Des Moi, IA Where should we see the midnite show of ROTS?

My preference is for Merle Hay. I went to see TPM and AOTC there and they are by far, one of the most friendliest establishments towards fans. TPM was a bit of a mess, but they learned from that and AOTC was very orderly. We were all issued numbers and could each hold up to four places in line. The management also let us enter the theater 3 hours prior to the Midnight showing so we could get away from the bugs and whatnot. Furthermore, 800+ seats. I believe the Century 20 comes close to this with one or two of their theaters, but there's no guarantee that we'd get tix for that theater. Also, MHM is a bit more centrally located whereas Wynnsong and Century are WNW of town.

 

Merle Hay is fine with me, as long as there's room for Austin, Kris, and friends to put on their show...

 

What kind of show were you planning on putting on?

 

Merle Hay is the place to go! The Show he is talking about is our Lightsaber fight we put on for each movie. If you were there for TPM and AOTC at Merle Hay opening day then you might have seen us. This year we have 5 people going at it. Last movie we had 4, and 2 for the first movie!

Austin-

 

MHMC will be showing Episode 3. I have no doubt that they will have a midnight opening as they have in previous years with Episodes 1 and 2.

MHMC is hands down the best theatre in the DM area for seeing Star Wars since they closed the River Hills.

I was first in line at the Hills back in '99 for Episode 1 and that was a lot of fun. We had a really great time.

The Episode 2 lineup at MHMC in '02 for "Clones" was completely botched from beginning to end and was horribly mismanaged. And we were'nt in the theater 3 hours early. It was 5 hours. I remember lining up at 7:00 PM to get inside. And getting into the theater 5 hours earlier was a horrible decision. I don't know about you but sitting in a confined auditorium with 800 other people who haven't showered in a while is not my idea of a good time. The woman running the thing (and I use the term loosely) originally wanted it so that once you entered the theater, you couldn't leave. I pray that the lineup for 3 won't be anything like 2 was.

The general consensus amongst the people camping out is that they just want to line up, camp out, and see the movie. We don't care about frivelous activities such as costume contests, trivia, or crappy fan films. Just let me come watch my movie and stay out of the way

 

No way man, i totally disagree with you. The line for Episode 2 was AWESOME. You are the first one I've heard say otherwise. I loved the fact there was a costume contest (I was Darth Maul). I loved the small screen in the corner showing fan films. I even loved the trivia contest. It made the wait go by so fast, especially for those of us that camped out the night before!

Long Live the Emperor!

Austin-

 

Well that's fine and I'm glad you had a good time but in my opinion the Episode 2 lineup at MHMC was vastly inferior to the Episode 1 lineup at River Hills.

I talked to a lot of people at the Episode 2 lineup and there were a lot of disgruntled people.

The costume contest was totally weak since only about 12 people participated. It's pretty bad when someone is pretending to be a Jedi with only a bathrobe on. The only decent costume was a single stormtrooper and that whole novelty wore off a long time ago. I don't remember who the kid was that dressed up like Darth Maul at Episode 1 at the River Hills but that was a pretty good costume.

The trivia contest was even worse because half the people they pulled up to the front couldn't answer even the most basic of questions. We were left wondering if half of these people had even seen the movies!

I got in line at 5:00 AM and camped out all day. Everything during the day was pretty fun but when they started herding us into the theatre five hours before showtime, that's when things slowed to a crawl. As I recall, most of the crowd got pretty restless and you can tell people were bored with the pre-show stuff.

I seriously hope the woman that had organized the Episode 2 campout is as far away from this one as possible. Her bossiness and condescending attitude were not appreciated at all. The theater management needs to take better control of things. Just let people line up and then let them into the theatre 1 1/2 - 2 hours in advance. It takes about a good 45-60 minutes to fill up the 800 seats of the MHMC. Get everyone in and give them time to get situated and purchase popcorn and then start the movie.

I come to see the movie, not see some 30 year-old guy in a bathroom not know the answer to the question of what number is on the door of the Death Star trash compactor.

 

Howdy! I'm from the FanForce down the road in Kansas City, though I'm originally from Iowa so I'm up in that area once in a while.

So, I have a question for you all: Do any of the theatres have digital projection (not just sound) in DM (if there's a new theatre at the new mall out in WDM, perhaps)? Looks like a couple of us HOTA folks will miss out on our group's trip to see RotS on the digial screen in Wichita because we'll be in the Des Moines area opening weekend, so I was hoping maybe you guys had something up there.

 

No such luck.

 

No, unfortunately making any of the theaters at Jordan Creek digital would have made too much sense. I do think we are planning a road trip sometime after the movie opens so that we can see it in a digital theater in Wichita. Maybe we can meet and all go together, gandalf? We will be at Merle Hay on opening night. Although I was living in Denver during AOTC's release, hopefully MHMC will have their act together and make it worthwhile. I know Austin's show will be worth waiting for.

