Metro Vancouver’s only drive-in theatre, the Twilight Drive-In Theatre in Langley was once a great place to watch popular movies on a big screen from your car.

Note: The Twilight Drive-In Theatre screened its final movies in 2024 and is now permanently closed.

The Twilight Drive-In Theatre

The Twilight Drive-In Theatre was a classic drive-in movie theatre located at 3350-260th Street and Fraser Highway in Aldergrove. It’s about a 60-minute drive from downtown Vancouver and about five minutes from the Greater Vancouver Zoo.

The place featured a huge screen that was large enough for even people at the back of the parking lot to see the movie clearly. The screen was 20 feet off the ground and 40 feet high by 94 feet wide.

When it was still operational, the gates to the theatre opened about 45 minutes prior to the first show to allow moviegoers time to find parking and get settled. The place opened again 30 minutes prior to the second film.

An over-the-air FM radio was required to hear the movie. Either your car radio or a battery-powered radio would do. The theatre did rent any radios.

MOVIES AT FLYOVER CANADA

For an interesting multi-dimensional film experience where you can soar over Canada from coast to coast to coast, check out FlyOver Canada at Canada Place in downtown Vancouver. This unique cinema attraction also features films about other countries sometimes, and has holiday-themed movies at Halloween and Christmas. The shows at FlyOver Canada are highly recommended!

Movie Schedule

The Twilight Drive-In hosted two movies per night. The first screening started after dusk, at around 9:30 pm in the early summer. The second screening started around 11:00 pm, or earlier as the days got shorter.

Upcoming movies were usually released on the theatre’s website in four-day increments. For example, the movie schedule for Friday to Sunday would be released on the Tuesday before.

Car at Drive-in Theatre — Dusk at the Drive-in Theatre

Movie Tickets and Prices

Pricing was based on the number of people in each vehicle. For its final year, the theatre was open nightly in the summer. Movie prices were the following (including taxes):

$25 – One vehicle with one person
$35 – One vehicle with two people
$45 – One vehicle with three people
$55 – One vehicle with four people
$65 – One vehicle with five people
$75 – One vehicle with six people
$85 – One vehicle with seven people
$95 – One vehicle with eight people

Any additional passengers and walk-ins cost an extra $15 each. (Note: Prices were subject to change.)

Family at Drive-In Movie — Watch from the Back of the Vehicle

Tips & Advice

Should the theatre become operational again (which likely won’t ever happen), below are some suggestions to help you make the most of your drive-in movie experience. Some of the tips will also be relevant if you attend a drive-in theatre somewhere else.

TIP #1: Lots of people go in their trucks, vans and station wagons. They then park backwards, open up the rear door, and watch the movie from the back of their vehicles (instead of looking forwards from the front seats). If you have a long vehicle, that’s a nice way to do it. When we went we even took a futon mattress, plus sleeping bags and lots of pillows.

TIP #2: Dogs are permitted at the theatre, although they do need to stay in your car. It’s fun to take pets, and we took our dog when we went. If you plan to see a film about animals, or something with monsters or loud noises that your dog might react too, though (like bark at or freak out about), then in those cases maybe leave your furry friends at home.

TIP #3: Best places to park within the theatre grounds are in the middle (so the screen is directly ahead) and within the first five or so rows. Parking is on a first-come, first-served basis, so arrive early, even before the gates open, to get a prime spot.

TIP #4: Especially if you go early, either plan to occupy your time chatting with whomever you go, or take cards, a book or something else to do while waiting for the show to start. Of course, depending on who you go with, just snuggling while you wait could be good too.

TIP #5: When we last went (at the beginning of September), there were no mosquitos. Just in case there are when you go, though, it wouldn’t hurt to have some bug spray handy.

Other Information

For more details, see the Twilight Drive-In Theatre website.

To learn more about the area check out our article about the City and Township of Langley.

For those who love drive-in movies, another option is Outdoor Movie Nights at Lansdowne Centre in Richmond! In 2024 there were four drive-in movies playing on Wednesdays in July. The price was $25 for each vehicle.

Other articles that may be of interest include the following: