Boeing and PACCAR IMAX Theaters at Pacific Science Center — Attraction in Seattle

Got tickets to see Avatar in 3D. Our original showing was cancelled due to icy weather (understandable). So we rescheduled. Bought our tickets over a week in advance. If they allowed people with tickets to go in a separate line that would help. Considering how competitive seats are at this venue it’s disheartening to be in line behind people buying tickets at the moment to the movie or other exhibits. For tonight’s showing they didn’t scan tickets going into the theater (only at the gate) and seats ran out.

I mean literally while the lights were still on we asked people by every open seat if they were available but all the seats were being held. Then we saw more people coming in and looking for seats. We had just exhausted asking about all the open seats and now 8 more people were also looking for seats. I’m not sure how but there were more people than seats tonight. We decided to leave.

Fortunately we got a refund but the fact they choose to scan at the main entrance and not going into the theater means people already in the science center can easily pop into the theater without a ticket. And that must have happened tonight because there weren’t enough seats. A staff member offered to check the theater for seats for us but the movie had already started and I felt uncomfortable having him go in and disturb the screening for others after we had searched and asked 8+ people if the seats near them were available.

Note: In response to the business response. People were arriving at the same time as movie goers for some other event. I think it was the premier of the Taylor Switft Laser show (starting at ~9pm). The Avatar movie started at 8:30pm (gates opened at 8:20 for Avatar ticket holders). Tickets to both events are comparable in price (so it's not outside of the realm of possibility that someone would get tickets to one because the other was sold out, especially if they had friends who had tix for the showing).

There was one person that was holding 6-7 seats in the middle of the back row, they claimed those people were at concession (but I went to concession and there weren't even that many people in line, also who sends their entire group to concession). I don't know if/when things sold out for the respective shows that night (Avatar and laser show). Maybe people held seats for friends who got tickets to the laser show and went to Avatar instead. I am not sure, but there were more people than seats "available" in that theater. There were open seats, yes, but when asked, people said they were being held.

Reserved seats would solve this problem. But if you're truly against investing in reserved seating, maybe implementing a rule about how many seats a person can hold before the movie starts with a sign on the door to the theater. It's certainly not uncommon for someone to hold a couple of seats while people use the restroom or get concessions but there were several areas where people were holding 5+ seats.

I think PAC SCI is a great establishment overall, but there's some room for improvement with how the IMAX side of things are done. Being the only IMAX theater in Seattle proper I get that you don't have to innovate, people will come. But I would definitely be willing to pay a bit more for my tickets to have a guaranteed seat (reserved seating) and not have to arrive 2 hours before the show (as is recommended on Reddit to see a popular release at your theater). Benefits of making some improvements: fewer refunds when people can't find seats (you refunded about 8 people that I saw that night because they couldn't get a seat), you save time not having to respond to as many negative reviews (that's time you can spend on more important things), and it would save employees time as well because they wouldn't have to assist customers that...

This is the best imax theater around. Growing up in these parts, I've been seeing imax movies here for 30 years, long before the recently developed imax screens in your standard mall cinaplex. Yet the Pac Sci imax screen remains bigger and the sound is bigger, louder, and more immersive than any other, including all the new "imax" screens at newer theathers like Thornton Place in Northgate, etc. Multiply the immersion factor by 100 if its a 3D movie, there is nothing like viewing the fancy new 3D movies here, I don't go anywhere else anymore for movies like Gravity, The Hobbit, the new Star Treks, the comic book hereos movies, etc.

SEATING is very comfortable, and has just the right feel of reclined position, not too much, not too little. It has "stadium" seating, so the rows of seats go up at a very steep angle, not only centering you in the middle of the screen vertically, further immersing you into the movie, but also you don't have to worry about a tall person with big hair sitting in front of you.

Its also worth pointing out that the PRICE of a ticket here is typically a few dollars cheaper than the other cinaplex imax tickets. So better and cheaper! What's not to like?

Well, PARKING for one is not exactly straightforward, and not free. Best way to go is go down Denny Way west toward the water, then turn right and go up 2nd ave, so you're on the west side of the Pac Sci Center. On the right you'll see a convenient parking garage, the spendiest option, but convenient. All along there on 2nd however is a lot of curbside back-in angle parking, if you get lucky grab one of those spots, for the cheaper street parking rate, and you're just as close as the garage. If those are all taken, go up and then take a left on John St. (by the way, right here to the right will be the closest park ENTRANCE, taking you right to the imax TICKET BOOTHS and imax entrance). After the left on John, hunt around those few blocks, and you can usually find a street parking spot just a short walk away. If all else fails, use the convenenient garage or some of the diamond lots further down John if even the garage is full.

Also when a big new hyped-up movie first comes out here, seating can get interesting the first couple of weeks of its release. If you're going at a peak time (weekends or week nights) you may want to get there a half hour EARLY to be in the front of the line, to ensure you get a choice middle seat. I find the front rows just too close, and the sides are, well, the sides. So either get there early, go see an early weekday showing, or just wait a couple of weeks after its release and you should be fine.

Other notes, the CONCESSIONS is pretty standard for movie theaters, over-priced but what're you gonna do. The food court, oddly named "The Armory", is also just a short walk north across the grass from the imax ticket booths. Actually really good, great options and...

On Thursday, May 26th I bought a ticket to a screening of Top Gun Maverick held on Saturday, May 28th. I didn't know if I would be able to attend the screening because I knew I might have to work, but I took comfort when I saw that the Pacific Science Center offers refunds, so I ordered a ticket just to have one secured in case I could attend. Within a couple of hours of placing the order though, I learned that I would need to work, so I sent an email to the address listed in my digital receipt, explaining the situation. I received no response, so the next day I sent an identical email. I also started calling the listed phone number on Friday and continued this into early Saturday, but I never reached a person in the three times that I called. The refund policy clearly stated that refunds can't be issued after the movie has started, so on Saturday morning before work I made one last call to the customer service line. When that call wasn't answered I figured that I wasn't going to be able to receive a refund, so at that point I sent the digital ticket to a friend, so that at least the ticket wouldn't be a complete waste.

I was ready for that to be the end of it, twenty bucks isn't a huge amount of money to lose, but I received a response to my refund request on Monday the 30th. It explained that the staff was overwhelmed due to the premier of Top Gun, and they hadn't been able to monitor emails and phone calls. Hey, I thought, that makes sense. The email explained that the refund window had been expanded due to this error. I thought that I wouldn't be eligible for a refund, because the ticket had been used. However, I decided to call just to see. My assumption was that an apologetic staff member would tell me that the ticket couldn't be reimbursed since it was used. However, I also thought there was a chance that they would throw me a voucher for something like a free popcorn on my next visit. You know, some token gesture as an apology, like when a restaurant comps your appetizer when your wait is really long. I didn't expect this though, I was 85 percent sure I was just going to receive an apology, which I'd have been fine with.

That isn't what happened when I called around 330pm today. Instead, an arrogant staff member informed me that it was great that I had given it to a friend, because now that friend can pay me the $20. I had fully explained the situation to him, including that I only gave the ticket to that person because pacific science center had failed to respond to refund requests, and because I thought that the ticket was about to become worthless.

In short, not only did I pay $20 for nothing, but the establishment couldn’t even tell me to get lost politely.

This was my first experience with the Pacific Science Center and you'd best believe it...