To start off, if you have never been to the El Capitan theatre before, it is a must when you are in LA. It is owned by Disney which is awesome but it is also a gorgeous theatre in the center of Hollywood right across the street from the Dolby theatre (where the Oscars are) and TCL Chinese Theatre (the former Graumann's with all of the handprints).
Anyways, back to the event! Since I moved to LA in 2008, they have shown Lady and the Tramp the week of Valentine's Day. I have always been out of town for that weekend because it overlaps with President's Day and I enjoy getting out of LA for a few days. For the first time this year, my boyfriend and I weren't going to be gone the entire weekend, just Sunday and Monday to Catalina (which I promise I will recap after all of the princess craziness!) so we decided to celebrate Valentine's Day this way.
We splurged on the dinner and movie option. It included:
- catered dinner from Micelli's (the oldest Italian restaurant in LA and most likely the model of Mama Melrose restaurant in LA) including bread, salad, pasta with meatballs, cannolis, drinks and coffee
- lady and the tramp themed straw
- reserved seating for Lady and the tramp upstairs including soda and popcorn
- commemorative picture
- a rose (I did not know this at the time but this is my favorite flower and the only one I ever want. my boyfriend was also excited because that meant he did not need to stop and buy me my single rose for valentine's day the next day)
so on with the meal! We arrived at the theatre at 5:30 but were not seated until closer to 5:45. Before we headed to our seat, we got to take our picture with the cute background. We were in the basement of the theatre. Our tables were covered in checkered tablecloths and we each had a lady and the tramp themed straw waiting for us. As soon as we were seated, we were brought bread, our drink, and salad. Salad was good and their Italian dressing is fantastic. After that, we were brought our spaghetti and meatballs and I got to steal a meatball from my boyfriend's plate (he totally didn't get the reference until we were in the movie haha). They brought flowers to all of the ladies and also brought us our picture (which is currently on my coffee table). After that, we got our cannoli's and I got coffee while my boyfriend got the ghiradelli hot chocolate which was amazing! I can't believe I have never had their hot chocolate before.
As soon as dinner was done, we headed upstairs for our buckets of popcorn and drink and were escorted to our seats about 6 rows back. We got to hear the lovely organ player before the film started.
I haven't seen Lady and the Tramp in forever and i loved it. It is adorable and I totally want to dress as Tony for Wine and dine now-accordion included of course! It also made me realize I have never eaten at tony's in Magic Kingdom before-crazy! My boyfriend, who is not even sure he has ever seen Lady and the tramp, really enjoyed it himself.
Now, this experience was not the cheapest. It was 120 dollars for both of us but I do feel the money was worth it:
- Movie would have been at least 25 bucks, and 20 dollars on concessions
- dinner included appetizer, meal, dessert, drinks and coffee not to mention tip and gratuity were included in the price. there are very few places in LA where you could get all of that for valentine's day for less than 100 dollars per couple.
- parking was 2 bucks!
Would I do it again? you bet! I had a great time and it was awesome to be home by 9PM on a friday after working all day.
Make sure to check out the slideshow below for all of the fun we had.
How did you celebrate Valentine's Day?