Wait, wait, wait. What's going on here? When did Moonlight become half Gold Grass? And where did all the food and the bars go? Don't get me wrong, Moonlight Cinemas is still one of my favourite things to do when it comes to summer in Melbourne, but the good ol' days of Moonlight are fading. When we ventured in to the perfectly manicured gardens yesterday eve, I was stunned to find HALF of the viewing area already bean-bagged, a quarter a second VIP area, and the remainder was for the plebs (i.e. you and me.) The Gold Grass area appears to be a whole lot better, with staff catering to your every need, but the rest of us were crammed in to a vastly smaller area. Moonlight I still love you, I just wish I didn't have to sit so close to strangers when I'm with you. read more

Going to the Moonlight Cinemas feels like a treat. It's in the Botanical Gardens, so you have beautiful trees & plants surrounding you and in the distance the city-scape twinkling at night. And bats. I love bats. Seeing them fly over the movie screen at dusk delights me every time. Hot tips to make the most of your Moonlight Cinema experience: 1. Bring something comfortable for your bum, or pay $9 for a bean-bag rental. 2. You can BYO, so BYO! (Including alcohol). How great is it that you can chow down on picnic goodies and share drinks with your friends? (For the unprepared, there are also concessions available for purchase.) 3. Know your nearest toilet! Stumbling around in the dark with a full to bursting bladder after following step #2 is preferably kept to a minimum. 4. Save some cash with $12 tickets on Thursdays. 5. Bring an extra layer. Even on warm days, Melbourne frequently cools off in the evening. So bring an extra rug to rug up. read more

Moonlight Cinema - Good visibility of the outdoor screen. - Outdoor Movies Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

First time we ever went to this and we loved it! We went to see the Big Short on a Thursday and were annoyed when Gold seating was sold out, but were way happier with our (forced) choice at the end. The Gold get bean beds and waiters and are in front (for $35), sure. But they are all crammed against/next to each other. With the regular ($19), if you get there early, you can rent the same bean bed ($9 each), and secure a MUCH bigger picnic sized area for yourself with bean beds on top. The way the place is designed too, it doesn't really make a difference how far you are until it starts getting about halfway (which is still empty an hour after gates open), and Gold only takes up about 1/10 of the lawn. We loved it. I would always repeat this strategy too. Basically its best to think of it as going to have a long, late afternoon picnic with a partner/friends (BYO food and wine and anything you want!), and then a movie will play at sunset. You can get the same food as Gold too IF you want, if you walk and get it yourself, and in any case, food stops shortly into the movie so it's not a film-long service. read more

Moonlight Cinema - This was not our seat position we were to the right of that big desk down on the left. - Outdoor Movies Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

Such a fantastic way to spend a summer's eve, in the Botanic Gardens with good friends, good wine and good food. I've been coming here for more years than I would like to admit to! Whilst it's still a great night out there are a few rookie mistakes that have never been fixed up over the years. Let's talk outdoor cinema etiquette. Camp chairs should be avoided. Even the low lying chairs can really hinder the view of others around you. We take a semi full bean bag, pillows and blankets. Things to help us be comfortable but not get in the way of anyone else. Staff were quick to ask us to move a handbag so other people could squeeze in, but there was no talk of chair removal. Food wise there's very little on offer. Unlike other outdoor cinema's in Melbourne this group haven't caught onto the food trucks or pop up stall styles of catering. Much easier to BYO. There's limited lighting and waste disposal at the end of the evening. One medium sized spot light in the cinema area. Yes it is romantic walking along the path in the late evening. Who doesn't like a midnight stroll? But it can be a bit crowded and too much bump & grind when you're romantic midnight stroll is with a few hundred other people. read more

Moonlight Cinema - Outdoor Movies Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

Get here early to secure your bean bed. Dogs go mad for the bats and possum smells... Dogs welcome but sometimes they have actual dog nights! BYO booze, drinks, cheese, crackers, eskies. Food available is extremely average and pretty pricey. A beautiful spot to take your beloved to pash under the stars. Cute seeing all the awkward new couples trying to get to know each other. X read more

Moonlight Cinema - Pretty skies- please be kind to us! - Outdoor Movies Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

