uci-cinemas.co.uk

If you live in Swansea, there isn't really much choice in which cinema you choose to go to - unless you want to venture out of the town centre. Since the only other cinema in the city centre, the Odeon, closed down many years ago, the UCI has become the cinema of my choice, whether I like it or not.
I love visiting the cinema, so on the days I can't get there or have a limited amount or no money, I visit the website:
www.uci-cinemas.co.uk
...cinema was opened in 1985 as the 'AMC Milton Keynes', and in 1989 was taken over by Paramount and Universal Studios and renamed 'United Cinemas International' - shortened to UCI. They've now become an international brand with multiplexes in Europe, the Far East and South America.

OK, SO NOW I KNOW WHO THEY ARE… WHAT'S THIS ABOUT A WEBSITE?
The UCI website is essential viewing for any film-lover. There is tons of information ... more

If you live in Swansea, there isn't really much choice in which cinema you choose to go to - unless you want to venture out of the town centre. Since the only other cinema in the city centre, the Odeon, closed down many years ago, the UCI has become the cinema of my choice, whether I like it or not.
I love visiting the cinema, so on the days I can't get there or have a limited amount or no money, I visit the website:
www.uci-cinemas.co.uk

SO WHO ARE UCI?
Their first cinema was opened in 1985 as the 'AMC Milton Keynes', and in 1989 was taken over by Paramount and Universal Studios and renamed 'United Cinemas International' - shortened to UCI. They've now become an international brand with multiplexes in Europe, the Far East and South America.

OK, SO NOW I KNOW WHO THEY ARE… WHAT'S THIS ABOUT A WEBSITE?
The UCI website is essential viewing for any film-lover. There is tons of information to fill your brain with!

First off you need to choose your 'favourite' UCI - which translated means your local or nearest UCI - I think there are around 40 to choose from so you should be able to find yours. And when you've done it once it'll remember your cinema - clever huh? Once you've provided them with the information they need, they'll do the same for you and give you everything you need to know about your cinema, under the following sections:

Now Showing - This is the default page which provides you with
a)Current Films Showing and Film Information - At present there are 13 films in at the box office including Pride and Prejudice, Deuce Bigalow, Wolf Creek, and by clicking on any of these titles that interest you, some more information will be displayed e.g. a synopsis about the film, classification, and normally a link to the films official website - which I always find is useful to get a bit more information on the film.
b)Film Times - I find that in the UCI the longer the film is in the cinema the less showings it has, which is probably normal, but the UCI seem to show a film about 5 times a day after only a week or two. For this reason if you think the film you want to see will be popular, I'd advise you to book or leave it a week or two before seeing the film.

Booking is easy - just click on the time you want (available times are underlined) and you'll be taken to a page that will confirm the time, date and location of your chosen film. Then all that's left to do is to pick the number of tickets you need and input your card details (they accept most major debit/credit cards). (Be aware there is a small charge of about 60p per person if paying by card)
If the film is anticipated to be popular, then before you pay you can choose the seats you want to sit in. I had to do this on both occasions when I saw Star Wars-Revenge of the sith and Harry Potter. The queues inside and outside we outrageous so I was glad I booked!
I've used the booking facility every year, about 3 or 4 times for the major films like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter which are always full. You can sign up for alerts for when new films become available to book tickets for using their Book B4 option - a service I use frequently so I am one of the first to buy and I'm guaranteed tickets this way - Book early to avoid disappointment!

The UCI in Leicester Square, in May 2005, decided to screen all 6 Star Wars episodes back to back. On 25 April 2005, tickets went on sale at 9am for the event and sold out in 5 minutes flat! This shows how important it is to book early - take advantage of the Book B4 service!

RIGHT I CAN BUY TICKETS, WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?
Well, if you like you can register with the UCI (it's free!) and get all the benefits of a member which include:
•A weekly newsletter including film times for your local cinema
•Information about new and forthcoming films
•Competitions and offers
•The chance to book first - and use the quick booking service - store your payment details with UCI so those tickets are just a click away!

Under the 'Offers' heading there are a small number of items that may be of interest to certain age groups and people.
Kids Club - Every Saturday and Sunday at 11am, a classic Kids film is shown at the UCI - and for the discount price of £1.95 for a child's ticket, the adult can get in free! Bargain!
Directors Chair - If you don't want to see any of the mainstream films, Directors Chair is for you as they show films that aren't so big and well-known. They show a film on a Sunday at 4pm and Tuesday at 7pm.
UCI loves Students - As the UCI know how little money students possess (myself included!) they have set up a website - www.ucilovestudents.com - a site which offers students exclusive special offers, film info and discounts 7 days a week and if you register with them you can win tickets to premieres and advance screenings. They used to run competitions to win film merchandise on their site but have recently stopped doing them for unknown reasons. I was a bit upset as I'd won 3 prizes from the site - a Movie Soundtrack CD, a Bridget Jones Sarong and an Oceans Twelve Bag. They must have got fed up of me winning all their prizes!

If that's not enough for you, you can find out a bit about the company, or your local cinema by clicking 'about UCI' at the top and following the links below it.

SO ONTO THE CRITERIA BELOW.....
The layout and design of the site make it easy for both adults and children alike to navigate through the site. Everything is plain and simple and the colours are bold and bright making the site easy to read.
The content is updated frequently as soon as new films, times or information becomes available. No problems here.
The website is extremely fast and the pages load in a matter of seconds. Its quick and easy to find the information you need.
There is no search facility on the website as the information is right in front of you and I rarely feel the need to go searching for a piece of information as it is always right at hand.

My overall recommendation - CHECK IT OUT!

Thanks for reading!
© welshgal17, October 2005

 

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