The Holiday Twin is my favorite theater in Fort Collins, allowing visitors to hang out at the base of Horsetooth, watch great films, and maybe see a shooting star or two.

After our friends over at WKDQ in Evansville wrote about their "unspoken drive-in rules", I realized we have quite a few unspoken rules here as well...and if you don't abide, you'll get dirty looks and maybe a honk or two.

Here are the actual rules that the Holiday Twin requires, but below are mine, as a frequent visitor of the drive-in:

  1. Ask your kids to please be respectful. Look, I get it. Kids are unpredictable in a big open space like this and want to burn off their pent-up energy. If they're screaming in your backseat during an intense scene, however, or throwing a football back and forth right in my direct line of sight to the screen, maybe it's time to put them in time-out?
  2. Support the Holiday Twin's snack bar. Believe me, I'm all about sneaking snacks into a regular movie theater, but the Holiday Twin isn't like those corporate giants, so support their local business and buy snacks at the snack bar instead of bringing in your own. They've got much fairer prices than a normal movie theater, plus cheeseburgers on the grill...and those are amazing.
  3. Don't have your phone out the whole time. Again, we're outdoors, so it's no big deal to check the time or send a text every now and again. However, it's dark, and those tiny screens can be bright. For the most part, plan to shut it down, just for the movie.
  4. Watch the car alarm. Every single time I go to the drive-in, at least three car alarms go off. Seriously, it's annoying, and ruins the vibe. Maybe leave someone with the car while the movie's playing, or leave the doors unlocked...you don't want to be that guy.
  5. Turn off your interior lights! I've made this mistake before— my car is in accessory mode, but I didn't check to make sure all the interior lights are off. BOOM, my battery's dead. It's an easy fix, but for your own sake, check that the only thing on inside the car is your radio so you don't have to look for a jump when the movie's over.
  6. Buy your tickets in advance online. Lines for the drive-in get long, and you can't always guarantee your ticket. The easiest thing to do is to buy your tickets on their website— you don't even have to print it out. Just show your ticket when you drive-up and you don't have to fumble with cash or your card. Easy peasy!
  7. Save the makeout sesh for later. Seriously. We can all see you.
  8. Ask your dog to please be respectful. I absolutely love that the Holiday Twin allows pets, but if Fido's barking throughout the whole show, he might, like your kids, need a time-out.
  9. Bring more blankets than you think you'll need. Even when it's a hot day out, bring a million blankets. It gets incredibly cold at night, and you don't want to leave early because your feet are frozen.
  10. Stop. Flashing. Your. Headlights. Turn 'em off. LEAVE 'EM OFF. Especially if you're in the front row. No one wants a good scene ruined by someone's bright lights, so just leave them off. Please.

Most of all, go support the drive-in, since it's one of our most unique local businesses in Fort Collins and deserves all the love it can get. You don't get a movie-going experience like this anywhere else, so pack up the blankets, grab your pup, and get ready for a great time.

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