 

Oh, and I got my Empire patch sewn onto my coveralls, so I'll wear my costume. I plan on lining up after work, a quick supper, and an even quicker shower on the 18th. I don't care about being first, as long as I get into the first showing.

 

It's a shame we still don't have digitial projection in the DM area yet. I was really hoping Jordan Creek would have got it. I was fortunate enough to see Episode 2 at Mann's Chinese Theater in L.A. with digital projection and the difference in quality is as clear as night and day.

I was really hoping MHMC would be the first theater in Iowa to get digital projection since they were the first to get THX certification for sound. Unfortunately the MHMC doesn't get a lot of recognition and a lot of people still have no idea it exists.

I hope whoever is in charge of the line has their act together this time as well. I will say this of the actual crowd though. They were fantastic. It's amazing to see a brand new Star Wars movie for the first time with 800 other dedicated fans. And you definately have to be dedicated to wait in line that long.

 

GREAT idea Hothie. Drop me a PM or email and we can talk about it, but I know it would have to be after Memorial Day. I know some of the KC folks are road-tripping to wichita either opening weekend or memorial weekend, but AFTER that maybe some of you could get w/ us stragglers from KC (and any stragglers from Wichita) and have a little outing.

 

Memorial Day might be a good time for a road trip, although I have no idea what other people have planned.
I'm open for after then, too, if that doesn't work out for everyone. Considering peoples' schedules, we might end up sending 2 groups, maybe those that can do Memorial Day and those that will have to do it later.

 

I called up Merle Hay Mall Cinema the other evening to get the scoop on the line-up there and see if they were even booked to get the movie. With the whole Mann's Chinese Theatre fiasco, it showed that nothing is safe.

The good news is that they will indeed by showing Revenge of the Sith as they have in years past with a midnight viewing. The employee I spoke to was very enthusiastic about getting it. He directed me to the MHMC website to get all of the details about the lineup and the early ticket purchase times. Looks like they've put a lot of though and effort into getting things organized in advance of the lineup and I think it should be a lot of fun. Check out the link for more info...

Midnight Showing Information @ MHMC

 

Hello everyone. East side SW's fan who just found TheForce.net saying hello.

Anyway, I agree MHM is the best theater to see any big flick since River Hills closed. (Alas, poor River Hills, I knew you well). I already have a couple days off from work so I'll be there bright and early at 6am. I was planning on camping out but the MHM site is asking folks not to. Now to decide if I'm gonna wear a costume or not...

 

Hi all, I was on Yahoo and the MH theatre wasn't registered as a THX theatre, later after purchasign our tickets via fandango for century 20 (7 of them ) I checked the THX registry and found out it was. Me and about 5 people are coming up form Burlington dressed in costume.

 

I can guaruntee you that the MHMC is in fact THX certified. It was the first THX theater built in Iowa. A few years ago it got upgraded to THX Surround EX which not a lot of theaters have. Plus, unlike a lot of the pussy theater chains, they aren't afraid to actually turn the volume up. Combine that with the biggest screen in the state and an 800 seat auditorium and you've got yourself one of the best places around to have a true Star Wars movie experience. There's not other place I'd rather see it (aside maybe from Mann's Chinese Theater). If you can, I'd suggest refunding your tickets for the showing at the Century and join the rest of us at MHMC.

 

Thats the plan, just need to drive to Des Moines Sunday and pick up advanced tickets, my entourage grows daily right now its 12 people going to convoy to Des Moines.

let em see here how to fit 6 people in an Altima... I geuss some oen is riding in the trunk


Jedi_Trem

 

I jsut cancelled my tickets to Century 20... now I have to run up to Des oines this Sunday to purches EP3 tickets... thats 5 hours of driving I have to make to make sure I am able to attend!

By the way gusy what is the easiest way to get to MHM from I 80 comign from Iowa City unless someone knows a better way from Burlington?


Thanks,

Jedi_Trem

 

I-80 is probably the best way. Take that into Des Moines. Turn onto Merle hay road, then head south (back under the interstate) for, what, not quite 10 blocks. The theater is on the north side of the mall.

 

Austin, I think I have found people for my other 2 tickets. Aly from Lincoln says she is going to try and work something out so that she won;t have to work Thursday, so she can come out Wednesday and watch it with us. And Taylor, my nephew, will try and talk my brother into letting him watch it, even though it's a school night.

 

I have two tickets for MHM that I need to unload. I was planning on going with a big group of friends but I was the only one to buy any before they sold out, so everyone is going to JC20 now. I'll be trying to sell them at MHM tomorrow, but I'll check here first for PMs or messages from anyone looking to buy them.

 

Are you lining up at Jordan Creek? I heard that they weren't allowing anyone to line up over there. I'm in line right now at MHMC and despite the weather, it's been great. Much better organized than last year. It's a good atmosphere.