Winchester Drive-In

I can remember sneaking friends into the Winchester back in the early seventies. Although I don’t recommend putting them in the trunk anymore. It is still a great place forty years later.

So far so good, we are prepared, I brought the boom box. I figure if we stay for both movies, it would run the car battery down because these days you use your car radio or a portable radio to listen to the movie, no more hanging clunky speakers off open windows. It only cost $ 10 for my two children and I. That’s a great deal! We brought a bucket of grilled KFC and drinks saving even more money. This is the first drive in my youngest child, Annabelle, 3, has ever been to. We arrived early so I guess it’s a great time to teach her some of the instant debilitating choke holds and instant death pressure point strike locations I learned in Special Operations for her future drive in movie trips without me… The movies we have come to see are Andreis with «The Rock» Dwayne Johnson and second feature is the newly made Mad Max sequel. Parking is well organized and they have spots arranged so that larger vehicles with lift up rear hatches park in the back of each row to ensure if they leave the hatch up with vehicle facing backwards, the hatch doesn’t block anyone’s view! Looking around, it reminds me of high school and my times at the drive in. Concession goods are looking pretty good with a decent selection and prices are not that bad at all. I’ve attached a picture of program covering prices, menu, and rules.

$ 12 total for two people to see two movies? Works for me. Hercules and Guardians of the Galaxy (insert plug here for GotG. Seriously. So good. Might see it a third time and I hardly ever go to movies) this time around.
Note: Get there early. If the movie starts at 7:45, it would be smart to get there at 6:45 — 7:20ish. Or your crappy spot is all on you, buddy.
The staff is really good about directing where vehicles need to park (such as trucks at yellow poles, cars at silver), and they were friendly about telling us to move our car up a bit more with the pole to avoid a truck coming up behind us and bumping into us. They’re also firm enforcers when it comes to headlights being turned off. It made me chuckle to hear someone come over the radio right before a movie and tell people to turn their lights off (because they –were– on). Why do you even need your headlights on? It wasn’t dark, and with the screen it’s never dark enough to warrant the need of them.
The concessions looked better price than those at the theater, but we didn’t partake since we had just eaten. You’re able to bring your own drinks it looks like, as long as it’s in plastic.
The movies started on time and there were no sound or picture problems to be had! In case you didn’t know, they no longer use the speakers outside of the cars. Instead, you tune into a radio station for the sound which I find to be way better. If I went in a truck, I’d bring a handheld radio and use headphones, honestly. There wasn’t a particular noise problem, but having something directly in your ears seems more immersive.
My only gripe is about the bathrooms. Pretty sure none of the stalls locked and they are tiny. So tiny. The lock thing is more concerning, though. Such as, sometimes a door is just barely shut so you tap on it to see if anyone is occupying it. If it tilts in, it’s free. Right? No, sometimes it doesn’t have a functioning lock and there’s a little girl inside. So, ya know, be wary of that. Actually, it’s a lot easier when there’s a line. Sounds dumb, but it was rather organize. Someone leaves a stall, another person goes in. But the first time I went was during Hercules so it wasn’t busy.

Definitely a dated place. Restrooms utilize giant body wash bottles for hand soap (which are diluted down repeatedly). They are the kind that you find in the thrift store or on the clearance shelf due to the horrid nature of the smell. The price list they hand you at the entrance is a partial lie. The prices of most items are different and some of the ones on there just plain aren’t carried. I do like that they enforce the headlight rules and the large vehicle parking. I just wish they’d cut down the random poles in the middle of the parking area as they like to jump out and bite your vehicle in the dark. For the price, can’t complain too much and would return.

Save ur money and Dont go to this drive in, it’s very bad bad bad. The movies play for months sometimes, the owner is very very unprofessional & they sale to many tickets on the weekends & some weekdays that there’s no more parking left and owner will give NO REFUNDS for their mistake. Food is Nasty! Don’t lose hope on a great Drive In experience, I found a very nice one in Chickasha (Chief Drive In) & is well worth the drive.

