Cobb Theatres Lakeside 18 & IMAX

I purchased tix on Fandango and was unable to get to the show. Fandango refused to refund or credit my purchase to another show. Worst customer service experience! The following day we went to go see the movie we’d missed the prior day. While paying, the attendant informed me that I had unused tix and they would gladly exchange them to cover the cost of the movie for that day. AWESOME!!!

I love this theater. Sure, it’s not considered one of the most upscale theaters in FL but it’s the best theater in Polk County. Matinée prices are awesome. I love the location by everything you need. Food, beer & wine, ice cream, and shopping! The only negative I can think of is that sometimes the popcorn servers skip over people who have been waiting longer than others. That’s not a big deal to me… because it’s just popcorn. Now, if it was craft beer that’d be another thing. Hehe
Yeah, so this is the only theater I go to in my county. I like it a lot.

Not any complaints, always clean and the consession is always quick. So conveniently located to all shopping.

Pleasantly surprised! Clean, well lit, no weird smells in the theater. The seats in the theater were in good condition and were very comfy. They recline just enough. Someone must have had their thinking hat on because even the spacing between rows is a little larger, so you don’t get high blood pressure from the arse behind you putting his feet on your armrest.
Would definitely recommend coming here to see a movie.

Always quick and easy when getting tickets. Clean, pop corn is always good and seating is a little better than most. Dbox is interesting and imax is worth the few extra dollars.

First movie I ever saw there this weekend, Insurgent… Not good! Movie was great but experience SUCKED!
During the previews the screen froze for 10 minutes on the «please silence your phone» screen.
Lots of kids, noise and annoying people… Someone even brought a baby in a carrier into the movie!!! What are you thinking?!?
Not a good experience. We decided we aren’t going to the movies anymore. Especially not here.

Nice clean theater with the latest films. Plenty of seating for all the new shows. I would like to see them have earlier show times on weekends to avoid the afternoon rush. Matinée prices are a bit high and the timeframe is small. The popcorn is always fresh instead of previously made hours in advance. Parking is close and plentiful. There are a lot of restaurants around at various price points for dinner and a movie or lunch and a movie.

Always have such a great time at Costera I like the atmosphere I love that they show family friendly movies and the company that I’ve been going with lately has been great

The place is fairly clean and the popcorn amazing (as all movie theater popcorn should be). The best time to go is around noon before the ticket prices bump up a couple dollars and the teenagers come out.

This place is just ok, it’s on the older side and it needs a remodel. Stadium seating is ok.

Took in a Movie at this theatre yesterday. I noticed theatre number 4 smelled of dampness and had a mildewy odor. Today I am bedridden with nasal congestion, a headache and neck pain. Just very strange as I can’t think of any other attribution. Management should check it out my view.

The service here is always phenomenal. While you don’t have as much interaction as you do with a waitress, the interaction you do have is the best you can get.
My husband and I had to leave after purchasing tickets on Fandango that morning, without hesitation they gave us ran checks to come back when we could to watch more than the first five minutes.
Just last night we assumed we had to buy gift cards from the customer service desk instead of the ticket window. We were wrong, and the lines were long but we were more than willing to wait for them to die down before we bought the gift cards. Instead the woman behind the desk said, «You’re here now and I can do it no problem.» We didn’t ask her to, but it was absolutely appreciated. The extra step she took for us is what service is all about. Something so simple makes wonderful service. Great job Cobb!

