Cinemark - Guest Blogger

This blog is going to cover the cost differences between the discounted prices and the regular prices at the Cinemark 10 Theater located in Plano.

Cost:

Picture of directions.
© 2013 Sandeep Vinnakota

The cost of a movie before 6 am is only $1.50 on any day during the week. The price during the weekday after 6 am goes up to $1.75, which is still a great deal. The price during the weekends after 6 am is $2.25. On Tuesdays, tickets are only 50 cents.

Popcorn and drinks can be a little cheaper if you take advantage of the combos. By ordering a large drink along with large popcorn will save you 50 cents. By ordering two large drinks and large popcorn will save you 75 cents.

Going to a regular theater, the price of one person would be around $30 including a drink and popcorn. Cinemark 10 provides an alternative. You end up saving quite a bit.

From UTD to the theatre, it is only 5 miles, and it will take you around a 10-minute drive.

Experience:

Picture of Cinemark.
© 2013 Sandeep Vinnakota

Looking at the price, many would disregard these types of theaters, but it provides very much the same experience as any other theater.

The experience is actually a good one. Being that this theater is not as popular as the other ones, it doesn’t have huge crowds. This offers better seating and cleaner viewing rooms.

Picture of concessions.
© 2013 Sandeep Vinnakota

All in all, Cinemark 10 provides a wonderful experience if you are willing to wait a couple of weeks from the movie’s premiere. 

Guest Blogger Sandeep Vinnakota authors Improving the US School System, a blog about successful educational systems and how the US system can learn from them (when they're not having fun with discounts).

Bibliography

Google. (2013). Retrieved from https://maps.google.com/ 

The University of Texas at Dallas Office of Student Affairs. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.utdallas.edu/cometcenter/tickets/

Cinemark Movies 10. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.cinemark.com/theatre-detail.aspx?node_id=1496&showtime_date=

Dallas Zoo Fun

This blog post will cover the cost difference in the normal Dallas Zoo ticket and the discounted ticket offered by the Comet Center to students as well as the overall experience of visiting the Dallas Zoo.

Cost

Picture of giraffe at Dallas Zoo.
© 2013 Macy Sheehan

Visiting the Dallas Zoo normally costs $12.00 (Dallas Zoo, 2013), but buying a ticket with a student discount reduces the price to $9.00 (UTD Office of Student Affairs, n.d.). Additionally, on Mondays and Tuesdays, visitors can show a DART pass to receive $2.00 off general admission (Dallas Zoo, 2013). Parking at the Dallas Zoo on all days costs $8 per car (Dallas Zoo, 2013).

Additional costs for Dallas Zoo should be considered for food, souvenirs, and feeding the animals. Visitors at the Dallas Zoo can still step into bird exhibits and see giraffes as well as other animals without feeding them, however.

Traveling to the Dallas Zoo by car from the University of Texas at Dallas’s campus takes 29 minutes. The Dallas Zoo is also accessible by bus, with the travel time increasing to 1 hour and 37 minutes. (Google, 2013.)

Experience

Picture of bird at Dallas Zoo.
© 2013 Macy Sheehan

The Dallas Zoo presents a large giraffe statue when first entering the perimeter, and the wildlife theme is continued throughout with the landscaping as well as zoo animals available for viewing. The Dallas Zoo is kept clean and offers a quieter atmosphere during the times most are at work or in school.

Zoo North covers Entry Plaza, Camel Rides, Picnic Area, Koala Walkabout, Primate Place, Wings of Wonder, Cat Wow, Herpetarium, and more.  The Wilds of Africa offer Gorilla Trail, Ndebele Plaza, Monorail Safari, Giants of Savanna, and more, with the monorail not included in general admission and costing $3.00 per person. All of the places inside the Dallas Zoo showcase wildlife and provide great opportunities for viewing—and sometimes interacting with—them. (Dallas Zoo, 2013).

Picture of cheetah at Dallas Zoo
© 2013 Macy Sheehan

The Dallas Zoo offers wildlife and keeper encounters on weekdays as well as weekends, which provides a more interactive experience to the visitor. The Dallas Zoo also offers venues, events—birthdays, corporate events, and more—and catering (Dallas Zoo, 2013). With a variety of animals and activities, the Dallas Zoo offers a lot during the visit.

Bibliography

Dallas Zoo. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.dallaszoo.com/ 

Google. (2013). Retrieved from https://maps.google.com/ 

The University of Texas at Dallas Office of Student Affairs. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.utdallas.edu/cometcenter/tickets/

AMC Adventures

This blog post will cover the cost difference in the normal AMC movie ticket and the discounted movie ticket offered by the Comet Center to students as well as the overall experience of visiting AMC.