Moonlight Cinema is a great place to experience outdoor movies. There's plenty of space to sit, the screen is large, and the sound quality is good. The location in the Royal Botanic Gardens enhances the experience -- you get to walk through the gardens and you're surrounded by the myriad of plants on display. Make sure you bring a picnic blanket to sit on, and ideally bring something to rest your head on. Alternatively, bring along some low-profile camp chairs. (They also rent out inflatable seats.) read more

Moonlight Cinema - Outdoor Movies Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

I give it a 3 purely for the atmospohere and location. The setting is beautiful and as the sun goes down and melbournes skyline lights set the backdrop for the screen, well its really romantic. However i cant say enough bad things about the management. The place is overcrowded, with less than enough space to put bags jackets, quilts etc. Why they dont limit the number of tickets is frustrating, guess the management want to squeeze every last dollar out of pepole who come. Its really annoying when there are feet in yoru face, and other people sit up at the front to try and squish in and block the views of those behind them. People coming in later, pushing everyone in so they can skip the wait for the movie that everyone else had to endure in order to enjoy a good position. The food is OK, though pricey, and you have to order in the bar van and take those dockets up to the food van. Something a lot of people didnt have explained to them when they ordered, so they were waiting for ages and then when they finally asked they were told "you are meant to give us the ticket, they didnt tell you that in the bar van? Youll just have to wait some more". Also i heard another customer ask "do you guys have coffee?" to which the waitress replied "Why the hell would we have coffee. weve never had coffee here...." Great customer service. dogs.. who the hell brings dogs to a cinema?? they wouldnt let them in a normal movie, why should they let them into the moonlight cinemas? they bark, they smell and they shit. I love dogs, but they are not for bringing to the movies for gods sake. On the technical side. The screen was good and visible from everywhere if you arent blocked by a tree. The sound is average. In fact the technical team was so bad that they didnt turn off the entrance music while the film was on, which when there were scenes with people talking, you could barely hear them over the music. Totally unsatisfactory. Not that they would ever refund you. If you want amazing ambiance you might want to avoid busy nights and come during the week (though i dont know if that means theres definitely less people) or maybe pick a less popular film (though why would you want to see a shit film?, whats with their bad programming anyway??). Worth a try, although you should know you are going to get hit in the wallet for it. I dont understand why in australia, customers put up with overpriced, well not just overpriced, but totally obscene prices for awful awful customer service and never stand up against it, and always say "oh well thats just the way it is....." its pathetic and its time it changed.... /rant off read more

Should movie lovers be excited about Moonlight Cinema? You bet! Magic and nostalgia are two keywords that appear in my mind to explain this experience. Open-air cinema with awesome weather permitting is amazing at the Royal Botanic Gardens. You're out in the open with the city lights on the horizon, the Moon and stars looming above and nature doing its thing with trees swaying and bats flying over you. What's not to like, this is summer nights at its best! It's fun seeing everyone snuggling up and sitting around, reminding me of school camp back in the days. The atmosphere is cosy, nostalgic and exciting (one lady had too much to drink and was falling all over the place, which means you can drink yourself stupid, but not recommended), however don't be fooled, even for summer; Melbourne cools down like an icicle at night so make sure you bring a blanket. While you're at it, grab a beach/camp chair as you will be directed to sit on the side if you have one which has awesome viewing angles. Saving on beanbag hires and if the grass is wet you have some relief. What can you munch on? I'm glad you asked. There's a licensed bar and there's light meals at reasonable prices, but avoid the queue and go to your favourite takeaway venue, and bring it with you, at the time we got Laksa King, a bag of chips and drinks! Put everything in a cooler bag and you're set. My last bit of advice to survive Moonlight Cinema is making sure you bring some insect repellent; they also wanted in on the experience, so make life easier and don't forget it! Other than that, arrive at least one hour early to grab a good spot and if you're driving in, don't bother parking inside, unless you're feeling lucky, your best bet will be in the side streets. We saw The Theory of Everything, mix in the city skyline, blankets, the Moon, stars, takeaway food and your significant other; it's fair to say there are not many things in life that beats this experience. You don't have to be a romantic either; nature takes care of that for you; do yourself a favour and go, don't miss this! read more

