AMC Northrock 14 — Local services in Wichita

AMC Theater in Wichita - The honeymoon is over.

As a competitor to the 13th Street Warren, we were expecting that the AMC theater would be built to devastate the competition, with offerings that go above and beyond what we already had. My wife and I have been to this theater with our kids six times, to give it plenty of chances to impress us.

The first time was the vaunted Dolby theater. The seats are frankly uncomfortable, and only recline far enough to make me feel unsettled as though I was halfway to where I should be. That's me, YMMV. The sound in that theater was turned way up, to the point that I put my earbuds in to cut the sound some. We decided not to go to that particular theater again.

The next time was great, service was good, no complaints at all. My family appreciates the Freestyle pop machines they have. The seats in the regular theaters were fine.

The third time, we were put in theater 14, right next to the lobby. I was surprised that instead of putting the exit doors behind the seats like in most theaters, they have it right up front. They also put windows in the doors, and big, back-lit poster frames on the hall across from them. I know this because I could see them the entire time I watched the movie. I wish I had thought to take pictures that time, but writing a review had not entered my mind yet.

The theater after that was also fine, no issues with seating or lights (though the Exit signs seem to be very bright in all of the theaters.) The service was slipping downhill, though. The young lady standing guard in the lobby wanted our tickets, and we presented the digital tickets on a phone as we had done the last three times. She directed us to go get paper tickets from the ticket booth. As we had never had to do this, we questioned her, and asked if they were changing policies or something like that. After a bit of back and forth, she sighed and pulled out the scanning tool they used and scanned the phone and we went on. It was very strange, and she got borderline rude while not explaining why the sudden change.

The next visit we were in theater 14 again. Though we had gone out of our way to make sure to avoid that theater; not sure if something changed after the purchase or we just misread it. It was incredibly irritating. During the climax of the film, the cleaning staff opened the doors to let the rest of the hallway light in, because that's what we were really starving for by that time. They stood there laughing and talking to each other.

We were quickly souring on the AMC, but we'd already planned out another visit, so we went forward with that one. The next time was Alpha, and I took pictures during that one because by then I figured I was going to write something up. The screen has lights illuminating it during the opening commercials, and they left those on for the previews as well, right up until the movie itself started. I don't have some genius-level peripheral vision or anything, but the guide lights which would normally be pointed down or covered were constantly visible, glaring on either side. The exit lights on either side of the screen were so close and so bright they overpowered the projector at times, and cast a green haze across the screen the entire movie. Just like last time, within the last five to ten minutes of the movie, long before the credits, the cleaning crew propped open the exit door. This time there was just one. I guess since he had no-one to talk to, he came in and wheeled his cart over to the side and leaned against the wall. It really felt like: "You're done, right? Get out."

Going back to the Warren after this was such a relief. Courteous employees, well-designed theaters, dimmable lights. The chairs in the Warren 21 aside, even without being able to recline, they were more comfortable than the recliners at the AMC.

Even if the AMC was free, I'd still pay to go to the...

Screens are big. Chairs are leather, motorized recliners. Sound systems are great. However, the snack bar had a line that was unnecessarily long, as there were 8 people behind the counter trying to look like they were working, but only one register was helping people. The employees were in no hurry at all, and would not make eye contact. At one point, they opened up the other registers (there are only 4) and began helping more people, but then after an employee would help one person, they would leave the register and start walking around trying to look like they had something more important to do. There was no customer service or desire to help people quickly so they could get to their movies. When I finally got helped, all I ordered was a large coffee. The person helping me had to ask someone else about the coffee, then disappeared into some back room. They never asked if I wanted cream or sugar, and it took them a full five minutes to get me the coffee and take my payment - 20oz coffee, $3.59. Most people expect prices to be high at the theater snack bar, but adding in the lethargic, unfriendly staff to the equation didn't make me want to come back. They also had a kind of "first class" line for "premium" members, which kind of makes anyone else being helped feel like they are not as important. It's just not good business. They also have a bar at this location, but the price for any drink starts at $10 and goes up from there. And, similar to the snack bar, three bartender's behind the counter just standing around looking like they wished they were somewhere else. As for seating, do yourself a favor and don't sit in the very front row. The chairs recline, but it's a little difficult to take in the whole screen. Additionally, during the opening previews, they leave house lights on that shine down on the screen, and the glare keeps people in the front row from seeing the screen. I posted a picture of this. Tips: as long as you get to the movies early to get your concessions, are not bothered by long lines and a complete lack of customer service, and you don't sit in the very front row, you will probably...

For a brand new theater, I understand they're still working kinks out. Our first visit to see Ready Player One in the Dolby theater did not go very well. We were going to check out the concessions and decided to skip it because of the prices. The items we looked at would have cost $40 (hot dog and the chicken sandwich meals), so we settled on sharing popcorn and a drink. We purchased our tickets online way in advanced, but the system glitched and somehow our seats got sold twice. The manager on duty double checked and, yes, the couple in our seats were able to purchase the seats also. They reassigned us to the handicap seats and gave us vouchers for another movie, but the new seats weren't ideal. The Dolby theater itself was pretty cool. The sound system is great, makes the movies feel a little more immersive with the rumbling recliners. The recliners themselves are comfortable. We recently visited again with a family member and it mostly went well. We were told they were fixing the Dolby theater and if it wasn't working by the time we went in to contact customer service for a refund. They got it fixed before the movie was due to start. Again, we settled on sharing a large popcorn between the 3 of us because of the pricing of concessions. Overall, both experiences were ok, but I wasnt super impressed with everything. They did great on the remodel of Northrock, but it lacks the homey feel that the Warrens have. Unless the Warren 21 doesn't have the newest movies available, we may just save ourselves the money and wait. If you haven't visited, go ahead and try it out! You may have a better experience :)

Edit: After going here several times, we've been pretty pleased with the theater. We upgraded and got the premier membership and subscribed to the A-List movie pass they have and it's a great deal. I like that all of the theaters have recliners and...