I have always been curious what it would be like to attend a Street Food Cinema outdoor screening. My family jumped at the chance to go when I saw that there was a Yuletide Cinema being held at Heritage Square Museum. The family headed down to Los Angeles to enjoy an outdoor screening of “Home Alone” and partake in Victorian home tours. Read on for more information about our experience! 
WHAT IS YULETIDE CINEMALAND AT HERITAGE SQUARE MUSEUM?
Yuletide Cinemaland at Heritage Square Museum is an event put on by Street Food Cinema. Heritage Square Museum is composed of Victorian-Era homes in the heart of Los Angeles. The Cinemaland event combines a holiday-themed movie-going experience in the middle of Heritage Square.
Movie screenings take place on the lawn with chairs provided by Street Food Cinema. There are food trucks, carolers, a bar for age 21 and over, and guided tours of the museum homes. The homes are decorated in holiday decor.
Each Yuletide Cinemaland event date has a specific movie that will be aired. The movie itself is aired at 6 p.m. and again at 8 p.m.
IS IT WORTH IT?
Yes! My entire family absolutely loved it! We went on a Sunday and it definitely made us feel like we had enjoyed the entire weekend up to the very last drop. The kids were even asking us when we could return to see the Heritage Square homes in the daylight.
We were initially caught off guard by the parking situation (see below) and the walk to get there, but it was still well worth the entertainment.
If you do wind up going with kids, be sure you check out which movie is playing first. “Love Actually” is one of the movies scheduled for a future date. This movie definitely has some very inappropriate parts for kids.
WHAT SHOULD I KNOW?
Before you leave home:
- DON’T bring your own chairs. They will provide them for you. The chairs can only be a specific height anyway.
- Bring a blanket…even if you don’t think you will be cold. You’ll read why in a bit.
- Make sure your phone is fully charged for:
- Pictures!
- Your tickets to be scanned (if you didn’t print them out).
- Screenshot your tickets. I always do this just in case my cell reception isn’t great when I try to pull my tickets up at an event.
- Bring cash:
- You will need it for parking.
- You might need cash to purchase food from some of the food trucks. We paid with a card for pizza, so some trucks definitely take cards.
- Avoid the portable toilets later. There are only portable toilets at the event. Just an FYI.
- The event is dog-friendly. You will see plenty of dogs walking around wearing cute holiday sweaters. Dogs are not allowed on the indoor home tours. I personally loved it. However, you should avoid this event if you are scared of dogs.
Parking
- Parking is at the nearby Metro station. Metro parking costs $8 and must be paid in cash. There was also VIP parking on site, but I am unsure of the cost. Note: If your parking ticket includes the price of parking, the attendant will ask to see your ticket for proof of parking payment.
- Keep belongings out of sight. It goes without saying, but make sure that your car is clear. Don’t leave anything in plain view. This is a good practice no matter where you go.
- Wear your walking shoes. You have to walk from the Metro lot to Heritage Square.
The walk from the station to the entrance is fairly quick, but there is an extensive dirt road you have to walk through to get to the actual Heritage Square. Don’t worry, there are a couple of spots along the way to stop and take pictures.
When you arrive…
- Stay in line! There is a red tent just after the light tunnel with a sign that says, “General Admission.” You still go here even if you already bought your tickets online. Yes, you still have to stand here even though you had to show your tickets to security at the street entrance 😉 Have your tickets ready to show on your phone.
- Immediately save your chairs by laying blankets across the chairs you want to reserve. Most people did this and the staff didn’t seem to have a problem with it.
- Go to the museums for some quick guided tours. Guided tours are available at designated times throughout the event. We started on the first tours- 5:15 p.m.- to avoid the crowds. Gates open at 5 p.m., but the first movie showing does not take place until 6 p.m. The museum homes are decorated for the holidays. You’ll want to return to see the way these homes are decorated inside the rest of the year!
- Order your food before you settle in for the movie. There are quite a few food choices! The kids got hungry half-way through the movie and hubby ran off to grab food. The cashier stated that it would take 20 minutes for the pizzas (personal size) to cook…after my hubby paid for the order. I’m not sure if this is how it works with the other trucks, but figured I’d let you know just in case 😉 We wound up getting our food 10 minutes before the movie was over.
- If can’t find a chair, ask a staff member. Remember what I said about bringing a blanket and reserving your chairs? Yeah, we didn’t know about that. We saw so many empty chairs we thought we were all good. Nope…all of the chairs were covered with blankets. We asked a staff-person for help- when he couldn’t find us empty chairs, he brought us 4 chairs to use 😉
There are more Yuletide Cinema movie screenings happening at the Heritage Square Museum through December 23rd! You can find tickets for the event by clicking HERE
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Quick Facts:
- Address: Heritage Square Museum: 3800 Homer Street, Los Angeles, California 90031-1530
- Dates: Yuletide Street Cinema ends December 23, 2018.
- Museum tour rules: No photography or pets aloud inside the museum homes.
FIND MORE IDEAS FOR FAMILY FUN THIS TIME OF YEAR: