Alzhiemers to the Theater in Raleigh
Alzheimer’s is a very debilitating disease for the person with it and the people around them. As the disease progresses it is important to keep the victim engaged with activities that a recognizable and comfortable. In my mom’s case, she has always loved the movies and enjoys having a drink and popcorn with the show. In order to make sure she gets the most out of life we take her out each Friday, without fail. We have been doing this for the last two years here and before that my brother did the same.
She is currently declining and is considered in the middle stages of the disease and moving toward the end stages. Her eyesight and hearing is starting to be impacted by the messy little knots being formed in her brain. In spite of this she always jumps at the chance to go to a movie.
It can be great if you want to see a movie for the second or third time. To her it is always the first time. Last week we went to a darling movie called “Dreamer” with Kurt Russell and Dakota Fanning. This well acted, emotional movie reminded my mom of her horse. She owned a thoroughbred called “Rosie” which she used to ride to school every day. You could do that in rural Maine in those days, before the Great War, WWII.
Ah, which theaters have we discovered are best for mom giving her limitations.
First we have a wonderful place called Raleighwood. It is located on Falls of Nuese Rd across from a private golf club. It has excellent handicap parking, which with all the other problems of 81 year great grandma, is a godsend. The theater has two screens and staggers the starting times for evening shows. One show starts at 6:30 and the next at 7:00.
Restrooms are conveniently located in the main waiting area. Which given how forgetful older folks can be has proven very convenient during emergencies.
Raleighwood is a type of dinner theater which serves a selection of drinks, entr�©es and desserts. Salads, pizza and hot sandwiches are the main entrees. The drinks are huge in size and come with refills. This can lead to emergencies.
For classic movie goers, they offer baskets of popcorn which are about the size of a medium serving.
They request patrons arrive a half hour before the movie so that they can take your order and serve you. You seat your self in a soft comfortable plush chair either around a table or at a counter. The theater descends as you enter from the higher side and go steadily lower. It is just the opposite of most of the modern sadium seating theaters in the area. The design works well for someone with an older person who has difficulty walking or needs a wheelchair.
Theater is always neat and clean. The staff dress in a standard uniform and both look and act very professionally.
The food is not haute cuisine by any stretch of the imagination. But is hot, tasty and quick. Most entrees, except Pizzas, include French fries.
The dinner and movie experienced is enhanced by the low ticket price. The price is only $4.00 per ticket to take in a show. Most of the movies offered at the end of there theater run but are not out on video or DVD yet. They also offer special shows dealing with sports or national events.
In addition to regular movies, the theater offers children’s movies Saturday mornings and free Monday night football. (they still charge for the food)
Great treat for mom, affordable for us and fun for all. A very convenient Dinner and a Movie place for those who need to take along Mom or Dad.
Raleighwood Cinima Grill
6609 Falls of Neuse Road
Raleigh, North Carolina 27615
Office 919-847-8370
Movie Line 919-847-0326
Six Forks Theater is our second choice. The parking is a little bit more difficult but is very plentiful. There usually aren’t that many people at this theater. The theater has six screens, providing a little better selection. The movies are all first run and the door prices are in the going range which currently is $8 -$9.
The entry way is an open area with the concession stands on either side. There are bath rooms just off the end of the room.
The theaters all enter immediately from the main area, making for a short trip to the seats. The seats are the standard seats of theaters dating back a bit. They all have cup holders on either side. (I can never figure whose is who’s)
The popcorn is aways hot and tempting. (not stale and sitting) The manager is always at the ready to make the experience will allow.
Being a small theater is actually good when you are dealing with a person with Alzheimer’s as it reduces the level of distraction. The older person can easily get confused and distraught if too much is going on.
The ramps along the seats go down gently from back to front. This is something you see in old theaters but is missing in those with stadium seating. The rows alternate in the middle sections to accommodate wheel chairs. People with limits love to be part of the group, rather than separated. This feature allows them to be full participants.
Although this theater is pretty standard, for my mom it represents an excellent choice. This is the theater we saw “Dreamer” in. One of the nice things about the small crowds is the audience gets very involved in the movie. It was quite moving when the audience began applauding for the race horse. It was like really being in the stands.
Another feature of small crowds is that you get to watch the credits. (for those of us who want to know who did what)
Six Forks Station Cinema
9500 Forum Drive
Raleigh, NC
(919) 846-3904
The third theater that is good for the Alzheimer’s mom or dad, is the Colony at the corner of Six Forks Rd. and Millbrook Rd.
The colony is another small theater. It is part of a small local group or chain of theaters. It’s sister theater, the Rialto, is the local host of the “Rocky Horror Picture Show”.
The colony is a colorful, artsy theater. The main entryway waiting area is on the smallish side. The restrooms are easily accessible and near the theater entry doors.The concession stand sells popcorn, candy bars, plus�
The plus is a great selection of beers and wine. They even put the wine in real wine glasses. My mom may have forgotten a lot, but the taste of an occasion glass of fine wine is good for the spirit.
The movies at the Colony tend to be films that are foreign language, very artsy or as with the “Full Monty” haven’t been picked up by the mainline theaters yet.
Entering into either of the two theaters one is caught by a few differences. First, this is the only theater I know of that has recycling bins for beer bottles at the entry. The second item that a new patron notices is the carpeted walls with hand prints everywhere. People, including mom and me, just enjoy leaving the indentation of their hands in the walls. I don’t know of any other place you can have you hand immortalized, except the sidewalk in Hollywood. Okay, it isn’t really immortalized. Maybe just temporalized for a week or two.
The aisle in this theater is again in the old format, which is much easier on the less young crowd. The seats are the older style though they have been upgraded to be more comfortable. They have the cup holders. This can be a draw back for forgetful people who try to place their wine glass in the holder without first putting in a larger cup to hold it.
I suspect many a fragile wine glass has met its fate at the hands of an unwitting act. When I briefly forgot, my glass fortunately took a little bounce before rolling twenty feet under the seats until it was stopped by someone’s feet.
Like the Six Forks Theater, people have been known to get very involved in the show. The smaller crowd sizes seem to lead to a more intimate environment.
Colony Theater
5438 Six Forks Rd., Raleigh
(919) 856-0111
These are just a few places where one can find a moment of relaxation in a stressful situation.
