because I’ve been to plenty of other movie theaters. This place is one of the better ones.

Update: No longer feel safe going to the theaters. People are smoking weed, there’s no temp checks, someone had their mask off and were coughing up a storm so it was hard to even focus on the movie and not the coughing going on through most of it (I gave up and left half way through….ITS A PANDEMIC…seriously?If you have a cough, stay home 🤨). I love the theater and their staff are still super helpful and quick to respond but it’s a losing battle to the inconsiderate. I can just as easily watch things at home; no coughing, no smoking, no talking, etc. Yeah, nah…sorry AMC, I really hope y’all are able to turn things around. Keep the stars from my original rating cause like I said your staff is amaze balls….but I won’t be returning...

I went to see a recent kids movie all for me to spend 100 on tickets , food and a toy for my daughter and see a small rat run past my feet . I have an immense fear of rodents but also as mom didn’t want to ruin the new movie for several other children. I quietly went to the customer service station and asked for a full refund very politely. I work in a similar industry dealing with ticket and customer service so I am aware of policies and how the customer may not. I was welcomed with full understanding from the customer service agent scanning tickets who asked for the manager who said I could receive a refund for the tickets but the food I did not eat I could only receive popcorn vouchers which is and was so disappointing and distasteful after I quietly let them know of their clear rodent problem so they can get it under control before it detours people wanting to go to their location. I was told because i had a small child in the theater waiting for me I can come back after the movie to retrieve my refund The issue I had was while I was not able to concentrate on the movie or the food in pure frustration and disgust I was not communicated the correct information. I had also d for my Tickets in the app as I always do through Apple Pay for protection purposes and by then they said the return was not doable. I was very upset because I am anware any POS system has an override for these particular cases. The actual head manager was insistent on trying to overshadow my very specific needs while insulting my intelligence of ticketing systems which I tried to delicately tell him. He then thought trying to give me vouchers was sufficient for the fact I didn’t get the correct information from both staff members, nor was anyone willing to check out the space once informed. He then realized I was not just an emotional woman as he seemed to make several undertones in his statements about me being upset when in fact I was just firmly stating my knowledge of the system as well as my right to a full refund. In the end he gave only half of what I paid which is just ridiculous. I have been going to that theater since living in the area and it’s unbelievable that it’s now infested which is a clear indication of no proper extermination or care to...

The only way this theater could be better is if the staff had allowed me to crawl inside the popcorn machine like I politely suggested.

Alas, we no longer live in the glorious, reckless America I once knew. Now everything is rules and regulations, lawsuits and liability—milk-drinking babies running the show.

I remember when my father took me to the movies. I was just a toddler, but he understood what real joy looked like. He slipped the manager a crisp twenty-dollar bill—fresh as the apples my grandfather used to hurl at us with pinpoint accuracy—and the manager gave a knowing smile. He led us behind the counter like we were royalty.

Then the hatch opened. The scent of butter hit me like a divine wind. I could taste the salt on the air. The heat of the popcorn glowed like a sacred fire, calling me inward. I didn’t resist.

I crawled into that glorious steel chamber like some ancient serpent returning to the center of the Earth. I remained there for hours—nestled, burrowed, alive. The film ended. I emerged. It took my parents a week to wash the butter from my hair, but the joy never left my face.

That, my friends, is what I came here to relive. But when I made my humble request, the staff told me it would “violate the health code.”

The health code. In my day, you could deep-fry your own hand and serve it to the President of North Korea if you wanted. Now? You can’t even curl into a popcorn machine and pretend you’re a mole tunneling through a golden, salty wonderland.

What are we doing to our country? What will they take from us next? I want to live in a world where my children can dive headfirst into a popcorn machine and not be yanked out by some twenty-something assistant manager with a lanyard and a clipboard.

I want butter in my eyes, salt in my lungs, and freedom in my heart.

Still—excellent theater. Clean floors. Great sound. But please, for the love of liberty, reconsider your popcorn...