With our recent trip to Disneyland for their “Season of the Force” (slacker mama, I still haven’t full written about that trip), we watched all the Star Wars movies back-to-back and have become bona fide fans. We’ve been counting down the days until we could see Star Wars: The Force Awakens but were deterred by the crowds and bedlam. Sure, we love Star Wars but do we love it enough to stand in line for hours on end?
The answer is we love it enough to wait a few weeks until the hype dies down.
However, after seeing everyone’s social media posts on opening night, I casually did a search at our local theater to see if there were still tickets on Friday. I was shocked to see there were so snagged up four of them as a surprise for the kids in celebration of Winter Break. I remember going to see it with my family and I was thrilled that the kids will have the same memories.
Concerned there would still be a crazy-long line, Jamie instructed us to arrive an hour early for most optimal seats, which is exactly what we did…and there was only one family in front of us. As the wait stretched out, only a handful of people showed. That’s the funny thing about our local theater: it’s plenty nice but not super high-tech and fancy so it’s never crowded. In total, our theater had maybe 20 people in it for the 5:30 p.m. showing.
And of course, we all sat bunched up in the middle of the theater. Best seats in the house, of course!
Just what did we think of Star Wars: The Force Awakens? We loved it! It was filled with nostalgia as Director J.J. Abrams managed to weave important elements of the past with a new direction for the film. I laughed, I cried, it was better than CATS.
Well, if I’d actually seen that musical that my parents chose NOT to take me to when I was about 9 years old.
And yes, I’m still bitter. But my kids won’t be because this was one film not to be missed.
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 