Why My Sister Doesn't Like the Century Boulder

My sister sent me a message after my last post explaining why she doesn't like the Century Boulder. Turns out she and her husband hate the concession area. Here's what she said:

Did you get any food or drink? If you didn't than you have no idea. It is all self serve, except the popcorn. Imagine the giant clot that forms around ONE soda fountain machine before a big movie is about to begin, and then you still have to wait for your popcorm from one tiny counter and one guy serving it, and then you have to battle other people to grab your candy from a little shelf.

The rest of the place I have no problem with. But that concession stand is the worst I have ever seen.

Well that explains it. I didn't buy anything at the concessions, so I missed out on the "fun" she describes. I think what she said would apply to the Century Aurora as well.

Concessions is the aspect of the movie-going experience that I know the least about overall. It's rare for me to buy anything more than a ticket when I go to the movies. Mainly this is because I go to so many movies, and I want to spend as little as possible. From time to time, I'll buy popcorn, and I especially like the "Stimulus Tuesday" policy at the Carmike theaters, where you can get a small bag of popcorn for a dollar. But I don't drink soft drinks at all anymore, and I haven't bought candy for myself in years.

I did notice that Century in both Boulder and Aurora has Starbucks coffee (self serve, of course). This I like. I wish more theaters sold coffee, because sometimes I forget to caffienate before I go in, and wish I had.

Overall I've noticed that the Colorado corporate theaters lag behind the East Coast chains in terms of concessions. Even in down-and-out Worcester, Mass., they had the new-fangled "food court" style of concessions, with specialized counters for ice cream, etc. I've yet to see anything like that around here. On the other hand, Colorado is way head of the East Coast in terms of digital projection (common around here, much more rare in New England).

Where I endeavor to buy concessions on a regular basis is at independent theaters, but even then it depends on the price. Partly it's because I'm curious about the unique features of each theater, but also it's a good way to support these places.

The one place I always buy concession is when visiting drive-in theaters. At such places, I consider it mandatory, even if I wind up eating a crummy cheeseburger wrapped in foil and slurping down a HFCS-laden lemonade (the only thing I can stand to drink besides water).

But my curiosity is piqued. The next time I'm at the Century, either in Aurora or Boulder, I'll have to buy something, just for the experience. But since I usually go to matinees (again to save money) I am often the only person in line, so maybe it wouldn't count.