West Wind El Rancho 4 Drive-In

The big key is to get here early. We didn’t buy anything from the concession stand so I don’t have any feedback.
Drive ins remind me of movies at the park except with cars so expect to see kids running around unsupervised, people walking around bare feet, and hear side conversations. It’s a fun thing to do on a nice summer night… with a small or large group of people. Oh… and no dogs allowed which was a bummer for us.

I love this drive in! The movies are the newest and best, but best of all– the concessions are reasonably priced!!! Coming here is better and more fun than going to the regular movie theater. I’m so glad we have this gem here!

Always enjoy going to drive-​ins. Took my fiancé there for her first drive-​in had a great time I’d recommend it to anybody if you haven’t already gone.

My family and I LOVE going to the West Wind Drive-​In! We go often and actually just got home a bit ago from the Free Movie Night.
We love that we can bring in our own food and drinks, hang out inside our van on the cooler nights or bring lawn chairs during warmer weather, and enjoy an experience that most people don’t have the opportunity to these days. There are only 300-​something drive-​ins in existence today and we are fortunate to have a great one right here!
They usually have double features (if you can stay awake long enough). Tickets are $ 7.50 for adults, $ 1.25 for 5 – 11, and 4 & under are free. Tuesday nights are family nights and the tickets are $ 5.25. That’s a great price for just one movie, but if you see both movies… it’s a steal!
I have only had concessions there a couple of times and they are normal quality and prices for theaters, but they also seem to have more coupons and deals. They have a mailing list to get coupons.
My biggest tip has to do with getting there early. We definitely prefer to get there when the gates open (which change sometimes for busy nights). What they don’t tell you and you unfortunately have to learn on your own the hard way if you are first in line for your movie and your movie is at screen 1… is that you need to line up with the people going to see the movie at screen 2 (even if you are seeing the movie on screen 1). I am not sure if this is on all nights or just the slower ones (definitely wasn’t tonight for the free movies, though). Basically, if you pull up and see that your gate is open while the others are still closed, you are not supposed to be in that lane. That is for employees to arrive if they are late, etc. Nobody tells you this! People will give you dirty looks like you are an imbecile, because you don’t know this unwritten law and are evidently trying to cut in front of someone… probably them… When this happened to me, I left plenty of room for people to get around me in case they had it open for employees (because I couldn’t figure out any other reason to have a gate open early), but I was then ignored by the employees (other than some scalding looks from them, too) who then put up cones to block my entrance as they opened the other gates and let the rest in (from the line beside me) before I and the cars behind me could enter. When I asked at the ticket booth about it, so I can know what to do next time, etc, she just repeated my radio frequency for our movie in a way that basically said that she wasn’t going to talk about it or something. I can somewhat understand this and the looks if I was being rude or belligerent, but I totally wasn’t. Maybe that is the usual response and they just assumed anyone mentioning it was going to end up there, so they shouldn’t even begin to discuss it. Not a good business practice. Anyway, I have seen this happen to others several times, too. This is the only big complaint I have. It’s not a problem that they are not using that lane, just write up a sign or something and if you don’t have a sign, don’t be so rude to the unsuspecting customer who falls into the trap.
As for their bathrooms that others have complained about. I have only visited them shortly after arriving and they are always clean at that time, so I would just encourage you to follow my lead on that. This way you should not have to wait in line and you won’t miss any of the movie either.
If you have not been to the drive-​in, you really should! It’s a wonderful summertime activity and a great way to make some memories. You are not just watching a movie; it’s a whole event.

My family went to the drive in to see Zootopia and Star Wars. The sound malfunctioned for the last half an hour of Zootopia and in the first 10 minutes of Star Wars. We let the employees know, then contacted the company. I was told they could not refund my money, they offered to mail me passes. When I let them know that we were from out of town and that it wouldn’t work, they did not respond.
It was an awful experience with 5 children and waste of money.

