A Night at Stars & Stripes Drive-In

By Daniel Richter
Web Content Contributor

The Stars & Stripes Drive-In Theatre in New Braunfels is a great affordable late night activity for college students on budget. Being a poor college student myself, I struggle to find ideas for date nights, as well as fun nights out in general. Going downtown to the Square can break the bank and it seems like everything else fun closes when the sun goes down. But at the Stars & Stripes Drive-In, when the sun goes down, the fun begins!

Being only a 20-minute drive from campus, the drive-in offers nightly fun (rain or shine) year-round. They provide three screens with double features on each, meaning you pick one screen and you get to watch two movies for the price of one.

You’re not required to sit through both movies, so if you want to roll out after the first film, you’re more than welcome to. When I took my girl there, we were busy during the first features, so we slid into the second feature at 9:25 p.m., which was Bumblebee.

The first round of movies tends to start between 7-7:30 p.m. and the second round beings between 9-10 p.m. They announce what movies they will be playing each week on their website every Tuesday.

When you pull up in front of the screen, you can decide to park facing the screen and watch the movies from your driver and/or passenger seat or you can park with your trunk facing the screen so that you can spread your legs out in your trunk. I recommend (if you have a big enough trunk) you throw pillows and blankets in the back and create a bed for yourself for maximum comfort.

You hear the audio of the movie through your car radio. You tune into the radio station that matches your screen. If you own a car that allows you to change audio levels, I recommend turning the bass all the way up if you are watching an action movie so your car shakes during action scenes.

As you drive in and select your screen, you will be handed a menu which includes affordable burgers, milkshakes, popcorn and much more. I load my car up with snacks and drinks before I go so I can save even a little bit more money. The drive-in stops serving food a little after 10 p.m., but you can use their clean restroom well past then.

After watching both your movies your car battery will have been running for roughly four hours. Don’t be scared if your car won’t start up as you are trying to leave. Simply go up to the counter at the restaurant and ask an employee for a jump. They will quickly send someone out to jump your car without a problem.

I have been to this drive-in theater almost half a dozen times and have yet to have a bad time. Three of the times I have gone, my car battery died and the employees are as friendly as can be. So, when the next must-see Marvel movie comes out, consider not going to a regular theater or waiting for it to go on Netflix. Consider taking it old school and rolling through Stars & Stripes Drive-In.

Featured photo by Daniel Richter.