I don't think there is a better way to spend a summer's evening. Grab a picnic, bottle of wine, some friends or that special someone and settle in under the stars to watch a movie in the beautiful botanical gardens. I love how there is always a great range of movies on offer. From new releases to cult classics and occasionally even something for the kids. The atmosphere is fun and friendly. It doesn't necessarily have to be hot. The experienced moonlight cinema goers come armed with blankets, pillows, beanbags, warm jumpers and sometimes even a thermos with something warm. It can get chilly at night especially when you're just sitting or lying still. For the unprepared there are bean bags for hire and plenty of food and beverage options. If you're looking for that something extra special the gold grass experience includes reserved seatings, bean bag arm chair and food service. On really warm nights it's best to arrive early to secure a good viewing spot. Tickets can be pre purchases online or at the gate. Look out for discount Thursdays. read more

The Moonlight Cinema is like warm pumpkin pie. Pumpkin is known as a savoury ingredient to be had with roasts and soups, not a pie in sweet pastry. And cinema too is meant to be held indoors in a cosy dark room with popcorn and an icecream. But both pumpkin pie and the Moonlight Cinema are oh so good and they fundamentally work - regardless of who may think that they are a strange match. There is something both romantic and exciting about sitting in the botanical gardens with a picnic and some beers waiting to see a movie. Sure there may be bugs and of course the unpredictable Melbourne weather will have it's say more often than not. But that just adds to the excitement and leaves me dribbling in anticipation like a kid waiting for his warm pumpkin pie dessert, with cream on top of course. read more

The night I first went to the Ford Fiesta Moonlight Cinema to see romantic French rhomp 'Heartbreaker' within the grounds of the Royal Botanic Gardens was the night I fell in love with Melbourne. And with good reason. An open-air screening event taking place throughout the summer and showing an eclectic mix of classic, cult and new release films, the Moonlight Cinema series takes place in the heart of the incredible Botanic Gardens just south of Flinders and is undoubtedly one of the coolest film events in Melbourne. The atmosphere is incredible, all young Melbourne urbanites and cinephiles and their invariably gourmet picnics. For those less organised, there's a licensed bar - although most people opt to take their own booze - and you can even rent bean bags for $7 for the evening although a good old fashioned picnic blanket more than suffices. Tickets - which are a very reasonable $18 - go on sale in the first week of November each year and the Moonlight Cinema continues until around early March, i.e. the end of the Melbourne summer. If you haven't been, go. If you have been, sign up online for updates and start planning this year's filmic itinerary. Simply not to be missed. read more

Just when I thought that Melbourne could not get any better I discovered the Moonlight Cinema. I have always wanted to go to a drive in movie for some reason, maybe the Flintstones have something to do with that, but a movie in the park, genius idea. There is always a great selection of movies ranging from old classics to current box office hits and everything in-between. The Moonlight Cinema is a great place to take your family or a bunch of friends. If you're looking for date ideas, go stroll around the park, have a picnic then see a movie, how romantic. It's a shame we don't have those boats in the lake like in Europe, then it would be the perfect date. read more

Really enjoyed myself, however, it was hard to hear the movie clearly as the sound seems to only come from the front, near the screen. Those us at the back struggled. When you can hear the bat orgies around you more than the movie, it's probably time to think about surround sound, or more speakers. Great night out otherwise! read more

Great idea. The setting is perfect but that has little to do with the people who run this. Went to see a series of short films that were truly awful - especially for 18 bucks each. Depressing shorts, one after another, about little children who wanted to fly until someone destroyed their dreams. Jesus. Is this undergraduate film school final project night? I take the half the blame for choosing to drag my date here, so only minimally rating on content. Though it was truly bad. Really. They apologized for not having screened the shorts, stopped the show to play with whatever laptop was being used to project, and kept the volume low, presumably to hide the fact that the speakers sputtered as if they were blown. We (and many others) left after a half hour I can forgive a lot, but if you're hit me for almost 40 dollars to sit in the wet grass, get it right. read more

