Going to the cinema can be a very expensive trip, especially when you have more than one kid, and it can seem like a waste when you have really little kids who might decide to have a meltdown during the film. But if it only cost £1.50, that would be okay, right?!

Well, at Slough we have our rather rustic cinema by our shopping centre – Empire Slough, which I have already written about here. I always knew about Empire Juniors – where they show a not-so-new children’s movie at 11am on Saturday and Sunday and the tickets are only £1.50 (under 2s are free).

When I found out they were showing Trolls, I knew this was my chance to try it out. Lily would definitely sit through this film. So we went, and just look at her little face in this photo – my heart was melting!!

I bought tickets from the self-service machine by the entrance, as there was a bit of a queue at the counter. I got 2 tickets, one for me and one for Tyler, Lily was free – so that came to £3. We then had to get a staff member to key in the code for the lift and she checked our tickets. Then we went up to the 3rd floor so I could park the pushchair in the Party Room (it’s no longer a party room, but used as a buggy park). On this floor you can buy snacks and drinks, but I came prepared and brought in my own (shhh ;-))

The movie was showing in Screen 7, which is up another set of stairs from the 3rd floor – so you end up being on the top floor. Screen 7 is one of the smaller rooms, but each week the films are shown in different screens, so each experience will be different. With it being Lily’s first time actually watching a film at the cinema, Screen 7 was a perfect size. If you sit in the third row from the front, the kids can sit on the seats and see the screen (any further back, then the chairs in front would be too high). They do provide booster seats, but they are plastic and a bit uncomfortable, so I didn’t bother with them.

I would say there were about 4 or 5 other families in there, most with young kids between 1 – 7 years old, so it was a nice atmosphere. In a normal screening I would have felt self-conscious with Tyler talking and Lily crying towards the end, but as it was other families, everyone was in a similar situation with their kids. And there were parents taking photos of their kids too – everyone does it!

Lily was entranced, Trolls is her favourite film after all. She moved on to my lap after about 15 minutes, as the seats swing up (you have to have weight to keep them down, even Tyler has trouble – though he’s a light boy too!) So she was on my lap for most of it, and did not move. Only towards to end she got restless and cried a little bit. Tyler on the other hand was so excited that he would not sit still. He knew the words to every line and was laughing so much. He really enjoyed seeing Trolls on the big screen, after seeing it a million times on DVD and Sky. There was something magical about it, how it sounds different. You hear background music that you don’t notice on TV. I really loved experiencing this with my little ones – just magic.

After the film finished, Tyler was bursting for the loo, and handily there are loos directly outside Screen 7. There are also loos just down the stairs on the 3rd floor too. I didn’t see Baby Change, but I’m presuming they must have it somewhere. Then we got the buggy, got someone to key in the lift code (there’s always someone on the snacks counter), and we went back down to the ground floor. There, another cheery staff member gave us a kids cinema activity sheet that Tyler did at home.

Would I go again? YES! £1.50 tickets for a fun family experience. With it starting at 11am, it means the film would finish around 12.15 (kids films are short) – so you still have the rest of the day to get on with other stuff. I actually can’t wait to go again. They are showing Sing in the last 2 weeks of January and that is another favourite of ours that we haven’t seen at the cinema.

If you want to find out what films Empire at showing for the kids weekend screenings, click here, scroll down and click ‘Slough’ and you’ll see the latest leaflet with the list of films.

This is the address – basically it’s next to Nandos outside the Queensmere Observatory shopping centre (the Choice/TK Maxx side):
Empire Cinemas, 45, Queensmere Centre, Slough, Berkshire SL1 1DD

Have you been to a kids cinema screening? Do you like it?

Sabrina x

Liked this? Follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram