Studio Movie Grill Tampa Take 2

Traffic was horrific, the 60 minute drive took about 90 minutes, and we arrived about 5 minutes before the movie’s 7pm start time. we were checked in and ushered to our theater. It was a smaller theater than the one we were in last time, this one seated about 100 people. There were approximately 20 children and adults in the theater. Our waitress quickly appeared and took our order. Since food was not included in this event we just ordered 2 sodas and a plate of potato skins, for a total of almost $20! Our order arrived in a timely fashion and the waitress asked if we wanted to start a tab on our credit card. She was a bit taken aback when we said that we would like our bill because we were paying cash and we didn’t plan to order anything else. She brought our bill, we paid her and she returned momentarily with our change.

Finally at 7:17pm the previews started! Seventeen minutes after the advertised start time, with no explanation as to why the movie was starting late! We didn’t have any of the negative problems we had at the grand opening but the theater wasn’t packed either. The family next to us had to send food and drinks back and then after the movie their bill had to be adjusted because of errors. Needless to say, I don’t think I’ll be spending $20 in gas + $20 in snacks to see a “free movie” at a theater with mediocre service and food.

About Big Hero 6

From Walt Disney Animation Studios, the team behind “Frozen” and “Wreck-It Ralph,” comes “Big Hero 6,” an action-packed comedy-adventure about the special bond that develops between Baymax, a plus-sized inflatable robot, and prodigy Hiro Hamada. When a devastating event befalls the city of San Fransokyo and catapults Hiro into the midst of danger, he turns to Baymax and his close friends adrenaline junkie Go Go Tomago, neatnik Wasabi, chemistry whiz Honey Lemon and fanboy Fred. Determined to uncover the mystery, Hiro transforms his friends into a band of high-tech heroes called “Big Hero 6.”

Download Big Hero 6 printables!
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Big Hero 6 Printables

Here are some fun printables for your family. Just click on the image to download the PDF.

Big Hero 6 Maze

Origami Baymax

Big Hero 6 Recipes

I hope you enjoy these printables and that you go see Big Hero 6 with your family this weekend.

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Studio Movie Grill is a Dallas-based company that is known for re-claiming defunct movie theaters. The Tampa location, the first in Florida, is located at University Mall, near the University of South Florida. Once a bustling shopping mecca in Tampa, University Mall is lacking anchor stores and other tenants. Studio Movie Grill (SMG) hopes to change that. They are known to refurbish theaters with an upscale atmosphere and an affordable price. Movie tickets at SMG are always $1.50 less than at other local theaters. By drawing foot traffic to the theater they in turn draw people and eventually merchants back to the mall.

Our Opening Night Experience

We arrived earlier than expected, you can never figure out I-75 traffic! We arrived and were ushered inside the mall to the theater entrance. We checked in and then went to have our picture taken. They printed it right out and handed it to us as a souvenir. Next, we entered a nice lobby/bar area. We found seats on a sofa and enjoyed people-watching. The alcohol was flowing like water at this event. We don’t drink and we are actually anti-alcohol so this wasn’t a typical situation for us. Approximately every 60-90 seconds we were offered a drink. I’m not exaggerating. We watched the couple sitting on the sofa across from us as the woman downed 2 Long Island Iced Teas, 2 Blue Margaritas and at least 3 glasses of wine. She ordered water once but she never received it. A few times she refused a drink and said she had enough and the different waiters all had the same response, “You’ve got a 2 hour movie to sit through, you’ll be fine by the time you leave.” I found this statement a bit disconcerting as it seemed to be a company line.

Many employees, managers and higher ups in suits introduced themselves as we sat through the reception. We also witnessed the ribbon cutting, which was cute because they used a film reel.

We all finally entered the theater and chose our seats, we were in H8 and H9. The seats were comfortable with cup holders in the arms and a swing-out table top with a red button on it. We looked over the menu and waited for a server. The servers were making their way down the rows. The rows are wide so that the servers have room to work. Unfortunately, they aren’t wide enough. Several times it felt like there was someone sitting behind me kicking my seat, when I turned around I found out it was the server bumping my seat while they took care of the people in that row!

Our server finally came, since we were in the middle of the row, we were the last ones to have our order taken. All of the people to our right, who had a different server, had already received their drinks and appetizers before we ordered! Our server was very nervous and she was having trouble with her electronic ordering device. She took my husband’s order, excused herself for a few minutes came back and wrote his order on a napkin, excused herself again, took my order while complaining that her device was freezing and then left, never to be seen again. A few minutes later someone delivered our sodas to us. About 20 minutes later we asked another server to check on our order, since everyone near us had now finished their entree too. This server checked and said our food would be up in 1-2 minutes. TEN minutes later yet another server brought our food, appetizer and entrees all at the same time! I took a few food pictures just as the movie was beginning.

I ordered the BBQ Bacon Cheddar Chicken Sandwich. Unfortunately for me, the sandwich came with onion and shredded lettuce-which I don’t like. It was difficult to remove these from my sandwich in the dark. It was also difficult to cut my sandwich in half because, instead of serving it on a plate, it is served in a bowl. The sandwich was ok, but nothing great. My husband ordered the Steak ‘n Gravy sandwich and he enjoyed it. The potato skins were also very good.

About 2/3 of the way through the movie we pushed the “service” light on the table and ordered our dessert, the Ghiradelli Brownie Ice Cream Sundae. But, alas we never received our dessert. After the movie I went to the restroom where I ran into someone I know. She had an amazing time and an amazing server, we did not. I was stopped by another woman on my way out of the restroom and she said they never received their dessert either.

Mom Maven’s Thoughts

I understand that this was opening night and we were informed it was a training night BUT the service we received was horrible. If I had been a paying customer, I would have asked for my money back. The servers had no clue where the food belonged, they often walked up and down the row asking, “Did you order this?” The seat numbers are clearly marked and I would assume they are also on the order tickets. It isn’t rocket science.

That being said, I liked the concept and I have 2 more events at Studio Movie Grill in the next few weeks so I hope they continue to train their staff and that service improves.

The Movie

We saw “St Vincent” starring Bill Murray. It was rated PG-13. We were both bored throughout the movie and not pleased with the language. Don’t waste your money on this movie. The story goes nowhere and then attempts a heartfelt ending.

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