What Makes The Drive-In Theater In Amarillo Worth Visiting

Amarillo, Texas, is home to several hidden gems. We have some fantastic restaurants, interesting landmarks, a minor league baseball team with an infectious and wacky name, and a drive-in theater. That drive-in theater is possibly one of my favorite parts of Amarillo.

Here is what makes Tascosa Drive-In Theater in Amarillo, Texas worth the trip.

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We're fortunate to have a drive-in still. Several people I know have never seen one, much less have gone to one. The most I knew about drive-ins growing up came from TV or that one scene from Grease.

After making a few trips to Tascosa Drive-In, I fell in love with this unique piece of Amarillo. The staff is friendly, my kids love the playground, and the privacy of watching from my vehicle just can't be beat.

This last weekend was their all-night horror movie marathon. The ticket price included five movies through the course of the night, and you were encouraged to bring a tent. The marathon started at sundown and didn't end until sunrise.

We arrived early and were surprised at the line of cars waiting for the gates to open. People were lining up almost an hour early to get in. The man at the ticket booth was friendly and made sure we had all the info we needed to make the most out of the trip.

While we waited for the movies to start, my kids decided to go have some fun at the playground area. It sits right below the screen. There's a giant metal slide; like the kind I grew up with on the school playground. They have swings and even a pretty decent-sized merry-go-round. The kids spent most of their time flying in circles at breakneck speeds.

Once the movies started, several things caught my attention. One, the audio quality of the films is better than expected. There were only a few occasions where I noticed something was off, or it felt like something was interfering with the broadcast.

In case you didn't know, they broadcast the film's audio via FM radio. On the few occasions where something wasn't quite right, it was fixed and the show went on. I appreciated the devotion to making sure patrons get their money's worth.

The picture quality was good. The concession stand does a great job.

I reclined in my vehicle, and even though I was surrounded by people, there were no distractions. One thing I hate about going to the theater is having to deal with all of the distractions.

One big thing that stood out to me came at the end of the night. We sat through all five movies, which ended before the sun came up. An announcement was made that since the sun wasn't up, we were getting a sixth film. They made sure we got our money's worth.

The Tascosa Drive-In is showing its age, and over the past several years there have been numerous issues. Numerous repairs have been done just to keep the place up and running.

I hope that more can be done with the drive-in. While the big chain theaters offer the latest and greatest in tech and leather recliners, there's a certain charm to a local theater you can't get anywhere else, especially at the drive-in.