Riverside Drive In Theatre — Local services in Parks Township

I visited Riverside Drive In Theater for their two-day Super Monster-Rama event on Sept. 27 and 28. I’ve been attending the event for the past three years, and appreciate the opportunity to camp with friends while surrounded by a community of fellow horror lovers.

The concessions are never top-notch, nor are they expected to be, but this year, the food-buying experience had me concerned for my health, as I saw a staff member wearing high-vis pants and a Monster-Rama T-shirt, carrying and handling a live Guinea pig behind the food counter in the food preparation area. No cleaning took place after, I hung around to watch.

I end up buying a pizza burger. It tasted good. Still, I feared for my personal health and the health of other patrons.

I considered filing a complaint with the state’s Bureau of Food Safety. I still might.

Staff is generally cranky and unhelpful, unable to provide prices for certain unlisted, “special” food items before you get to the register (my friend ended up paying $26 for two Italian sausage sandwiches as a result).

That’s with the exception of the guy who looks like a skinny Randy from “Trailer Park Boys,” who is always cheery and clearly leaps above the rest when it comes to customer service. He typically works the register. I’d hire him.

For three years now, the locks on the bathroom stalls in the men’s room have been broken. I’ll repeat it: the locks have been nonfunctioning in both men’s room stalls for at least THREE YEARS, meaning you have to hold the door shut while using the facility. While a wholesale bathroom remodel is in order, I understand that it could be cost prohibitive. A new locking mechanism, however, would cost only a few dollars — a cost business owners could surely afford, as their price for a single, plain hotdog is $4.75. That leads me to believe it’s laziness instead of affordability that keeps them from making the basic improvements necessary to ensure personal privacy for customers using the restroom.

That’s not to mention a broken toilet seat in one stall, and yearly overflow issues experienced at the event.

On top of those concerns, this year’s movie selection hardly justified the above listed threats to human health and personal privacy. A collection of public-domain-style ARTIFACTS was shown on the first night, showcasing dated acting and set pieces that are undoubtedly important to the history of horror cinema but that lack any of the excitement, scares or story beats necessary to keep a modern audience awake as the third movie rolls after midnight.

The second night’s selection was slightly more enjoyable, with titles like The Beyond and Cemetery Man.

The screen is tiny and not high enough to avoid being blocked by cars parked in forward rows.

Patrons were generally respectful.

Overall, I would not recommend visiting this business unless you have a fun group of people, who can help you laugh off the true Appalachian madness of this place.

Much better drive-in theaters are available in western Pennsylvania and...

Just had the most disgusting interaction at the theater that I’ve been going to for 20 years with my family, so excited to go, I work every Friday & Saturday night, to start i said this is how you talk to people the owners wife screamed YES, I just ordered a cheeseburger got a hamburger. My food sat in the window for 10 minutes I watched it. The lady took the wrong area code down for my number that’s why like what the heck😂 i let all that go I just wanted a cheeseburger and to see the movie, however I couldn’t just get a new cheeseburger the owners wife raised her voice expressing that they had done nothing wrong and we now have to leave I had to say something after she’s screaming this at my mom, I said this is how you talk to customers, you messed up our order we’ve been extremely patient,she screamed a me YES, this 50 old year woman screaming at me…19 shocked to say the very least, we walked away and the owner came up to us…. Aggressive didn’t ask what happened not treating us like paying CUSTOMERS, told us to leave! We told him what happened said we still had to leave we said ok we don’t have our food so I want a refund he said NO. Neverrr heard...

This is the second time I've visited Riverside Drive In. Both times I attended the Monster Movie Weekend and both times were highly enjoyable.

Everything about my experience is positive: The picture quality was perfect (perfect size of screen and placement), the sound quality was second to none (both times I used my portable transistor radio that provided crisp, clear sound). The concession area is really nice-good selection of affordable priced foods and drinks and served in a clean area.

The old "reels" of bygone drive in days they play is awesome! Takes you back to a time of years gone by and gave me some reflection of old memories.

If you haven't been to a drive in for a while or never been to one, now is the time to go! Very well worth the trip (only $10 a person; very affordable compared to...