I spent my birthday last year at the Moonlight Cinema, and if you havent been before, I highly recommend you go! Running from late November to early March, the cinema caters to a diverse crowd that really depends on the movie that is playing. At times, there are plenty of families enjoying the latest ( or oldest) Disney release, groups of friends watching great comedies, or couples enjoying romantic dates watching classic films like Breakfast at Tiffany's,Gone with the Wind or Casablanca .Part of the cinema's charm is in its universal appeal . I always hire a bean bag, bring a picnic, and pack some blankets. Melbourne weather can cool right down in the evening time, and there is nothing worse than damp creeping through the rug you are sitting on so I prefer the bean bags available for around $7.They also have something called gold grass, which is premium seating areas. You'll see people bringing in everything from cheese and wine picnics, to sandwiches, or in the case of birthday party champagne and birthday cake (We also wore party hats through the movie). Food and Alcohol is available on site, but I recommend byo - its more fum that way! read more

Beautiful environment to have watched Les Mis. Recommend bringing sleeping bag, picnic blanket (in case grass wet), picnic. Will do it again and again and again.... read more

Gold grass is great, we got there at 7, picked a seat right up the front and on the edge, didn't feel like anyone else was even there once the movie started. Wait service is great, no queuing up. You don't need a picnic blanket if you get gold grass, but bring lots of blankets, a doona or sleeping bag would be the best idea. read more

Atrocious. In "Gold Grass" we were so crammed in it was ridiculous. I saw 4 people leave (from 2 groups) because they were so disgusted by the service. From my seat I heard 8 people complain to staff of how squished in we were, and how people who had not paid for premium seating had significantly better seating than those who paid that premium. I had a man's foot next to my head the whole night (his big toe nail stabbed my cheek at one time when I leant over suddenly to reach for my can of drink), his partner kicked my beanbag 3 times during the movie. My shoe kicked the bag of the lady sitting in front of me twice, and I stepped on at least 3 bags whilst getting up once during the movie to go to the toilet. My partner kicked her more than once. We we positioned so close to other people that there were constant complaints to the group of us (nearly all of us we in pairs, but we were so close I call it a 'group') of feeling like 'sardines', 'cattle on a boat', 'illegal immigrants from asia' and my personal favourite, that were were in a 'gold grass gorgy'; because we were lying down for a romantic evening with so many other people. There was literally no room between the small beanbags - I struggled to push my adjoining beanbag across to find space to put my can of drink - and I was lucky - the beanbag next to me was empty. There was a space no larger than 30 cm between the approx 1.2m beanbags, in which my standard backpack would not fit into. I should also mention the "premium viewing location" we were promised; it was far from premium. When you go to a cinema, what would you call a premium viewing location? Pretty much bang smack in the middle, correct? Maybe towards the back a tad? Well no... the whole Gold Grass area was off to the left, and those sitting on the left side of gold grass had a tree between them and the screen. Thankfully my partner and I were sitting right in the middle of gold grass, so we didn't have trees in the way. Many people were asked to move further around (after they had been waiting for the movie, in their beanbag, for over an hour and a half - from their "reserved seats") to allow room for further patrons. The video picture quality was quite good, and the screen was large. Even from right at the back of the audience the screen was quite watchable. The screen moved a tad in the wind, but it was minor (so minor my partner did not notice it), and quite reasonable for an outdoor cinema. The sound quality was ok - volume levels were good, however there were some latency issues causing a minor echo. During music this was a bit difficult to listen to, but during speech it was quite alight to listen to. You could comfortably hear the movie throughout the whole area. The food was good, though quite expensive (as is to be expected at this sort of event). The packaging for the food was just a paper box and plastic cups, which did not really suit the price range ($15 for 3 dips, olives and a yummy roll thing). A slightly nicer container (perhaps clear plastic, and a serviette) would make the prices more reasonable - $2 or so dollars less and I would have been happy with the purchase. There was one other alternative with the food which was 1 soft and one hard cheese with some biscuits (also $15), but I did not have this so cannot comment. I did not purchase any drinks so I cannot comment on the variety or pricing of these. I will not go to Moonlight Cinemas Gold Grass ever again. The general admission, whilst a little bit expensive for my liking for such a large screening, did seem reasonable. The "Gold Grass" was simply atrocious. Do not EVER go to Gold Grass, and only go to the general admission if you are given free tickets - don't buy them yourself. If I were given Gold Grass tickets in future, I would throw them away; I suggest you do the same. read more