Orion Cinema — Attraction in Yakima

The Good: There are definitely some strong positives about this dine-in movie theatre. The seats were very comfortable, the buttons to call staff were easy to locate and not intrusive, and purchasing tickets was a smooth process. The theatre itself was clean and well-maintained, and I really enjoyed the food—it exceeded my expectations for a dine-in experience.

Areas for Improvement: Unfortunately, the overall experience was impacted by the staff’s lack of situational awareness during the movie. Movement around the theatre was constant and often frantic, with staff rushing—sometimes running—which became distracting and even anxiety-inducing. A more measured and discreet approach would go a long way in preserving the immersive atmosphere moviegoers expect.

Additionally, conversations between staff and guests were not kept quiet during the film, which disrupted the viewing experience. One particularly jarring moment involved a staff member entering the theatre and loudly instructing everyone to pass their dishes to the aisle. The volume and abruptness of this interaction startled many in the audience—it felt unnecessarily intense for a simple request and undermined the otherwise relaxed environment.

Lighting: The in-theatre lighting also felt overly bright. While it’s understandable that some light is needed for dining, the current brightness level was distracting. A further dimming—even a couple of notches—could help strike a better balance between visibility and ambiance.

Final Thoughts: There’s a lot of potential here, and I truly hope these issues can be addressed. This theatre fills an important gap in the area, and with a few adjustments to staff training and theatre atmosphere, it could become a go-to destination for...

The most recent time thankfully we had a wonderful server who was very patient with us and the food has always been pretty good. Not amazing but good enough and reasonably priced.

The issue this time was with their gift cards. I purchased a gift card for my family member for their birthday and we went to the movies to use it. They attempted to use the gift card to purchase tickets online but the system would not allow them to. No worries, we printed it to bring it with us to use for food instead.

We asked to make sure before we went in and an attendant says yes of course you can use gift cards for food. Then bill comes for food and our server informs us no we can’t. We end up having a 15 minute back and forth IN THE MIDDLE of the movie.

After the movie we go out and talk to the person at the counter who explains that you can’t buy food with the gift cards and you also can’t use them online towards buying tickets if you’re going to spend more than the gift card amount. So if you bought a 25 dollar gift card and two tickets are 30, you can't use the gift card. But you also can’t use it for food or anything else!

Make it make sense. So now we have a gift card that is useless and the explanation is “someone else manages our website” “our food is on a different point of sale” so they can’t help. Of course no credit towards a bill or refund of the gift card amount either. Terrible businesses model, no accountability, and terrible service all in...

The food was great. Service started well enough until we got towards the last 20 minutes of the movie. Then, things took a turn. The waitress started pressuring us to pay our bill asap. We were really enjoying the movie and had a digital gift card. We were confused on how to pay. We mentioned the gift card and the waitress seemed to lose her patience. She stated she had to close out and left. Eventually, the waitress came back and recollected herself to communicate that we had to talk to the gentleman in the box office regarding our gift card. This required one of us to leave the theatre and miss the wnd of rhe movie. Needless to say, the Orion gift card only pays for movie tickets. The gift card does not cover food served within the theatre. The only reason to go to the Orion is to eat and watch a movie. That's what makes the Orion unique. Why would anyone buy a gift card to the Orion just to see an overpriced movie and not partake in the experience. Offering a gift card that doesn't cover the whole Orion experience is...