I love the drive-​ins and my boyfriend and I have both been coming here since we were kids. Having said that, we had a pretty bad experience last night. We went with family including two toddlers to see our first drive-​in movie of the year and 15 minutes into the movie, all four screens went out. People started honking immediately but thankfully the honking died down after a few minutes and while some people started to leave, most seemed content to wait it out patiently. I decided to head to the bathroom since there was a break in the action and in there, I overheard some pre-​teen girls talking about how the screens were not coming back on and everyone would get refunds. I stopped by the concession stand and confirmed this with the employees so I hustled back to the cars and told my group that we needed to pack up and get in line to leave and get our refunds, since the line was steadily growing. Of course, the the toddlers both started having meltdowns and I felt very bad for them and their parents as they had a long wait ahead of them to leave. Even still, most people were still waiting for the movie to come back on because there was not any attempt made by the staff to let people know what was going on. The only thing they did was put up a white board on the way out saying that the power had gone out and refunds would be available. You wouldn’t be able to see it unless you were already in line to get out. I get that the malfunction was totally out of their control and maybe they were trying to avoid a huge rush to the exit by letting people figure it out on their own but still, we waited over 30 minutes to get out since they were filing cars thru 1 booth to get refunds. Why not set up traffic cones and open up a second booth to make the process go more quickly? I know there were many who ended up waiting much longer than we did to leave and I’m sure the staff had to deal with their fair share of angry customers. We opted for the free passes to another movie in lieu of refunds because we know we will be back, but the whole situation was handled rather poorly last night.
Also, they keep raising their prices each year but the whole place has remained unchanged for years and could use some updates. Hopefully this whole experience last night was a major fluke (or a sign that they need to update their equipment because while the whole thing was blamed on a power outage, the lights in the bathrooms, concession and projection areas were still on) since we love the drive-​ins and go many times throughout the summer. The double features still make it a good value for the money.

I’ve tried to think of things to complain about, so that I don’t give a perfect review. I’ve only thought of one. But, I like to start with the positive vs the negative.
Everything positive about this place is «relaxed».
The staff at the snack bar is incredibly friendly. I was actually a little weirded out by how friendly and welcoming they were the first time we went here. After a few times, it was simply something that I can expect. They’ve never disappointed.
The deal, itself, is tough to beat. I can go there with my two kids and wife and spend $ 20. For this, we see two movies. We see them in our car, where we can be comfortable, where my kids can sleep undisturbed, or where we can talk during the entire visit. That’s tough to beat.
The only complaint that I could come up with was the bathrooms. While everything else is more relaxed and easy going than a normal theater, the idea of going to the bathroom here makes me want a shower and penicillin.
If they cleaned that up, it’s a five-​star place, for sure.

Best deal in town and I’m so glad to be able to take my kid to the Drive-​In in this day and age of Netflix, Hulu, and instant streaming devices. It’s pretty cold here in fall but during summer this is the place to be. Roll on up in your mini-​van or truck, toss the fold-​out chairs outside, bring a cooler with some drinks and grub and crank up the volume on your car stereo! If it gets cold, just bring a blanky, but the main thing is just kick back and enjoy with the family and loved ones. The snack bar has some fair deals too and they even have a free bounce house for kids on weekends!
Keep in mind that this experience isn’t for everybody as it’s noisy, kids run around, and the screen isn’t always the best quality but I’ll take a good double feature here any day over some hoity toity overpriced IMAX XD 3D OD theatre!

Not a single complaint. Not many drive-​in movies so who in the world would complain. Just the usual, traffic lights, stores Etc… Get in the way but we reclined our seats and all was well. I’ve been coming here since the 70s and I will always love it. There is no longer a play ground for the wee ones but I still dig it.

Seeing that I haven’t been to one in a long time it’s nice seeing one here in Reno, Sparks area. DRIVE-​IN! That is, with the movie experience moving forward it’s beginning to slowly move into more comfortable and better experience. But whats better then the comfort of your own car. The spots you park in are without a doubt a great view, the atmosphere is amazingly great the staff was very nice. «No Cotton Candy What» lol. But over all I enjoyed my experience, it brought back some childhood memories.

We used to go here when I was little. I hadn’t thought about it in years but started going again a few months ago when our babysitter cancelled and I reeeeeally wanted to see a movie. It went well and I’ve been going every few weeks since then. The food is comparable to a normal movie theatre and sometimes they have theme nights and events. I like sitting in my car since I can talk and text during the movie. Arrive early because lines can get very long when movies open and allow yourself time to find a spot. I like to choose a spot that looks like it has people nearby that will be watching the movie and not tailgating or otherwise making a racket. The bathrooms do get bananas and are tiny and usually a mess. Movies are always a double feature. The biggest downside is people are always late and pissed off at the clerks and other patrons when they have to wait in line for things. I have never seen more people cut in line anywhere than at the drive in movies. So even if you’re on time, be prepared for people acting bat stuff crazy to get in, get good spots and get food before the movie starts. Not a deal breaker for me, I’m just happy to have a way to see a movie and have a baby or two with me.

