HARRY POTTER IMAX EXPERIENCE

My cousins, Angel and BA (14 and 16 yrs of age), came from Roseville into town to commemorate a grand uncle's first death anniversary. They planned a get-together with me, two other cousins, Daryl (14 yrs old) and Czarmaine, and Czarmaine's significant other, Johmar, who we consider another one of our cousins already. I was told that we were going to watch Saw 2. I'm glad that in the end, they've decided to watch Harry Potter instead.

Being that my younger cousins can be "demanding" at times, they wanted to watch HP and the Goblet of Fire on IMAX. We planned to go to the movies at 4 pm, but by 2, Cza and Johmar couldn't be reached, as they were still sleeping. So, we decided to get tickets online for the 8:30 pm show when we get home at around 3:30 pm. But we finally got a hold of Johmar and Cza on our way home and they ended up buying the tickets for us. But, the 8:30 pm show was already sold out. So, we had to settle for the 12:20 am show.

The three youngsters, who were with me, decided they wanted to go to the Metreon (in downtown San Francisco) early so we can go virtual bowling, or go around Union Square and San Francisco Shopping Center. So, by 5:30 we were already walking the streets of downtown San Francisco. We went to Union Square and they were already putting up the big Christmas tree, so we took some pictures.

Then we went to the San Francisco Shopping Center, where these youngsters bought some of their stuff from Abercrombie and Fitch and American Eagle, which I consider pricey shops. It's funny 'coz they told their parents they wouldn't get anything 'coz we weren't going to a mall. Hehe. They couldn't help themselves. :-P

Then we ate at Mel's Diner. By that point, Johmar and Czarmaine joined us. Daryl and Angel got omelettes and smoothies. BA got a burger and a malt. I got a sandwich and milk shake. And Cza and Johmar shared a rotisserie chicken. It was a good meal. We also picked our Secret Santa. I guess that would save me some money since I don't have to get all five of them gifts. :-P

After dinner, we went straight to the Metreon, to get our reserved tickets and to line up. As the seats are limited, and we didn't want to waste our $16.50 tickets by sitting way in front (we never did like watching a movie from the front row seats of the theater), we lined up in front of the IMAX theater at around 9:20 pm. Normally, there are lines when the movie just came out. And if it's a very popular movie, people line up real early, to make sure they get good seats. We thought that by the time we get there, there'd be a short line. After all, the line for the 11:30 pm one was already long. To our surprise, the line was empty. And since, it's our first time going to an IMAX theater, we had no idea where the door to it was. When we saw the line, we went to the "end" of it. Hehe. Imagine being the first in line and ending up last just because we didn't know where the line started.

We were pretty excited! We were first in line! We felt so proud of ourselves. But after a while, we felt a bit dorky. After all, we were three hours early for the movie we wanted to see. Hehe. People would walk past us, they'd look at us and they'd smirk. You see, there was a sign by where the line started that says what time the movie starts. And I guess they were thinking that we were crazy to have decided to watch such a late movie and to go there way to early! I felt self-conscious for a while. But afterwards, I no longer cared. I was having such a blast with my cousins!

We played games - "this or that" was one of them - and pretty much just goofed around. After a bit, we needed Starbucks coffee to keep us up. So we got them!

By that point, when we got back, there were already a couple of people waiting in line with us. There was a couple, and a lady who was waiting for her husband. We felt happy we had company, but we had to restrain ourselves from making too much raucous as it might offend others.

Then, an hour passed! We had 2 more to go!

In the meantime, we goofed around some more. We took endless pictures of one another, posing weirdly. I'm not going to put those pictures up. Hehe. And some of us, tried sleeping (or pretending to sleep).

Then, we played "truth or truth." Hehe. We couldn't do any "dare" because of the limited space around us. By this time, there were more people in line. Then, the second hour passed! We had another hour to go!

After a couple of minutes, the people were already standing up. There were cleaners who went in the theater and people were assuming that we get to go in soon enough. There was a bit of excitement in the air. I was a bit anxious if I'd be able to stay awake til 3 am for the movie. I didn't want to waste my 16 bucks, but I knew I wouldn't be able to do anything if I pass out, 'coz I was really sleepy by then. Angel was falling asleep on the floor by this point. The line, by this point was really long.

At around 12 mn, we were already allowed in. The theater was huge (well, not as huge as the theater in the Philippines, but it was huge nonetheless)! I felt like I was in a simulated ride (like Rialto in Enchanted Kingdom). There was a whole lot of leg room. The screen was huge! I'm not sure if it's bigger than the screens in Philippine theater, but I thought it was massive! It was bent, too. We sat near the back. The screen was too intimidating. We didn't want to be near it. Hehe.

We had a bit of excitement, too, in the theater itself before the movie started. There was a man seated next to BA who left, leaving his bag behind. With all the terrorist attacks that happened using bombs, my cousins seated close to the man were freaked out. The people seated on the other side of the man were also freaked out. They kept on glancing at the bag. They even checked to see what was in it. It was a camcorder with a lot of wires. That freaked us, including me, out even more. In public spaces, we are asked to report of any suspicious item left behind or unattended. So, we asked BA and Daryl to report it to security. But apparently, they didn't listen to them. They were even told off for looking at the person's belonging. Anyway, thank God, the man came back.

The theater was full. We were asked, 5 minutes before the movie started, to not leave any spaces between our "neighbors." We were asked to move in center, so that the ones coming in would just occupy the side seats. We were dead-center. It was really nice! It was amazing how the movie was packed even though it was a 12:20 am show. We weren't the only ones crazy enough to stay up for that movie. :-P

It was nice watching the movie in IMAX 'coz it gave a 3-D feel to it. There were times when I felt dizzy though. The screen was just too big. But otherwise, it was great!

The movie was good. I have some comments about it, but I'll wait until others have seen it, 'coz I don't want to spoil it for others. :-)