I took a day trip to Orange County and wanted to stop by this Regal Edwards in Costa Mesa. So far, this is the 6th Regal location I've visited this year, and compared to the others, it's just average.
This Regal in Costa Mesa is located at Metro Pointe just across from South Coast Plaza. If it weren't so super close to the 405 freeway, I wouldn't have known they were on the west side of Metro Pointe.
In terms of parking, there was plenty of parking available, including a couple of parking structures west of the movie theater. Most of the open stalls in the main lot were on the southern end, closer to the freeway. I parked in that part of the lot, but it wasn't totally clear where the movie theater was at first. After heading west and going up the stairs, I was fortunate enough to find the entrance after making a left turn.
Upon arrival, there was a sign at the ticket booth that directed me to the snack bar to purchase a movie ticket. I had a Premiere Movie Ticket in my hand and showed it to the hostess (Beatriz?), who then directed me to the concessions stand right in front.
I had arrived a few minutes after the scheduled showtime of the movie I was planning to watch: I Know What You Did Last Summer. Luckily, there weren't any patrons at the concessions stand, but it took about a minute for an employee, Jonathan, to ring me up.
I did have to pay a $1.50 surcharge to watch the movie. I also had to select my seat, which should have been straightforward, except I'm not sure how Jonathan confused the number 12 with a 4?
Unfortunately, I had forgotten to scan my QR code at the snack bar, but when the movie previews were running, I made sure to enter my claim code to get the points I deserved for my visit. That same day, I received the credits for my movie ticket purchase, and the following day, I received the extra credits for watching that particular movie during its opening weekend.
There were plenty of seats in the auditorium, 15 rows to be exact! However, there was only one other patron who was watching the same movie at the same time. The seats themselves aren't that comfortable, unfortunately, so a remodel of the likes of the location in Long Beach may be imminent.
I sat in the very back of the theater, which is generally my personal preference, especially when the seating is stadium seating. However, the very last row wasn't that much higher elevated compared to the second to last row, so I simply sat in that row for a completely unobstructed view of the movie screen. I hate how when you're asked to choose your seat, you don't have any idea of how good or bad of a view you will have just by looking at the 2D seating chart. It would be super helpful if they could add a third dimension so I could have a better idea of what my view would be like before entering the auditorium.
Picture and sound were pretty good. Not totally crisp to the point where I actually felt like I was in the movie, but crisp enough for me to stay engaged throughout the movie. However, like I said, the not so comfortable seats were quite a damper to my experience.
After the movie ended*, I exited the auditorium, but was surprised to see no Regal employee by the doorway to start cleaning up for the next showing. I suppose since it was only me and one other patron who watched the movie, there was no need to clean the auditorium?
I explored the theater a little bit after the movie, and while they did have some movie backdrops for movies that are now playing or upcoming, they didn't nearly have that many. I also noticed there was a rear side to the snack bar, so if there were more employees working that day, they could service more customers in a timely manner. I didn't eat anything during the movie since I had just eaten lunch, but I did notice they offered caramel glazed popcorn!
This is one of the smaller Regal Edwards theaters as indicated by the lower number of auditoriums, employees, and even patrons. The restrooms are not on the ground level; rather, they are upstairs by a mini game room. The floors were unfortunately kind of sticky. There are stairwells on either side of the theater as well as an escalator, but I didn't remember seeing any elevators, however. Therefore, I highly recommend patrons with mobility issues to use the restroom *before* going to this theater.
Overall, not too bad of a theater, but there are definitely better choices out there. I do like how it was pretty close to South Coast Plaza, another shopping center I had been meaning to visit, so I definitely made the most out of my afternoon getaway to Orange County!
* In "I Know What You Did Last Summer", don't leave the auditorium when you see the initial credits rolling during a drone shot of the coastline. There's another scene after that before the final credits roll. read more