Time Travel or a Trip to Canada? (Bonus Drive-In Trip)

[BrandonDaCollector]

How about that Acid, you maybe correct and yes, Packer did a great job here

[packerbacker180]

Yes, the US dollar is worth $1.37 in Canada, I realized I should've pointed that out but Acid beat me to it. I just use the 70% rule, so anything $10 in Canada was $7 roughly in US funds, and that's the kind of math I can do easily in my head for a rough estimate. It was a little odd not seeing video game section, we didn't go to the Babies R Us side but I doubt it would've been over there. My experience is it was always in the front of the store but that's where the LEGO section was at this one.

A lot of questions so let's do this...

1. I didn't give him a hard limit but since it was already expensive between paying twice to get over the border each day (about $10 total) and gas and food, I told I couldn't get him anything super expensive but he really liked that Kong plushy and that was about $10 USD, He also got a couple Hot Wheels cars at Walmart up there though he was hoping to find some NASCAR diecasts but none of the stores up there had any.

2. Nah, we didn't get the Batman mask. He's really not interested in superheroes or Star Wars or that kind of stuff. None of my kids really are. And with the recent Star Wars films and Marvel DEI stuff, I can't say I blame them.

3. Kong was just a plush.

4. He didn't really look at the TMNT stuff. They did watch the show when they were younger, and we saw the most recent film, but action figures just as interesting to kids these days. He was more interested in the toy cars/RC stuff than any figure brand besides maybe Mario.

5. We were surprised to see so much Mario/Sonic stuff as well. You wouldn't see that much at Walmart or Target. But the Mario interest has a lot to do with the Jeffy youtube puppets because they originally used Nintendo characters before they got a cease and desist. If you've never heard of Jeffy it's a fairly vulgar and off color puppet show, but it's actually semi amusing if not offensive. But kids today probably see stuff just as bad on cable and network tv these days. I'd rather laugh at off color humor than be the kind of people who are offended by everything.

6. They watch some wrestling, but again, none of that stuff is anything that really holds their interest. My older son got into fantasy football last year, so he's gotten into the NFL more. My younger son cares more about the NHL. But beyond video games, the toys that would've been popular with or generation, isn't really for them. I mean, if you were a kid would you rather play with GI Joes or play Call of Duty?

7. I don't even know if he paid the NECA stuff any mind. That was more me.

8. The prices aren't really that bad when you convert the dollar. TRU was always a little more pricey, so not a surprise they're still a little pricey in Canada.

9. I would've bought a SW Black Series figure if they had any I needed. And I would've bought that Tragically Hip shirt but they didn't have my size It was cool seeing a lot of MLs I'd never seen in the US but I stopped collecting the line several years ago. Nothing else really jumped out me. I was more interested in foods at Walmart that we don't carry in the US like ketchup flavored potato chips (my kids wanted them) and a chip flavor they ahve called All Dressed Up which is like a BBQ/Salt and Vinegar kind of flavor. They also have some candy and other snacks we no longer carrry and things like Nesquick cereal.





Speaking of salt and vinegar, we were amused to see the Lays s&v bags up there are more of a sea green because the blue bags are Masala flavored. My son tried them at Subway but was not a fan.





And these swiss cheese crackers that I used to love as a kid. I used to talk about them all the time but my wife didn't remember them. But then years ago she found out they were still sold in Canada and she ordered me a case of them for Christmas one year! I bought them in Canada the last time we were there back in 2018 or whenever it was. I love these things for some reason. I don't know if you ever had these as a kid. I know they were around in the late 80s, not sure when they stopped selling them in the US. For years I'd walk to the cracker aisle grocery shopping with her and lament how I never see them anymore. And then one year, she found them!



10. Nah, I didn't ask. I just assumed with theft and places like Walmart they just stopped carrying. But I guess not according to Acid. So I'm not sure what the deal was. Plus my kids rarely even buy hard copies of video games as they usually just get digital downloads, so maybe it just isn't worth it to have them in store. They probably would sell more LEGOs anyway, lol.

[packerbacker180]

Get off my lawn!

The jokes on you. I went to a Canadian mall and left my old sneakers in your parking lot for a change!

And then I'm going to take your mother, Dorothy Mantooth, out for a nice seafood dinner and never call her again!

