Anticipating "The Hunger Games"

My daughter has loved one perk I've been lucky to have: The ability to see movies early.

Problem is, I didn't get to see this ONE, The Hunger Games, early. DISAPPOINTMENT! It was as if I were telling her Santa doesn't exist. (But honey, he does if you believe...)

Luckily, another mom asked if my daughter was interested in going with a few girls. Of course! Now, I did try to talk her into going to the dine-in theater over the weekend. But NO! How could I make her wait??? Didn't I realize she's read ALL three books and CAN'T WAIT to see the movie?


Besides, it would be social detriment if she isn't able to see before Spring Break ends. That's a possibility if I pushed it to the weekend. Life gets busy.

So I went ahead and bought an advanced ticket. NOTE: If you have a Costco membership, those Ultimate VIP Harkins gift cards (now $15.99 for two passes at the warehouse by me) work for special events such as this. Well, the gal accepted my Ultimate VIP pass. Saved me a bit that can go towards the snacks I will need to get.

Now I just have to figure out HOW EARLY to line up. I don't want to spend my Thursday in line. Got lots to do. I'm debating how we do this.

I do know that if you are thinking of letting your tween go on his or her own, check your local municipality's curfew rules. It's a big reason I'm foregoing sleep.

In the meantime, this is the advice I got for staying sane and having a good experience from Melissa Rich of Harkins Theatres, whom I've worked with on several occasions during my time at the newspaper. She always offers great tips:

-Buy tickets early! If you haven’t bought your tickets yet you can still get them at www.harkinstheatres.com or at your theatre’s box office. Whiles the Cine Capri’s at Scottsdale 101 and Tempe Marketplace are sold out for the midnights, there are plenty of other screens (even at those locations) to see the movie on at midnight. With digital projection we can show the movie on every screen in the complex if we have to!

-There’s always those die hard fans who will camp out all day to get the best seat. If you already have your tickets, plan on getting to the theater as early in the evening as you can. For Harry Potter and Twilight we saw lines wrapped around the buildings, and the way Hunger Games tickets have been selling, this is on track to be just as big a phenomenon.

-For other big midnight showings, we’ve seen people entertaining themselves in line with books, games, laptops, iPads, etc. People like to re-read the books right before they see the movie, others like to watch previous film in a series — though that doesn’t apply here...yet!

-For those who bring chairs, canopy’s sleeping bags, etc. for the wait in line, we won’t allow those items in the theatres, but there will be plenty of time to bring them back to your car.

Good luck!