The Cinema in 3D!

The Costa Urbana Shopping Mall.

In a way, this is a followup to my Costa Urbana Mall and boardwalk post. In that one, I mentioned how I would be returning to this mall to watch a movie playing in their theater multiplex. I know they have at least 3 theaters. I can't remember if there was a fourth or not. 

As strange as it sounds, this is the first time that I've been to a movie theater here in Uruguay. I'm kind of glad that I waited and was able to go to the cinema with some experts.

These 3 are sisters, Melany, Katherine and Aphril. They know that I have a blog and wanted to become famous! Here they are giving an Hola/Hello! out to my readers. They were kind enough to invite me along with them this past Sunday to watch a 3D animated movie playing at the mall.

If you readers know anything about me it's that I love a bargain and also that I try to let my readers experience everyday life here in Uruguay and share situations vicariously through me and my expat eyes.

First of all, the people here are so considerate! We were all going to take the bus to the mall but they wanted to make sure we all traveled together. So even though I live in the opposite direction from the mall and from these 3 sisters, rather than risking the chance we might not meet, they had their father drive them back to my bus stop. I was given a time to wait for them and sure enough they all hopped out of their fathers' truck at my stop. Then all 4 of us waited for the bus to come and we hopped on together. They have student bus passes (a yearly pass) so we could only choose the two bus companies that accepted their passes. Still, we only let a few busses pass us by and then an approved one came along and off we went. I paid 29 pesos for a one way trip.

The 3D movie was well advertised, as the posters show on the mall's escalator. The cineplex is upstairs. In my last post I didn't show much of the inside of the mall so this time I took a few snap shots.

The second shot shows just a bit of the upstairs food court with that chinese stand "Canton Palace" that I mentioned in my last post. Prices for a meal (that serve two nicely) are about 210 to 350 pesos. That's kind of expensive ($10 to $15) but that's why I mentioned the large portions and it's a novelty food here. Yet, I digress! On to the movies!

Normally, the prices for a non-3D show are:

Friday through Sunday and Holidays cost for Adults, 170 Pesos (Viernes a Domingo Y Feriados). Children under 12 and senors over 60 get in for 130 Pesos. Senors need to show their senor gold card. 

Monday through Thursday showings cost Adults 140 Pesos and kids and senors pay 100 Pesos each.

Movies shown in 3D and yes, there are those 3D glasses handed out to you to watch the show with when you enter, those are naturally a higher entrance price.  A 3D movie costs 210 pesos for Friday to Sunday and Holidays showings. I didn't see a price break for children or senors.

Mondays through Thursdays showings cost 170 pesos. Again, I saw no discount written for Children or Senors.

Now here is where I mention that I was glad I had my "expert movie goers" with me. Apparently Antel, the telecommunications network for Uruguay sponsors promotions for their clients. They offer a 3D movie special: 2x1 deal for 210 pesos. It's the same price any day of the week but for that price not only do 2 people get in for only one price but that promotion includes pop (pepsi cola) and Popcorn!

The 2x1 promo included soda pop and popcorn with our ticket.

An interesting thing to note is that the popcorn served here is sweeten not buttered like in the states. One time I went to England and to a movie house there and they also serve their popcorn sweetened and with salt.  My experts were savvy enough to ask for a bag to hold our popcorn carton in, how clever! Any popcorn that falls just falls back into the plastic bag to be retrieved later. Not everyone knew to ask for a bag but we 4 had ours!

Normally, The popcorn/soda pack costs 120 pesos for a large soda with popcorn and 115 pesos for a medium soda size. I also saw an Apple juice box and popcorn combo offered for 94 pesos a slightly healthier option. We didn't have to buy this as it was included in the 2x1 deal.  You get a medium pepsi and popcorn with the promo but we were accidentally given 4 large pepsis instead. It wasn't until later and our drinks were half gone that we realized our cup sizes were larger than others. Oh, well! We must have looked thirsty.

I knew that I would probably get in trouble if they saw my camera inside the theater so I grabbed these two quick pictures of the girls and I modeling our 3D glasses and then promptly put my camera away.

Oh yes, this movie was completely in Spanish but since it was one of those animated ones it was easy to follow and I really enjoyed it! The only thing that almost tripped me up, language wise, was that I thought the female character was the guys wife when later on I realized she was his daughter! OOPS!

It was clear that I still need to work on my Spanish but I figured out my mistake quite quickly.

Most Uruguayos here have cell phones and they seem to be on them 24/7. However, It was great that these girls had theirs on them as well since in order to take advantage of the 2 for 1 deal you have to call up Antel and let them know what time the show is that you want to go to. They then call you back leaving you a message with a code to give to the ticket taker. The information is at the ticket counter on what to do but it would be better to do this before arriving at the theater.  Here's the information to use.

call on your phone        *789*2*2#send  confirm opt.1     you will receive a message with the code.

(llamada por teléfono)   *789*2*2#send  confirme opt.1       (Recibirás un mensaje con el código.)

After the movie let out it was dark and we waited together for the bus ride home. They got off first, at their stop, and I continued on for a little while longer than hopped off the bus and walked home under a clear and starry night. I was glad they had invited me. It was a fun night out with the girls/Las chicas!!!