Waah! Crying rooms let you bring Junior to the cinema

If a new baby or antsy toddler has kept you from seeing this year's summer blockbusters, consider visiting one of a handful of Seattle theaters that feature cry rooms.

These soundproof rooms are fronted by a glass window and carry their own speaker. Seating in the rooms, which accommodate anywhere from two to 15 adults, is first-come, first-served.

"Parents are delighted to find they can go out in the evening," said Teri White, district manager for Seven Gables, which manages the Guild 45th, the Varsity Theatre and Metro Cinemas. All three offer cry rooms.

The chain's original owner felt cry rooms were an important amenity and preserved the Varsity's room during a remodel and added them when the Guild and Metro were built in the 1980s.

Enclosing the room requires about two and a half times the normal amount of space for seating, she noted. Metro's room is used a lot.

Parents need to call the theaters' information lines to find out what movie is playing in the screens equipped with a cry room. Children can view the movie, so parents need to be wary of adult-rated films unless the munchkins will sleep.

Some theaters with cry rooms:

Guild 45th, 2115 N. 45th St., Seattle, 206-633-3353. Seats up to two adults.

Metro Cinemas, 4500 Ninth Ave. N.E., Seattle, 206-633-0055. Press 4 for cry-room movie. Seats up to five adults.

Northgate Theatre, 10 Northgate Plaza, Seattle, 206-363-5800. Two rows of seats for 10 people.

Varsity Theatre, 4329 N.E. University Way, Seattle, 206-632-3131. The largest screen is equipped with a cry room that seats up to two adults.

- Stephanie Dunnewind, Seattle Times staff reporte.