Newsday's Outdoor Movie: How to Train Your Dragon

Oh yes, we did it. Finally got ourselves to the free outdoor movie at Newsday. There's a few reasons we didn't go over the Summer, the heat was a big factor, but the main factor: My kids go to bed EARLY. My son, 7pm. My daughter, 8pm. We can't be waiting around for a movie to start at dark in the summer, we'd never make it! But one that's in the month of October, when the sun goes down a little earlier....now that we can do! And the kids didn't even go to bed all that late, because we did NOT stay for the whole movie.

It was a really cute event. My daughter loved being dressed up in a Witch costume and that she got to "trick or treat" at the different vendors. She got treats for her little brother who hung with Daddy and played ball on the huge lawn by the movie screen. There were really nice porta potties for everyone, placed all over the place, but clearly, there are NEVER enough! Even the food was good and pretty cheap!
We arrived pretty much at 4pm when the gates opened, the parking was pretty well coordinated. First thing to do, get our double stroller out. Not for the two kids, just for our son and all our CRAP we brought! We unloaded our stuff: backpacks full of snacks, drinks, clothing, blankets and activities for the kids. Then we took the chairs out and put them under the stroller. Found our friends, who were unloading just a few cars away.
Got our tickets out, had them handy and headed to the LONG, but fast moving line. They checked bags, but not all that well, since we had so much piled on top of the bags, they figured we were good. Took our tickets, and in we went. Our first stop: the lawn to get a nice, large spot in view of the screen. Our next stop: the vendors for freebies and trick or treating with the kids. Finally, after that Little Miss chose a pumpkin from the "patch" they had and we settled in. Husband went off to find food, then we ate a little bit and waited for night to fall.

We moved to the outside, so the kids could run and not bother anyone and of course, so we could leave early and not disturb those around us. Daytime it was super warm, night came and the temperatures dropped. Good thing we had layers with us and blankets!
Though we barely saw the movie, because the kids were nutty and my daughter just wanted to chat with my good friend, instead of watch. It was still a good time and we'll do it again next year!