Tibbs Drive-In — Local services in Indianapolis

So my wife and I drive from Burlington KY to go to this theater. That's approximately 117 miles. Used to live in Indianapolis for close to 14 years. We were there at least twice a month. Been to others, but The Tibbs rules in our book. Just wait till Hollywood starts releasing the new flicks again. It's coming and coupled with the end in site from this plague, I can't think of a better way to spend the evening. It can't come a moment too soon. I understand the hardship some people are having that dampens their experience with the food prices, but if they could take into consideration the costs of keeping the theater open. I know it looks like they're making big money because of all the cars, but looks can be deceiving. The costs of the movies is unmercifully high for them. Between the food, clean up, maintenance, employees, utilities, commercial insurance, waste management costs, off season repairs, and the lists goes on. For my part, I hope to God that they can stand the financial strain that has destroyed so many businesses already. Drive In Theaters are part of my childhood. A great part and this place is almost hallowed ground to me. It's not just the movies on the screens or the yummy food or even the atmosphere. It's a place I can relax, enjoy and feel like I belong. Let's face it, everyone there could be at home watching movies on big TV's with a microwave pumping out hot food and freezer being a place to run for ice cream and Popsicles while we take advantage of the pause button. Yet we pack our chairs and blankets and patiently wait in line like we're getting ready to take part in something wonderful and make no mistake, we are. If you're not already aware of that I hope you come to love the place like it's your own. Let it be a part of you that you can take with you in your memories when you leave. How many other places are like the Drive In theater. I even pick things up that aren't mine and put them in the trash to help out the staff. We used to have many of the Big Screen Theaters when I was growing up. They're all but gone now. Don't let it come to that before you realize how great it is to have a state of the art Safe, Clean playhouse that not only provides entertainment and fills our bellies, it does something that this country needs now more than ever. It brings us together. Adults, children, teens. Races, genders, families and friends. You have to admit there's something different at the drive in. Ever notice when you're close to each other going through the food line that it's almost like you know everyone. Try moving up close at checkout line or standing in line at the DMV or maybe waiting to pay a bill. It feels different as you move along deciding like everyone around you if you should get the burger and fries for the first show or maybe the popcorn and drinks for now. Some actually choose to wait so we have a reason to come back and be with our fellow drive in peeps during the intermission. When they play the nostalgic snack bar clips I can't help but smile. For those of us who lived through the glory days of the outdoor theaters I don't need to say a thing. For those of you who are lucky enough to still have a piece of what we all took for granted all I can say is enjoy it while you can and know that when you're choosing how to spend your hard earned money there's not to many things that will give you a connection to the past, a fun freedom filled experience in the now and a guaranteed memory to make you smile till your old like me. My sincere gratitude and appreciation for the efforts and sacrifices that the owners of this wonderful place continue to make while enduring an evermore challenging business environment. Hats off to the staff as well. Look at the comments from the people who enjoy the smiles, the fun, and the genuine desire to help the guests have a great time from a staff that any business owner would be proud of. This place is a living part of history. Let's keep supporting them for as long as they keep the lights on for us....

I would have very easily given Tibbs a 5 until last night. Lesson learned; careful buying tickets online, and visit in the autumn, avoid summertime entirely.

We arrived about 45 mins before our movie (11:25, first one scheduled at screen 2) and there was a line of stopped cars. At the front a couple cars were turned off - we weren't sure what was going on - a crash? Car broke down? No idea, and with road closures ahead there was nowhere else to go. We waited until the movie time was about 10 mins away.

Figuring we needed to know what was going on, we tried to pull around and were quickly hailed and told no one was being allowed in, they were sold out. We mentioned we had tickets already; we were told they weren't parking for our movie. I was confused and asked as the movie started in 10 minutes. They shrugged and said they weren't parking for it, so the only choice was to get back in line. Having worked customer service, I know it is hell to have confused or angry people to deal with all night, but the tone was like we were stupid for not magically knowing what was going on.

Got back in line and proceeded to wait for almost another hour. Huge line piled behind us. I was still confused as screen 2 wasn't even supposed to be showing anything until our movie, so how was the lot so full? People already inside not leaving and switching to that screen?

We sat and watched as 70-80cars or more were let out and left. Then we sat some more. And some more. Nothing. More and more cars let out, no one let in.