(I don't know if this is a nationwide thing, but when I worked at the JC Penney in the biggest/newest mall in our area when I was in my teens, we'd always get the Canadian shoppers and they'd buy shoes and wear them home to avoid paying taxes on them I assume? And you'd always see old pairs of sneakers strewn about the parking lots)

[BrandonDaCollector]

Thanks for answering My questions PB I see, so really in the USA they would be just a few dollars cheaper, not all that much of a difference then How in the would are they making a profit That's good that you went to Walmart too and at least he got a little something there as well. I know the interest in kids today has really changed and is far different than when we were kids I mean you have seen enough of My showcases to show you how I was a kid and what I was into then again I wasn't the sports kid but boy I sure loved the TMNT. No, I have no idea what about Jeffy. Yes, the DEI stuff, you gotta watch it, it's getting even more as their pushing so much I see about Kong, well that's good that he wanted him and that he was cheap, kids today really don't know how lucky they are with the Kaiju/Titan situation now because back in My day there was there was very little back then, same thing with Mario & Sonic. I see about the wrestling, man when I was a kid when the WWF LJN & Hasbro and WCW Galoob & Just Toys were available those were the times so were the Just WWF Toys & WCW & ECW OSTM & WCW ToyBiz ones were too. Okay, what a complicated question about Joes or Call of Duty...okay 1. Young Brandon would have chose Joes however, if it was something else like DOOM then DOOM all the way because it came out in 93 when Joes was still classic and 2. really by seeing those in your pics PB, they looked pretty niffy with the card art. I don't know if kids today go by that but I always did, still that is one of attractions for Me. You see in My showcases how I saved the Blister Cards & Bio Cards and stuff. I see about the chips. I'm a bit familiar with them dressed ones, not by Lays but by Old Vienna that is made in Fenton, Mo. I never knew about them Masala by Lays but its about India...I know there's a huge culture of India in Canada, in fact many wrestlers like Jinder Mahal & The Bollywood Boys are from there No, I don't recall them Swiss Cheese Crackers but boy they sure look good. That's great that your wife did that for you Packer Yeah, I don't know either, I know their pushing so hard of digital stuff In the future nobody is even gonna know what a true purchase much less what a rental was which is why it's so important for this generation to learn about so that doesn't happen

This was a wonderful thing to see and good journey. You took such good pics, thanks for your answering Packer

[packerbacker180]

Well, this past Sunday we decided to take the kids to see the new Despicable Me movie at the Transit Drive-in. It's the only one that still remains in the area. There were at least 4 more I recall being around when I was a kid in the 80s, but it's great that one is still around for the current generation of kids to go to. So few things last forever. I remember going to the drive-in a bit when I was a kid, but the only film I definitively remember seeing there was Ghostbusters. And I remember that for one reason, a story I know I've told on this site before. You see, back then my mother the was shoe department manager at an AM&A's (kind of like a Penney's or Macys store except it was 6-7 floors in downtown Buffalo. Anyway, when we were kids we'd often visit her, and we were allowed to hang out in the shoe stockroom which was a long room that was lined with 4-5 rows of floor to ceiling shelves of shoes. But after seeing Ghostbusters library scene was a little leery to go down those aisles all alone.



Hey, I was six in 1984!

Anyway, if you're interested in the history of the Lockport Drive-In there's a lot of info here...

https://www.transitdrivein.com/content/History

There's nothing inherently special about the place other than it's nostalgia factor. There's five screens, a concession stand, and in front of the first screen there's a miniature golf course ($5 per person) and a little playground to kill the time since the gates open at 7 and by mid summer it doesn't get dark enough until 9. So since my recent Canada trip got me in a photo taking mood, I decent to document the drive-in. So up first is the actual place. We got there just before 7 and it turned out that on Sundays the gates don't open until 8, lol. Oops. We were wondering why we were only the second car since it past times there'd be a bunch of cars in front of us by the time we got there since it's still a good 50 minute drive from home. Luckily, we'd gotten subs to take with us, so we just ate dinner while parked by the front gate. So I took some pictures there, and looking up through our sunroof I noticed for the first time that a certain nosy wall-crawler was staring at us from behind screen 1. I have no idea how many years he's been there.



There's also some cool paintings surrounding the miniature golf/playground area. It looks like one side must get a lot more sun because the paint is much more faded.

