[Ghoulish Delight]

Oh yes, and we stumbled across the best little secret for getting into the place if you can't show up early. Since CP worked until 6, we couldn't get there early enough to line up outside with everyone else. By the time we did get there, the line of cars waiting for the parkinglot to open was several blocks long, and any street parking was a loooong ways away. So, resigned to getting into the line of cars, we began to circle back, only to discover that we hadn't circled far enough back to join the end of the line and made a turn to try again. Instead, we found a small line of cars on a side street directly opposite the entrance gate. We hemmed and hawed a little, but decided what the heck. Well, turned out to be an excellent decission. Getting across Santa Monica was a bit of a hairy proposition, with a line of cars stretching either way trying to get into the driveway as well as lanes of moving traffic in either direction. But a bit of patience paid off. Even with the wait each car had to make to get across the busy street, we definitely got in a lot faster than we would have had we joined the main line.

We ended getting in and settled mere moments after the rest of the group who had parked on the streeet and sat in line outside for a while. I wouldn't rely on that as a way to get a good spot, I think we got excedingly lucky with the timing. If it's as crowded as it was this weekend, getting their early and lining up is still by far the best bet. But if you've got no other option, this was a great little shortcut to stumble across.

Those who have been there before said this was a particularly large crowd. I wonder if word has spread and it will remain so for the rest of the run, or if perhaps the fact that it was a Hitchcock film ON Hitchcock's birthday brought out the Hitchcock fans.