When we gave up, the movie start time had passed by half an hour. With no way of knowing how long we were going to be left to wait and having already waited as long as we had, we went home.

That's the thing - no way of knowing when they'd even start letting cars in. It wasn't just a long line you could see move once in a while - we didn't move. At all. For an hour. No idea when it'd end. Could be 5 minutes, could be another hour. After watching so many cars exit over 20mins and not even one car let in, we just couldn't stay.

On FB it was clear others had similar experiences all night and many people missed big portions of movies or had to leave the line. We were all interested in seeing how Tibbs replied. The reply was that they can't control when large crowds arrive or control if cars leave before they're allowed in, that they honored all online orders and wouldn't be doing refunds, but would honor the tickets the next couple of days. That last part is more than nothing, I'll admit, but as Sat was our only available night that still left us SOL and having paid for nothing.

I don't love the shifting of blame to the people in line, either. There was 0 communication or organization here and things didn't make sense. Why was the lot overbooked/overflowed when screen 2 hadn't been playing anything until our movie? If they're in control of how many tickets sell, how did it get so outrageously full that cars wait for an hour or more to get in, missing their movies in the process?

Luckily since they weren't offering refunds I was able to get my money back by contacting my bank and explaining the situation.

Sorry for the novel, just wowed a place I've gone so many times, brought so many people to, have made seasonal traditions at, etc was so woefully under prepared, disorganized, and unwilling to take even some responsibility for what happened. If this was someone's first trip to Tibbs, I doubt they'll ever try again. I'm hesitant to try again, honestly.

If you do go and DO get in, on a positive note I can't recommend the concessions enough. The funnel fries are amazing, the prices are really fair, and it's how they make a lot of their money to keep things running. I don't wanna see the place fail, it's just not gonna be our...

I recently purchased VIP tickets for a drive-in stand up comedy performance. This was $225+ for one car with guaranteed parking in the first 4 rows. I am giving 2 stars because of the absolute mismanagement of the event by the venue. The performance itself was excellent. We arrived at 6:15 and queued outside of the gates for the door opening at 7pm. The gates didn't actually open until 7:15 which didn't bother us too much but I imagine it was stressful for the lines of cars that arrived yet had nowhere to go because the lines backed up for a mile. The local police finally arrived at 7pm and were able to get the venue to open.

We gave our tickets to the gate staff and were given a red pass to put in our dash however when we went to park we were stopped a total of 4 times in the span of about 30 feet because apparently the gate staff should have handed us a VIP pass. We had to continually explain to each staffer only to be passed down to the next staffer that also had no authority to make a decision. We were finally allowed to park and we were excited to be the 2nd VIP car to arrive. We went to park center stage but the event staff refused to let us park there and instead made us park about 5 cars right of center. Mind you, there was no one else there and we were told earlier that it was first come first serve on spots. No explanation was offered for this and they readily let other cars park there moments later. Once parked, we began to unload, only to have a staffer ask us to move our car so that they could park someone closer to us. No problem, we complied. 15 minutes later, same staffer, same request. We moved and they said it was perfect. A few more minutes, same staffer, same request. We explain that we cannot pull any closer to the pole and the staffer can't articulate what it is that they actually want us to do. They figure it out with another staff member they finally leave us alone.... just kidding. A few minutes later they come back and ask us to move our lawn chairs backward only to come back a few minutes later to say that we could move them forward.

About 45 minutes go by after this with no further interruptions. The lot is filling up and the performer finally gets on stage. Right as they go onstage however the same staffer is back and asks the car next to us to pull their vehicle forward so that they can shove another car behind them. So for the first few minutes of the show there are now headlights shining on the stage and 5 unhappy people next to us who are rushing to move all of their chairs without disrupting others.

The only reason I gave 2 stars instead of 1 is because the show itself was excellent and the food selection was decent. The venue however was a nightmare. Judging by the loud walkie talkie conversations we sat through, the event staff had no idea what to do and lacked a clear chain of command. Some of the staffers were unknowledgable about the event itself and obviously didn't know what rules the venue had actually set. I assume these particular staffers were rented from an event company last second. If the venue had provided clearer SOPs to the gate staff about checking for VIPS and marked out parking spots and seating areas then this event would have run MUCH better than it did. Overall, I am disappointed in the service for a "VIP" ticket and do not recommend attending live...