[packerbacker180]

Before the first show they play the National Anthem while a bunch of pictures from throughout US history are shown. It's kind of cool to see, and everyone was standing for it. The place was pretty full, too. And then in between the two movies they play the classic refreshment cartoons. They also play a short clip saying that drive-ins make most of their money from the concession stands, not from the movies, so to please frequent it. It cost us $55 for 5 people which is pretty good compared to Regal Cinemas and such, and a giant bucket of popcorn was only $9. I think the drinks alone are that at Regal.

[packerbacker180]

Now the real sights are in the concession stand. It's got a neat 50's vibe to it with matching music. One wall is lined with autographed 8x10s of celebs from throughout the years, as well as old posters. My daughter, who is currently in Europe until tomorrow, wasn't with us and she collects those little ducks from the machines so I won her a Tootsie Roll duck. My two boys tried Star Wars pinball. I was never a big pinball fan, Tommy. So here's so pics of the inside of the place, as well as the front sign all lit up since I hadn't decided to take pics until we were waiting in line for an hour, lol.

[packerbacker180]

Well, that's all of it. Hopefully you enjoyed this. Let me know if you still have a drive-in near you!

[BrandonDaCollector]

Yes, I recall your Ghostbuster story and about your Mom working at the shoe department at AM&A's. That is cool. How about that, you were 6 in 1984 I hope people here recall My stories because I have so much to tell. When people don't tell their stories, talks about their childhood especially like your's Packer and the people & places of their locality, it makes Me think that none of their past was special to them...I see so many people on Social Media talking about this & that, 9 and half times out of ten they never ever talk about preserving their past like the people they knew that owned great stores during their childhood & teenage years or even when they were a bit older. This is why so many things fall in this limbolic era. I think of this a lot of how society has become distancing themselves from such crucial matters What your doing PB is really good That's some good history there. This Drive-In experience was amazing to see. Your Drive-In is way fancier than what I had but then again it was very long time ago and times has changed significantly since then. I'll post about Mine that I've talked about before in a bit after I'm done talking about this That's really cool how there's those painted pictures there especially of the T-Rex, Luke & Vader. Oh yes, that's how theaters make their money. It's been like that for a long while. Like Marcus, you can watch a movie for $6 but oh boy if you want food that's where the pricing really starts. Now that's not a complaint though, they have really good food, a great alternative to any Burger and/or Pizza joint but with their rewards you can earn by getting free foods if you get enough points after a few visits. Like I said before, if anybody has a Marcus in their area (they are largest Theater chain in the country I mean they took over Wehrenberg for cryin' out loud), why would they go any day but Tuesday when you can see any film for only $6 on Value Tuesday I've never come to the conclusion about that That concession stand looks pretty good. Really I don't consider a lot of that snacks especially the Cheeseburgers & Pizza, that would be a great supper right there for Me. That Miniature Golf looked sweet. I would be up for that. That's cool they had a Bill & Ted poster there. What...a True Lies poster in between the restrooms True Lies was an epic film, I saw that about 4 times when it came out 30 years ago this year...I plan on spotlighting that soon. That's great they had two Three Stooges plaques there along with Home Alone's The Wet Bandits...now that is great comedy and smart of the Theater to have that Gosh, all of those move star plaques. Wow Stephen King's The Green Mile with Tom Hanks & Gladiator with Russell Crowe, two of My Mom's all-time faves, I've been thinking about them off an on over time and I gotta spotlight them soon. Oh man, Terrors at the Drive-In. What a selection there. Fright Night... WOW, they got GOT THE 35TH ANNIVERSARY of The Burbs One of My all-time fave movies...I gotta spotlight that because off and on I talk about it...how strange, they got Scream & I Still Know What You Did Last Summer...We just talked about that in My Horror Topic They should have these for Halloween unless their going to have more coming after this There's the new movie Trap and ALIEN ROMULUS I hope to see that new Alien film at the show when it comes out...fingers crossed That's a cool Arcade there with Star Wars Pinball and Arcade Classic, both looks tremendous. Good Claw Vending Machines there and congrats on getting that Tootsie Roll Duck for your Daughter Your pics were great PB

Nope, We do not have a Drive-In but We used too so please allow Me to share My experiences that I briefly talked about before. I hope people can relate to My stuff because I can relate to others because the stuff that Packer posted above I can clearly relate of how it is despite I've never been there. We had a Drive-In in Crestwood called "66" Park In Theater. It was quite historic as it was one of the first Drive-Inn Theaters ever known.