We’ve been here a handful of times over the last couple years. I went as a kid but obviously had zero complaints because hey, we were going to the movies. Each time we’ve gone recently, the line to get in is worse and worse. The clerks are inexplicably slow and don’t seem to care about the customers missing the first several minutes of the movies. There’s two clerks. In one ticket booth. For four screens. C’mon, really?
They need to figure out a better way to prevent people from cutting the line to get in. It’s not fair to everyone else who wait patiently around the corner.
As others have noted, food they sell here is horrendous but at least they let you bring in whatever you want.
The pricing is great and especially worthwhile if you have kids under 11. The digital projectors are bright and clear.
It’s too bad that everything leading up to the actual movie is so horrible, because the most important part of going to the movies is actually very good. It would be sad to see this drive-​in disappear because of poor customer service and not doing anything to prevent people from cutting into the line.

First time at a drive in and i loved it… clean and friendly staff. clean picture and audio

My first drive in movie experience. Stopped in tonight to watch Jurassic World with the wife and kids. Got there about 30 mins before show time and waited in line for about 15 mins. There are four lots and there was plenty of space for everyone (it was the Sunday of Labor Day weekend — might be busier Friday and Saturdays?)
It’s fun to pack up the lawn chairs and blankets and they let you bring your own drinks and snacks if you want. Although their concessions are very reasonable (less than $ 6 for a large popcorn).
Picture quality was much better than I expected and you tune to your car stereo to a particular FM frequency to hear the sound which worked well. We had no issues with reception.
We’ll be back. This was half the price of a movie at a regular theater and twice the fun. Oh and it’s a double header (if you can stay awake).

Very well prices! Double features and you can bring in anything you want to eat and drink. Get there early to get a good parking spot. Free games for the kids to play before the movie starts.
Concession stand has quick employees and the popcorn aroma is enticing!

We have been to many drive-​ins, this one is well priced for entry and the snack bar! This is our first experience with a paved parking lot which was very nice on trips to the restroom. …well I spoke too soon… we parked along side other drivers. ugh…as the movie is starting so called security chooses the line we are in to have each car move… ticking many people off! We all asked to speak with the manager she never come over! Wasted money and missed beginning of movie over something «security» should have monitored an hour and a half before the movie started… after making 4 to 5 cars including us move they gave up… what a HUGE WASTE!

I take my youngest son and his friends just about every Friday night. Good movies and very reasonable.

It’s so nice to be able to share the whole Drive-​In experience with my son. Did you know that there are only 338 Drive-​In movie theaters in the United States? This is one of the reasons El Rancho is so special to us, it’s about as American as you can get.
El Rancho is family owned, kids 5 and under are free, Kids 5 – 11 are only $ 1, and adults are $ 5 per person. The movie tickets are the most reasonable in town, plus they have free movie night twice a year. In fact, the next free movie night is coming up April 16^th. I like to consider it a pre-​summer kick off. I’m still amazed that they have double features! I would always leave after the first showing because I had no idea that I could stick around for the second. What an amazing deal! Plus the kids love it. There’s nothing like kicking it outside on a hot summers night with friends and family watching a show. In addition, they always show newly released movies, score! Even total strangers are friendly and easy going. You’re missing out if you haven’t gone yet!

The drive-​in is another one of my favorite things to do in Reno when the weather gets warmer. It’s way cheaper than going to an indoor movie theater, they have new releases, and you get two movies for one admission price (awesome!)
I recommend going VERY early. We only made the mistake of showing up 15 minutes early one time. The movie we wanted was sold out and we had to pick another movie on the spot. So, now we show up about 30 minutes early and we have plenty of time to get our radio, chairs, snacks, and drinks set up.
The only thing that bothers me about the drive-​in is the lack of sound proofing, if that makes any sense. You’d think that there would be some solid walls around the perimeter to prevent some of the traffic noise from conflicting with the movie sounds, but nope, it’s just a metal fence.

Went here with a friend a couple of nights ago to see GrownUps 2. As long as I’ve been a Reno local and a visitor beforehand, I had absolutely no clue that this place even existed… not to mention that the last time I was at a drive-​in was about 30 years ago.
Very nice setup, as the sound is piped into an FM radio channel and plays through your car stereo. I believe the place is also open as a public market/​flea market type setting during certain days of the week or month.
Their website is very informative — it has all of the movie listings and showtimes, touts the property as having modern, digital projection and sound, and all in the same sentence, a line in the FAQ section reads, «If you don’t have an FM stereo, bring a portable boom box!» I haven’t seen too many portable boom boxes around lately, but oh well…
$ 6.75 per person admission charge, with Tuesday nights being $ 4.75 per person and $ 1 children’s prices. No problem bringing in a porta-​bar, either — sure beats paying lots of money for beer!
Definitely recommend.