I always enjoy going to the Winchester drive in a couple times a summer to get a good deal. They used to do 3 movies for 6 dollars a person but this year they moved it to 2 movies for 6 dollars still a good deal.
I always enjoy playing the arcade games during the intermission and i was happy to see they brought in a new game.
However that is about all the good in my review.
The bad parts about coming to the drive in is the bathrooms. If you have never gone to Winchester drive in and your a guy expect no privacy whatsoever their are no doors on the stalls and the bathrooms look like they have never been clean, and there is usually no soap in the dispensers.
My last criticisms about the drive in is expect an argument whenever you speak to the owner about the movies playing. I wanted to ask how long the chimpanzee movie was going to be there because neither me or my parents wanted to see it and the owner turned my original question into a game of 20 questions on why we didn’t want to see it.
The biggest complaint is that the owner seems to have gotten lazy about replacing the movies. While the avengers movie was good they played it around 6 weeks this summer nearly all in a row and we were not going to want to watch the other movie that was playing since we didn’t feel like watching the avengers for the 3^rd time.
Either way it is a fun experience to come to the drive in for a fun cheap time just pray that you never have to go to the bathrooms, unless you have your own hand sanitizer.

One of the last drive-​ins. Great feel, and it’s atmosphere is superb. Food is horrible so bring something with u. The station is crystal clear. The picture is really good if u don’t park to close. I go almost every weekend and it’s awesome.

I’ve never left a negative review, however, Ol’ Lindy Shanbour (owner) must have been in a particularly crotchety mood last week and forced me to do it this time. My wife and I were loyal patrons of Winchester for some time. Until last week, our experiences were always great.
Prelim–
1. Show began thirty minutes before schedule while the sun was still up. No big deal but more annoying than the movie starting late.
2. Theater was overcrowded with more than a couple people who decided that they would leave their vehicles running loud enough that everyone who was a REAL drive-in’er had difficulty hearing. Admittedly not completely Lindy’s fault but it was a nuisance.
3. Halfway through the first movie, Lindy’s security guard tells us that we are parked in a «trucks only» space and that we needed to move to the only other available spot, directly in front of a man and his young daughter. We didn’t want to obstruct the view of the man and his daughter (Kung Fu Panda 2!). Thanks Security guard.
Dealbreaker–
–Out of courtesy to the man and his daughter we didn’t move our car in front of their clear view but instead parked it at the very rear of the lot while keeping our chairs in the same spot. The noise of engines running just drowned out the sound so we left, hoping to try again on Monday or Tuesday when less crowded. Getting a refund for our attendance was a whole ‘nother issue and Lindy’s attitude toward me and my wife was the ultimate breaking point. He yelled and screamed at us, claiming that we weren’t allowed to leave once the movie started. I attempted to calm him down by stating that we just couldn’t see/​hear/​enjoy the movie on that particular evening and would try again later in the week. Ol’ Lindy just shouted that he never wanted us back in his theater again. After that, he said he wouldn’t give us a refund unless we gave him back the infinitesimally small pieces of torn paper he had given us for entry tickets. Ridiculous but we found and gave them to him nonetheless after which he waived the cash at us while spouting whatever insult came to his mind. I simply snatched the refund from his hand and drove off, albeit with an air of sadness because I’ve always had an affinity for the old drive in theater.
Lindy, you would have gotten so much more business from us, our family, and friends if you had only been a little more understanding. We had brought a friend that evening and it was her first ever trip to the drive-​in. We weren’t trying to cheat you or cause a stir. We just wanted to enjoy the experience. I guess when you’re a grumpy old man you needn’t care about the youngins and their experiences at your establishment. Sadly, much like yourself, the drive-​in days are numbered. Oklahoma is one of the last places these things even exist anymore and after my experience with you, I can’t help but think that maybe it wasn’t just a trend that died. Maybe it was killed by poor management. Maybe not, but in the least I doubt this was the image your brothers had in mind.

Drive-​in movie theater — we still have one of those here and they do triple features all summer. It’s fun experience I would recommend everyone try once. It makes me feel like I’m in in the 1950’s, like The Outsiders or something.