Here's this link to it's history if your interested which I think this one of the only web sites on the entire net that talks about it

https://www.cinematreasures.org/theaters/8620

Now it's called that because this theater only had 1 screen and it was 66 feet wide. This is much larger than today's IMAX screen. If you have ever seen a move on an IMAX screen then you know how massive that is at 55 feet wide. IMAX is a big way I prefer to see a movie, I love how loud it is too and all the details you can see on it and it's especially great with action films but oh man I love it when there's a horror movie on it too




SPECIAL NOTE: I had previously said that My Father Buddy worked at the Kenrick as a Projectionist. Well, he also worked at this one too as well as the other Drive-In further out that I talked about during one of My postings of K-SHE 95 a while back

Now recently in your Movie Trailers Topic PB, I revealed that My first ever Drive-In experience was with My Father Buddy. He wanted to see Good Morning Vietnam that was released in 1987. Back then I didn't care for movies like this, if it wasn't like Star Wars, Indiana Jones or My Science Project and especially even the movie that I discovered with him...Big Trouble in Little China then I wouldn't be that happy. I know I sat thru the Robin Williams flick and really couldn't tell you much of it. I'm not sure if there was another film with it or not...I just remember that one. I never forgotten about it nor the bad and good times that I had with My Father



Now, fast forward to 1992, I was with My Mom & her boyfriend Jasper. I spoken many of the times with him previously elsewhere on the board most particularly in My Showcases. There was 2 occasions that We went to the Drive-In "66" Park In Theater in Crestwood. We just got food like Nachos and maybe Fries and of course Soda. I was never a big Popcorn eater so most of the time I'd want something else like Fries & Nachos. I recall them kinda well. I liked using they the big wired speakers to the hear the movies. The first trip was this. We saw A League of Their Own and then Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I wasn't big on either film but from what recall they were okay. I knew whom many of the cast was and it was something seeing Madonna as a brunette because 2 years prior when I saw her in 1990's Dick Tracy on the big screen at The Kenrick she was blond. Of course seeing Tom Hans & Geena Davis was cool. Buffy was pretty good and still kinda during the classic days of school.

Now trip number 2 I found much better and more memorable as We saw The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. I had been wanting to see TNG2 for a while because I loved the first one and I had already seen T2 at The Kenrick many months previously which was absolutely huge for Me, it's still one of the biggest epics ever IMO. In TNG 2 I recall seeing the insane scenes with Dr. Meinheimer tied up and all of those things falling on his head and in T2 The absolute stunning scene when Sarah Connor escapes and she meets the T-800 and the T-1000 is after them Oh man hearing that sound even outside like that was totally awesome

So why didn't I have any experiences after that you ask Oh, that's because the brainiacs who ran the region wanted to close the great theater and had bigger ideas like building a shopping mall Well they got their wish because in 1993 they permanently closed "66" Park In Theater. Oh I remember how it was just there vacant just waiting to be demolished and a few short years later they would destroy it, level it out and all of that history, all of those moment I had with My Parents were gone They then built a shopping center there that consisted of a Best Buy and Barnes & Noble and of all places because this was right across the street from Crestwood Plaza. Now this whole are seems like a war zone happen, it's all gone or at least it's not the same. I just hope their parents, guardians, whomever teaching/telling their kids or anybody that doesn't know how wonderful this area once was and all what was here

So that is My memories of My Drive-In experiences. If I could have a Drive-In here again and see any new film i woudl do and especially if they were replaying something that i love like the Burbs, I would be there believe you Me. I hope there's others out there other and Packer doing this, this was really cool

[packerbacker180]

Cool memories. I remember seeing A League of Their Own in a movie theater when it came out. And T2 I saw as part of a friend's birthday party. Pretty sure I mentioned that before. I've never actually seen all of Good Morning, Vietnam, though I can reclall my parent's watching it on TV. I think it may've even been a movie rental. Buffy I remember seeing on HBO first. Nake Gun 2 1/2 I'm pretty sure was a movie rental I asked to see as soon as it came out. It's a shame you don't have access to a drive-in. It's a fun and different experience than a regular theater.