Glad to hear the Lido is back open. It’s the only historic theater in Orange County still showing movies. Hopefully the Fox in Fullerton and the Bay in Seal Beach re-open too.
Not sure why Cinemark bought this facility without any concrete plans to renovate it (as far as we know). Just seems like a short-sighted move with a predictable outcome.
Anyway, this will leave the city of Lake Forest without a movie theater for the first time in fifty years. The city originally had the Edwards 1-2-3, 4-5-6 theater on the south side of El Toro Road near the I-5 junction, and later a newer Edwards location right across the street. The two operated concurrently for over a decade – Edwards seemed to make a habit of operating multiple theaters very close to each other (see the Tustin Marketplace and Fashion Island duos, for example).
It’s hard to say if Lake Forest will ever get another theater of its own again in the foreseeable future. Most of the city is very close to the Irvine Spectrum theater, but the Foothill Ranch neighborhood will now be at least a 15-20 minute drive from any theater.
According to the LA Times (03/19/92), actors Ned Beatty (“Deliverance”) and Marc McClure (Jimmy Olsen in the “Superman” franchise) were present at the grand opening of this theater.
This is a pretty nice theater with a charming Edwards lobby, it just needs some new seats. Very low traffic compared to some other multiplexes in the area, but that may change with a new Irvine Company apartment complex being built right next door. Not a bad place to see movies, but AMC Tustin 14 down the road is a better facility if you don’t have a chain preference.
This facility has seen better days. I grew up going to movies here, including my first ever, Cars (2006). I saw Barbie here on its last night of operation as a Regal theater in 2023. Almost nothing has changed here cosmetically since ‘99 – I believe some of the smaller auditoriums might have gotten new seats at one point, but that’s it. The theater’s age shows, especially in the big auditoriums that still have the original red seats and are rather musty.
This theater is primed for a rejuvenation. Lots of multimillion-dollar homes in the area (including a new two-thousand-home subdivision next door) and some heavy-hitting tenants in the shopping center like Target, Walmart, In-N-Out, and Chipotle. The ridiculously oversized parking lots make the center look like more of a ghost town than it is.
Cinemark wants to expand its presence in SoCal and could potentially do that by giving this theater a facelift and some features like recliners, XD, or D-BOX. Give locals a reason to come to this theater instead of driving to a different location or staying home.
The Regal UTC location is a hidden gem of a theater, especially after the complete overhaul a few years ago. It’s one of two Regals in south OC that has recliners in every auditorium at no surcharge (the other being Kaleidoscope Mission Viejo). This location also accepts Apple Pay at the self-service ticketing kiosks, something I haven’t seen at any other Regal I’ve visited.
This location doesn’t seem to do a lot of business though considering some notable drawbacks, including the parking situation. All the spots in the UTC parking lot are time-restricted to prevent UCI students from parking there and going to class. The spots near the theater are timed for two hours, which seems like not enough for a moviegoing experience. I’m not sure how strictly they enforce this limit since I always park at the UCI garages instead. There’s also the fact that this is the smallest Regal location in the county with only six screens, significantly limiting the selection compared to nearby theaters like Regal Irvine Spectrum (21 screens) or AMC Tustin (14 screens).
Still, though, it’s a great place to watch a movie for those not hindered by the aforementioned flaws.
One of two Regal locations in south Orange County that has recliners included standard in every auditorium, the other being Irvine UTC. The UTC location is more modern and in a livelier shopping center but the Kaleidoscope location has more auditoriums, stadium seating, and an actual reasonable parking setup. Generally, Kaleidoscope is a good place to see a movie.
Glad to hear the Lido is back open. It’s the only historic theater in Orange County still showing movies. Hopefully the Fox in Fullerton and the Bay in Seal Beach re-open too.
Not sure why Cinemark bought this facility without any concrete plans to renovate it (as far as we know). Just seems like a short-sighted move with a predictable outcome.
Anyway, this will leave the city of Lake Forest without a movie theater for the first time in fifty years. The city originally had the Edwards 1-2-3, 4-5-6 theater on the south side of El Toro Road near the I-5 junction, and later a newer Edwards location right across the street. The two operated concurrently for over a decade – Edwards seemed to make a habit of operating multiple theaters very close to each other (see the Tustin Marketplace and Fashion Island duos, for example).
It’s hard to say if Lake Forest will ever get another theater of its own again in the foreseeable future. Most of the city is very close to the Irvine Spectrum theater, but the Foothill Ranch neighborhood will now be at least a 15-20 minute drive from any theater.
According to the LA Times (03/19/92), actors Ned Beatty (“Deliverance”) and Marc McClure (Jimmy Olsen in the “Superman” franchise) were present at the grand opening of this theater.
According to the OC Register, this Edwards location was robbed at gunpoint in the early morning hours of July 15, 1992.
This is a pretty nice theater with a charming Edwards lobby, it just needs some new seats. Very low traffic compared to some other multiplexes in the area, but that may change with a new Irvine Company apartment complex being built right next door. Not a bad place to see movies, but AMC Tustin 14 down the road is a better facility if you don’t have a chain preference.
This facility has seen better days. I grew up going to movies here, including my first ever, Cars (2006). I saw Barbie here on its last night of operation as a Regal theater in 2023. Almost nothing has changed here cosmetically since ‘99 – I believe some of the smaller auditoriums might have gotten new seats at one point, but that’s it. The theater’s age shows, especially in the big auditoriums that still have the original red seats and are rather musty.
This theater is primed for a rejuvenation. Lots of multimillion-dollar homes in the area (including a new two-thousand-home subdivision next door) and some heavy-hitting tenants in the shopping center like Target, Walmart, In-N-Out, and Chipotle. The ridiculously oversized parking lots make the center look like more of a ghost town than it is.
Cinemark wants to expand its presence in SoCal and could potentially do that by giving this theater a facelift and some features like recliners, XD, or D-BOX. Give locals a reason to come to this theater instead of driving to a different location or staying home.
The Regal UTC location is a hidden gem of a theater, especially after the complete overhaul a few years ago. It’s one of two Regals in south OC that has recliners in every auditorium at no surcharge (the other being Kaleidoscope Mission Viejo). This location also accepts Apple Pay at the self-service ticketing kiosks, something I haven’t seen at any other Regal I’ve visited.
This location doesn’t seem to do a lot of business though considering some notable drawbacks, including the parking situation. All the spots in the UTC parking lot are time-restricted to prevent UCI students from parking there and going to class. The spots near the theater are timed for two hours, which seems like not enough for a moviegoing experience. I’m not sure how strictly they enforce this limit since I always park at the UCI garages instead. There’s also the fact that this is the smallest Regal location in the county with only six screens, significantly limiting the selection compared to nearby theaters like Regal Irvine Spectrum (21 screens) or AMC Tustin (14 screens).
Still, though, it’s a great place to watch a movie for those not hindered by the aforementioned flaws.
One of two Regal locations in south Orange County that has recliners included standard in every auditorium, the other being Irvine UTC. The UTC location is more modern and in a livelier shopping center but the Kaleidoscope location has more auditoriums, stadium seating, and an actual reasonable parking setup. Generally, Kaleidoscope is a good place to see a movie.