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=

Podcast

This podcast will rank the activities already detailed and reviewed in previous blog posts and provide a summary of the places visited.

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 - Interview with UTD student Julie Hellwarth

This blog post will interview Julie Hellwarth, an undergraduate student attending the University of Texas at Dallas, about her thoughts on her Angelika theater experience.

Interview:

“What did you think about the cost to visit the Angelika with your UTD student discount?”

Julie: “The UTD student discount makes it more appealing to go to the Angelika Theater. The $2.50 discount is a big saving. I also really liked that they show the Walking Dead free every Sunday. It is an awesome perk that the theater has!”

 
“How would you describe your experience visiting the Angelika?”

Julie: “Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience. The environment was very inviting, the staff were friendly and helpful, and the theater showed the stream in a timely manner. The food items were overpriced, however: I’ll probably eat before or after elsewhere, and go to Angelika for just the movie.”

 
“When you walked into the Angelika, what was the first thing you noticed?”

Julie: “Before I even walked in I noticed the outside of the Angelika, because the blue words glowed so brightly. After walking in, the chandeliers really caught my eye and made the place feel more upscale than other theaters I’ve attended. They also had an escalator for going up, and a large staircase for going down, which I thought worked really well because I’m not a fan of stairs!”

 
“What did you think of the Angelika's interior, environment, and the t-shirt given away for the Walking Dead streaming?”

Julie: “The interior of the Angelika is very cozy. It isn't a big space but they make it work with the space that they have. It has a very modern look with the overall square shape of the building, and the warm colors make the place seem inviting. The audience never interfered with what I watched, which I appreciated. The t-shirt giveaway that they had after the showing was very nice and made me want to return.”

Julie Hellwarth viewed her Angelika theater experience as cost efficient, inviting, and a place that she would “definitely return to.”