As a former employee of this place here’s a few tips and things you might want to know:
Just like many movie theaters, most of the staff here are between the ages of 16 and 25. Surprisingly, the company and staff take cleanliness pretty seriously. I always thought we had the cleanest bathrooms, kitchen/​concession area, and theaters.
If you’re visiting Lakeland I highly suggest that you do not see a movie on Friday or Saturday night. Lakeside Village has become «the spot» for teenagers since it’s opening and it is packed on these nights, not to mention loud. Our young adult community is not afraid of communicating, yelling, gasping, and talking during new releases of horror movies, so be warned.
The food made in the kitchen is actually pretty good. The deep fried orios were amazing but for some reason they don’t sell them anymore. Everything is frozen but made to order.
For anyone who hasn’t figured this out yet, movies cost a LOT to rent for the theater and if they get even the least bit scratched, the theater has to pay for it (were talking thousands). Believe it or not, movie theaters don’t get their money from tickets. They get it from their concession, and now you know why everything costs so much. When you go to this theater and buy popcorn you’re going to get asked if you want a medium or large for a dollar more. That is how they up-​sell but honestly, in my opinion, it’s worth it, especially if you have more than one person with you.
If you don’t have the Cobb movie goer card already, you need to get one, especially if you live in Lakeland. It has great benefits and I get free stuff all the time.
If you have any problems, management is very understanding. There are around 7 managers, but not all of them work on the same night, every night. Mr. V and Mr. Cody are great managers and very kind.
As for working their, it’s a fun place to work when you’re in high school. You learn a lot about food, cleaning, and multi-​tasking. The hiring process is pretty easy. The pay is min wage, but you get to see free movies just about every day! Just like any job, be careful who you befriend and keep it professional. It’s easy to get caught up in drama in places like this with staff who are in high school.
The only negative thing I have to say as a customer now, is that the 3D glasses always have scratches and smudges on them.
This Cobb is a nice roomy and clean theater and when there is a movie you really want to see, it’s worth the high price :\
Hope this helps!

All of the regular movie theaters in Lakeland went out of business and the Cobb was the only one left. It is large, has big seats, and is pretty new. Unfortunately, the theater staff are too wrapped up in their own lives to look you in the eye. The theaters are not cleaned well between shows and 3D glasses always come to me covered in popcorn grease (sanitized…yeah right). They also added the DBox chairs to many of the theaters which are reserved when you buy your tickets at an additional fee. They take up all the good seats in the room, make me sea sick, and you’ll spend the first ten minutes of the movie watching an attendant check all the Dbox ticket holders to make sure they paid extra for their seats (followed by an argument while the attendant tries to kick people out of their seats who didn’t pay the extra fee). This brings me to how overpriced this theater is. Tampa and Brandon are actually cheaper and their theater candy is better. The Cobb only carries a couple of off brand box candies but if you want to spend your dinner allowance on their greasy homemade cookies then have at it. I can’t wait until this theater has some competition so they can clean up their cocky attitude. Be warned that the crowd on Friday nights is rough. You’ll notice all of the police cars surrounding the entrance and be thankful they’re there.

What a great, fun place to catch a movie. Slushee machines for the win.
Roomy aisles and seats.
Great location, as I live in the Brandon/​Valrico area, and it’s less than 30 minutes drive for me.
Grab ice cream at the place next door.

As a whole, the theater was slightly above average. A large number of screens and something more than popcorn and soda for concessions makes this place acceptable. Unfortunately, the night we went it was filled with loud, obnoxious people. Compared with the Cobb Cinebistro in Hyde Park, it was like night and day. Going to the movies is as much about the experience as the film — On Demand, Apple TV and Netflix have forced us to expect more from the movies. Otherwise, I could stay in the comfort of my home and watch for much less. That being said, the atmosphere does matter to me and I would prefer to enjoy a movie not surrounded by people who lack common courtesy and civility.

I love this theater. The staff is always courteous, helpful and friendly and every theater is comfy and enjoyable.

This is a pretty big movie theatre, from the outside it looks really nice and so does the inside. While watching the movie I kept hearing loud thumping noises that didn’t seem to come from another theatre. The seats weren’t that comfortable either. Mine seemed like it was broken. The sound quality was great at the theatre. Overall this was an alright theatre.

I could tell you how nice this theater is that it’s clean & it has an IMAX screen & their experimenting with some kinda new finagled seating with speakers built in or how a manger gave me 4 rain checks tickets for the simplest mistake they made without any real prodding on my part, but real reason to come here for your movie watching experience these two words «Funnel Cakes»

Norman’s review is «spot-​on». It is a «luxury liner» in theatres with lots of leg room, retractable comfy chairs, friendly staff. ‘Tis enjoyable to go for a matinée and have a theatre to oneself! Parking lot is also a «bear” – it’s often hard to get close. Theatres adjacent to a walkable outdoor village-​style boutique shopping center with plenty of great «eats». (Crispers, a pizza house, and Grillsmiths being the closest.) Theatre participates in a rewards points program if you’re an addict. Sadly, smallest popcorn is almost $ 5.00. (I also found they kept theatre sound reasonable as opposed to painfully blaring.)