Cost

Picture of AMC's concession area.
© 2013 Macy Sheehan

Visiting AMC is advertised to cost $10 by buying a ticket with a student discount (UTD Office of Student Affairs, n.d.) but AMC advertises a normal ticket for $9 and doesn’t list student discount
prices (AMC Theatres, 2013). Normal movie snacks are around $5. Participating AMC theatres with the AMC Dine-In option prices most meals at $10 with the most expensive coming in at $16 (AMC Theatres, 2013).

Traveling to AMC by car from the University of Texas at Dallas’s campus takes 17 minutes. AMC is also accessible by bus, with the travel time increasing to 1 hour and 21 minutes. (Google, 2013.)

Experience

Picture of AMC's ticket stand.
© 2013 Macy Sheehan

AMC’s exterior is misleading, given AMC appears to sit separate from the mall, but is actually inside the Valley View mall on the third floor. The large ticket stand with giant lettering as well as several registers makes the entrance hard to miss. Past AMC’s entrance is the concessions stand, and an arcade; beyond that is where the theaters are located. AMC displays current and upcoming movie posters between the theater doors.

AMC appeared to be less popular, given the lack of people. AMC would be a good theater to visit when avoiding crowds or wanting good seats for a midnight showing. The theaters were spacious regardless, and staff checked in once to make sure nothing was wrong.

Picture of AMC's theater screen.
© 2013 Macy Sheehan

Programs offered by AMC include “AMC independent,” “Sensory Friendly Films,” and “AMC Dine-In Theatres,” with 20% of the AMC theaters participating in AMC independent, which brings lesser-known movies to the screen (AMC Theatres, 2013). AMC’s programs allow for more opportunities to visit the theater given they offer more than just seeing what movies are currently playing everywhere.

Bibliography

AMC Theatres. (2013). Retrieved from https://www.amctheatres.com/ 

Google. (2013). Retrieved from https://maps.google.com/ 

The University of Texas at Dallas Office of Student Affairs. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.utdallas.edu/cometcenter/tickets/

Angelika Advantages

This blog post will cover the cost difference in the normal Angelika movie ticket and the discounted movie ticket offered by the Comet Center to students as well as the overall experience of visiting the Angelika.

Cost

A picture of Angelika's food prices.
© 2013 Macy Sheehan

Visiting the Angelika normally costs $9.00 (Reading International Inc., 2007), but buying a ticket with a student discount reduces the price to $7.50 (UTD Office of Student Affairs, n.d.). Additionally, at the Angelika on Sundays, there’s a Walking Dead showing that offers free admittance.

Angelika charges $4.25 for a small drink, as well as higher prices overall for food. Angelika is another theater where I would eat before or after elsewhere and just come for the movie.

Traveling to the Angelika by car from the University of Texas at Dallas’s campus takes 15 minutes. Angelika is also accessible by bus, with the travel time increasing to 1 hour and 19 minutes. (Google, 2013.)

Experience

A picture of Angelika's entrance.
© 2013 Macy Sheehan

Angelika’s exterior presents a modern look with its sleek wording while hinting at old theaters by showing the currently playing movie titles above the door. Angelika’s register for tickets is outside and staffed, displaying the available movies, which had current movies with a few old titles. Once inside, the Angelika’s interior looks bright and seemingly crowded by the staircases and escalators immediately in one’s vision. Upstairs shows Angelika’s large chandeliers as well as where food can be bought. 

A picture of Angelika's interior.
© 2013 Macy Sheehan

Angelika offers, “TV and the Angelika,” which shows a live stream of the newest Walking Dead episodes on a theater screen with other people just as hyped to see what will happen; other shows are available as well (Reading International Inc., 2007). Angelika also provided zombie themed shirts after the showing, a nice bonus to take home. They also offer After Hours showings, which plays films in the theater not typically seen at other locations, such as “Pan’s Labrinth,” “Aliens,” “Scanners,” (Reading International Inc., 2007) and more.

With a welcoming environment and opportunities to watch old films and show streams as well as movies, Angelika makes a great theater, especially with the student discount.

Bibliography

Google. (2013). Retrieved from https://maps.google.com/ 

Reading International Inc. (2007). Retrieved from http://angelikafilmcenter.com/angelika_index.asp?hID=7915 

The University of Texas at Dallas Office of Student Affairs. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.utdallas.edu/cometcenter/tickets/