Fandango has made it possible for millions of film buffs to bypass the lines at the box office and order movie tickets from home or office. Star Reviews needed to see what the pioneer of online movie tickets had to offer us, so we spent the afternoon browsing through their site. Visually appealing and feature-filled website aside, Fandango offers a lot more than just movie tickets. Continue on for our experiences below.
What’s New?
- Movie Trailers
- Fandango Mobile - Sends instant advanced movie ticket alerts & more directly to your cell phone.
Star Reviews Favorite Feature
Behind the Scenes-Check out cool celebrity interviews, movie articles and behind the scenes tours. You will get a first hand glimpse of the movie-making and filming process.
Fandango Features:
- Tickets for 1,300 theaters across the U. S.
- Print at home or pick up at kiosk.
- Plot summaries, cast lists, and fan reviews
- Movie Blog
- Find live events in your area
- Fan Buzz-top ten fan-rated flicks and reviews
- Fandango Bucks-give the gift of movies
Navigating the Fandango website:
Fandango offers a vibrant web interface that will appeal to all movie lovers. To buy movie tickets online, you can either search by name using the pull-down menu on the main page or by entering your zip code in the appropriate space on the same page. We liked the simple-to-use search box and tabs like ‘Fandango Features’ and ‘Featured Trailers.’ For those of you who don’t love going to the movies (we know you’re out there) there is a cool page available entirely devoted to live events like concerts, sports and even theater.
Theater & Ticket Availability:
You shouldn’t have a problem finding your local Cineplex or tickets to the show for that matter. Fandango’s online movie ticket service is available for 1,300 theaters across the United States. Those theaters include AMC, Kerasotes, Cinemark, and many IMAX locations. Tickets can be purchased one to three weeks in advance depending on the movie. You can also use Fandango’s services to buy tickets to special screenings, including midnight showings of movies so you can secure your spot without going to the box office.
Getting your tickets on Fandango:
If you search by movie, you’ll be prompted to enter your zip code and to select a date after you’ve been given film reviews and information. After you enter your zip code, you’ll see a list of all the theaters in your area and their movie schedules. The theaters which sell movie tickets through Fandango will have their showing times appearing in bright red. To order movie tickets, click on the time you want to see the movie.
After entering payment information and your account is created, you’ll be able to review your order and see convenience charges per ticket. When you submit your ticket order, you’ll receive a confirmation including the instructions on how to either print or pick up your tickets.
Theaters partnered with Fandango either allow you to pick up your tickets at the theater or to print them at home. If you pick up your tickets, you’ll be asked to show some proof of your identity, including a photo ID, the credit card you used to place the order, or the confirmation page you printed out from Fandango.
Some theaters include special kiosks for picking up Fandango tickets. You’ll see a special icon listed with these theaters at the web site.
Pricing:
Fandango’s ticket prices are based on theater and location, so whatever you pay at your local AMC or Regal Cinemas, it will be the same. However, they do charge a convenience fee for each ticket you order through their services. Depending on the order and the theater, that fee ranges from $0.75 to $1.50 per ticket.
Customer Support:
Fandango’s web site provides an extensive FAQs section that can be browsed through fairly easily. If you do have a question, you’ll probably be able to find an answer within their database of more than 190 questions. However, they do offer customer service by email and by toll-free number. Our email question was answered in less than 24 hours. The response was brief but it provided an appropriate answer.
Before we could contact Fandango by email, we had to register with the site and read through their FAQ’s to make sure our question was not already answered. When we called their customer service number, we went through one menu and our call was answered quickly by a friendly representative who provided a more detailed response to our question than we received via email.
Upside:
Lots of movie information available. Excellent customer service. Available for many theaters around the country.
Downside:
Convenience fee is a bit pricy per ticket. Having to register before asking a question online.
Summary:
Overall, we felt that Fandango broke the barrier between box office and theater, making it fun and simple for customers to buy their movie tickets. We loved how they not only made a business of selling movie tickets, they really emphasize the film industry itself through their trailers, film reviews, celebrity interviews, fan ratings and other great features. They offer movie tickets for many theaters across the nation and even if you can’t find some at a specific theater, you can opt to purchase at another local theater. Their convenience charges were a little steep, running around $.75-$1.50 per ticket. Customer support was good, with efficient and fairly speedy telephone and email support times. The FAQs were pretty comprehensive. In conclusion, we would definitely recommend this movie ticket service to all you Hollywood fans out there.