I don't write reviews. Not because I don't have anything to say about a place, but because other…read morepeople usually have already said it. In this case though, I'm making an exception because everyone in the Tampa Bay area needs to know about this gem. It's on the second floor of the parking garage at University Mall. Which means you need to navigate around what is left of the mall. There's a separate entrance so you don't have to set foot in the mall itself. The decor is Pee Wee's playhouse and is just as delightful as you would think it would be. They are the top of the game when it comes to special appearances (Kevin Smith was there for two nights, John Waters, Lydia Lunch, Amy Goodman and Todd Solondz have all done Q&As there, just to name a few. Will Oldham has one coming up in September before his performance on the other side of the bay) They show the blockbusters you can see everywhere, but they mix it in with indie films and documentaries that you would have to be in NYC or LA to see otherwise. They also specialize on showing movies on FILM. If you love watching actual film, this is the place that is showing the love! The ticket prices are cheap. The seats are comfortable. The staff is absolutely amazing. The food is far better (and affordable!) than it has any right to be at a movie theater, and they bring it to your seat. There are a TON of vegan options! Which is pretty rare when it comes to going to the movies. It's not just my favorite local movie theater; it's become one of my favorite places in the Tampa Bay region.

Wow what a great experience all the way around. You can easily park in 2nd floor behind the 'mall'…read moreand enter the theater from there. Greeted right away by the friendly hostess at the customer service desk. If you bought tickets on line you can just go to concession area to get food drinks , you look over the menu while in cue which goes very fast, and order. Drinks are made for you and you can a nice big bowl for self serve popcorn with butter or lots of flavors for toppings. All other food is brought to your reserved seat, just give them the theater and your seat numbers. Within less than 10 mins wait(we snacked on popcorn and our drinks) we had an amazing pressed cuban - delicious! And also a huge soft fresh pretzel with cheese for dipping. All for less than $30! Previews were less than 15 mins(closer to 10mins) . We will be back for sure.

We found this drive-in after googling drive-in's near us - this location is about an hour from us,…read morebut worth the drive for sure. We grew up with a drive-in in our town and we loved it as kids, so we wanted to take our kids, this was their first drive-in movie experience and it didn't disappoint. Toy Story 5 was playing, they recommend showing up an hour early on their website, we arrived at 8pm and found a spot easily, but it's definitely a good idea to show up early because it was already packed with cars when we showed up. You also need a radio, preferably battery operated, so you can tune into the station (I believe it was 89.3) and listen to the movie - unless you want to leave your car running the entire time and use your car radio. We decided to sit in the back of my husband's truck, which was a vibe - just make sure you check the weather so you don't end up getting rained on and also recommend bringing some bug spray because there are lots of mosquitos that will pester you if you don't have something to keep them away. We will be back for a family movie night, this is such a fun family experience - I wish there were more drive-ins around still but they're few and far between unfortunately.

We have been going to the Ruskin Family Drive-In since we moved to the area in 2018. We absolutely…read morelove coming here. From the amazing owners, delicious snacks, ability to bring our friendly pups, to watching new (and sometimes classic) moves from the comfort of our SUV or pick up truck bed. They typically play two movies and admission is currently $7 a person. Much cheaper thsn other theaters. They make a lot of the snacks from scratch using high quality ingredients. Pizzas and grilled cheese are made upon order and never disappoint. We have also enjoyed the popcorn, nachos, and hotdogs. The chili is also homemade. Since they don't make much profit on the movies, they charge $5 for a snack voucher to use in concession. We always spend more than that, so we welcomed the change. Snacks are all very reasonably priced and so is admission. The owners are some of the kindest people I know. We used to take our elderly lab here and before he passed we took him to say goodbye and enjoy one last movie. They even came out to give him extra love since he was a regular with us and his fur sister. Ruskin Family Drive-In is a family owned business that will make you feel like one of the family. I enjoy coming here more than a typical movie theater for all these reasons and more. We will be regulars here forever! Check out the movie and stsrt times in their website or Facebook. Please check it out and support a local business and one of the oldest functioning drive ins.

We love coming to the drive in. It is such a great experience. Great prices, good concession food,…read moreand a feel-good community experience. We have been back several times since our first visit in February of this year. We've seen popular and new movies such as Goat, Project Hail Mary, and the Super Mario Galaxy Movie. The screen is updated and clear, as well as the speakers.

We've visited Joy Lan a couple times before this visit and our experiences as a collective have…read morebeen average. You can arrive a half hour before the show starts to pay and get your spot to watch the movie. Tonight we watch Shang Chi and the Ten Rings and our experience specific to tonight... Not the best. In the beginning of the movie there are subtitles which you can't read because on this screen only the top line ever showed. So as long as there's only one line sentences you're good! In addition there aren't any loud speakers or speakers to place on your vehicle like many other drive ins have, so we had a really hard time hearing. I don't know if this movie was shot in dark lighting or if they needed to adjust lighting on the screen, but there seemed to be a glare or it was often hard to see some scenes. There was an idiot with his car lights on which may have posed a problem as well but no one said anything to them. No one walked around to check for things like that like many other theaters do as well. The website indicates if you have difficulty getting your lights to turn off they have covers for your car to use to dim your lights. There's no info about additional speakers though it does say if you have issues you can let them know. Also kind of bummed with the choice of preshow music. We really enjoy attending the theaters that okay the old fashioned tunes and ads! You only get half an hour before hand anyway which also could be extended some. Show up as early as you can within that time frame to get the best pick of parking spots. Also bring big spray or citronella candle or something. Bugs galore! We may try this theater again in the future but will need to probably bring a radio to provide additional speakers.

First time exploring this off the beaten Cinema. It's a little old, not the IMAX Screen, but you…read moreget what you pay for and actually you get comfy recliners. We enjoyed our movie, popcorn, candy, and drink. It's a little worn, could use some more TLC, but we enjoyed the value of the theater and the attached arcade was definitely worth the extra side trip and money. Forget Chuckee Cheese, this arcade has better games that actually allow you to win. The food was cheaper and tasted better. We enjoyed our movie and the arcade afterwards and we'll be back for sure.

Disgusting bathroom, filthy theater, stale smelling, sticky seats. Old and very run downread more