Boxoffice-April.07.1958

PROMOTING THE DRIVE-IN PLAYGROUND: A SIX-CITY REPORT
MIDGET CARS A DRAW FOR THE OLDER KIDS, TOO
Drive-Ins Using Newspapers, Radio, Bumper Strips fo Attract Children
Detroit,
Mich.
Wne brand new type of attraction
was offered at a drive-in here last year—
and typically enough, it fitted right in with
This was
the tradition of the Motor City.
a self-driven, midget car ride installed at
the Van Dyke Drive-In. operated by Detroit
Theatre Enterprises. Here youngsters
of five to 15 years were able to drive their
own little cars, controlling them at will, in
full safety.
A flat dirt track about 1,000 feet long
was installed outside the drive-in proper
and adjoining the playground. It thus
served, like the other playground attractions,
as an inviting attraction for passing
traffic—what family could resist the appeal
of a youngster to stop and enjoy this
unique ride? The track was oiled and
packed down hard.
Four cars were used, purchased from
Rassey Manufactui-ing Co. and equipped
with Continental motors. They were specially
equipped with a governor for safety,
restricting speeds to five to eight miles an
hour—not much over a youngster's i-unning
speed. Similar cars were entered in
the races which were a twice-weekly featui'e
here, but the race cars were without
the governor feature, so that speeds of 30
to 40 miles an hour were achieved.
The attraction was offered free to young
visitors—no adults were allowed to ride
them, incidentally. The operation was
supervised by two ushers, specially trained
in dealing with children. The youngsters
would get in the little cars—which are similar
to standard racing type cars, but onequarter
their size. The ushers would give
the car a shove, and the kiddie would be
off for a trip around the track— in full
safety.
"We wanted something a little different.
The usual drive-in has a train and other
standard rides," said Milton Herman, circuit
supervisor. The management was well
satisfied with results, he says.
"We did the trick with them. It offers
something different for the older kids,
rather than the small slides, rides, and
merry-go-rounds, and they really enjoyed
it."
For the Saturday and Sunday afternoon
races, a tieup was made with a midget car
racing club, and 20 to 30 cars would be
entered each day of the event. They would
be grouped to race four or five at a time in
a race.
Admission to the races was free, and
races would be held in the afternoon, before
start of the regular show. Spectators
could park their cars outside and walk in
without payment of admission fee. thus
making it genuinely a playground promo-
tional feature. Those who wished to drive
in and remain for the show paid the regular
admission fees.
This policy worked out very satisfactorily,
according to Herman. Crowds of
perhaps 300 people would be drawn for the
races. Everything was conducted under supervision
of a standard racing club, and
full precautions to insure safety were taken.
Drivers of the midget cars ranged from
about ages five to 15. The theatre plans
to continue the policy again this season.
CATER TO SMALLER YOUNGSTERS
The Detroit area's 15 major drive-ins
have generally had well-developed playgrounds
for years, including a couple of
full-fledged kiddylands which may be operated
as independent parks; and good,
new ideas on attractions for the young patrons
are constantly sought, but not too
often found practicable in the experience
of operators.
"We prefer to concentrate on a small
playground operation, to satisfy the smaller
youngsters," sums up the policy of the
area, as voiced by Irving Goldberg. In this
group of outdoor shows, no important new
attractions have been added in the past
couple of seasons, despite a search of available
offerings. An important reason for
this, Irving Goldberg says, is the problems
encountered with control and operation of
mechanical rides. To allow practical operations
that will please the customers,
they are following a policy of a comparatively
few rides of this sort.
The typical Goldberg-operated drive-in
today has thus an airplane, a train ride and
a merry-go-round. In some cases a small
boat ride is added, offering enough variety
to satisfy the small fry without presenting
too many complex mechanical problems.
The newest addition to the children's attractions at Loew's 1,728-car Normandy Twin Outdoor Theatre,
Jacksonville, Fla., is the spick-and-span miniature zoo called Happyland. It is populated with harmless
and friendly domesticated animals and birds, including spider monkeys, guinea pigs, rabbits, cockatoos,
pigeons, ducks, raccoons and a deodorized skunk. Parents bring their children to the Normandy long before
dusk, reports Manager Jim Carey, so they can assemble picnic meals at the concessions counters and
then take the kids to the zoo, to Mother Goose Land, to the playground, and for speedy rides on the milelong
miniature Silver Meteor of the Seaboard Air Line or for more leisurely rides on Mexican burros.
PLAYGROUND IS
EXPECTED
A conservative promotional policy is generally
followed in connection with playgrounds
during the season, but generally it
is not given strong emphasis. This reflects
the fact that with some 15 drive-ins, all of
tlie 1,000-car class or better, ringing the
city, the availability of a playground has
come to be taken for granted as something
the customers expect with the modern outdoor
show, just as they expect to find service
features like a drinking fountain or
lounge room.
As an example of operation, the Goldberg
brothers typically use a special invitation
to customers to come early and enjoy
the playground facilities when the
weather is good. Stress is given to the fact
that this is a pleasant way "to give father
Continued on page 12
10 The MODERN THEATRE SECTION