I’m a movie lover from way back, so when I found out there was a full-time drive-in operating in Brisbane’s south, I was in. The Yatala Drive-In movies, I soon found out, is old school in every respect, having old-fashioned speakers available for movie lovers and a diner that looks like it’s from the 1950s. The drive-in also offers three sizeable screens, which gives you more options to see the movie you want.
I decided to go to Yatala Drive-In with my little gang, my partner Nikki, my son Olin and my dog Cookie (yes, dogs are allowed!). It was a wet Sunday eve when we took off, and as we soon discovered, a rainy night can be advantageous – provided you don’t mind sitting in the car of course!
The Atmosphere
It was just on dark when we arrived at the Yatala Drive-In at around 6pm. We were let in via a boom gate, where our electronic tickets were scanned, and then we drove to our drive-in destination – Field 2. There was one car in the entire field when we got there, as evidently (to our satisfaction) the rain had put people off tonight.
In between cinema fields 1 and 2 is a 1950s-style diner, which is lit up showcasing its checkered floor and cultural icons. This was our first port of call considering we still had a few minutes before our movie began.
The Yatala Drive-In Movies 50s’ Diner
I liked the style of the old diner, which suited the concept of the dying drive-in cinema, at least in my books. The place was spacious and lined by plastic life-sized statues – of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and James Dean – and it smelt of popcorn and lollies. It also doesn’t look like it’s had a facelift in a while, which adds to its authenticity.
There’s also a large popcorn machine selling sizeable quantities of popcorn (check out my video at the end) and a vast candy section down the end. The waiting seats were sculpted in the style of a Cadillac – as you can see in the pics – and all the old-school unhealthy food choices are at your disposal. The diner even sells deep-fried Mars Bars!
Food & Drinks
The Yatala Drive-In movies diner serves up a couple of different beef burgers, a chicken burger and a veg burger, along with three types of hot dogs, chicken nuggets, fish & chips, scallops, and even a dagwood dog. Drinks on offer include beer and wine, tea/coffee/hot chocolate/ soft drinks and milkshakes. Besides the popcorn, there are churros, jam donuts, choc tops and the infamous deep-fried Mars Bar for dessert.
Of course, I had to try the deep-fried Mars Bar for the novelty. I’ve had one before, in the Blue Mountains just outside of Sydney, which was big and greasy. This one was small, mummified dry and accompanied by excessive ice cream (which I didn’t ask for). I’ll just say don’t bother as it’s not worth the novelty! My son had hot chips and a chocolate milkshake and I sat there watching a moth fly around in the popcorn machine. It’s a fun place but expect 1950s hygiene standards too.
The Service
I’ll just state I like the Yatala Drive-In movies in all, I really do, but don’t have high expectations about the food or service going in. Our order for hot chips took ages and we were told there was no ice cream for milkshakes. Then, about 20 minutes later someone else was told there was ice cream, as the manager had found some. Eventually, we were relayed this information too and I ended up receiving inordinate amounts of ice cream I didn’t want.
The guys were young and seemed sweet (no pun intended), and I’m not sure how much they get paid so I didn’t mind that the service and food were lacklustre. You’ve now been warned, so go in with low expectations. It might be better just to bring your own food and maybe just grab a choc top ice cream and check out the atmosphere for kicks!
The Drive-In
Our experience in this regard was great, which was possibly helped by the fact that there were only two other cars at the entire cinema thanks to the steady fall of light rain. Subsequently, we stayed in our car and had the motor running so we could use the demister, which luckily didn’t prove a problem. We had to tune our car radio in to our feature – Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.
If your car speakers aren’t working, bring your own radio, or, as I’ve mentioned, you can use old-fashioned speakers provided by the drive-in. However, these are only available at Field 1, so we missed out there. Thankfully our dog was well-behaved (he just went to sleep) and we were pretty cosy inside our car, watching the big screen behind the occasional action of our window wipers.
A Bit of History
The Yatala Drive-In touts itself as ‘South East Queensland’s last open-air drive-in motion picture theatre’. The drive-in is a part of movie chain Five Star Cinemas, which was started by the Sourris family. Brothers Stephen and Peter expanded their cinema business in Graceville, New Farm and the city to recently include an addition in Red Hill, which I’ve written about here. However, it was the brother’s grandfather, also a Peter Sourris, who built the Yatala Drive-In in 1974.
Dog Friendly
I’ve mentioned this several times throughout the post, but in case you’ve just jumped to this part, the Yatala Drive-In movies is dog friendly! The only catch here is that your furry buddy must be on a lead at all times. I think it’s cool you can bring your dog, as we consider Cookie a real family member and it made the night more memorable.
Final Thoughts
If you’re a movie lover and want to experience a flick from the comfort of your car (which reminded me of my childhood) then you should experience the Yatala Drive-In. I think it’s cool that Brisbane has something like this only 30 minutes’ drive from the CBD! However, as I don’t rate the food and service, bring your own food (or drop into Yatala Pies) and maybe just grab a choc top from the 50s-style diner, and you’ll be set!
Check out my video below to get a better idea of the Yatala Drive-In movies.
Yatala Drive-In Tips & Facts
- Bring your own food and just grab a choc top from the diner.
- Bring some comfy chairs and blankets. We did, but it was a bit wet for us to use them.
- Make sure your car radio is working or otherwise bring a radio.
- I’ve read reports there’s a bad smell from a rubbish tip near field 3. This field is also a fair walk from the diner, so get in cinema field 1 or 2 if you can!
- The Yatala Drive-In is not technically in Brisbane, being located between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. It’s a 30-minute drive from Brisbane City.
- The Yatala Drive-In is very close to the famous Yatala Pies. A good option would be to stock up on some pies before you head in! (They are good).
- Yatala Drive-In movies has Star Wars marathon nights for you die-hard fans, as well as ‘retro film’ nights. Yatala Drive-In also caters for events. Check out their website for more info.
