Hannah Montana movie

Who with a kid under 16 doesn't know about the Hannah Montana 3D movie opening on Friday? Disney ran commercials galore over the weekend.

So of course, I'm taking the kids. I don't necessarily want to go. I've been to the concert. But I am curious to see it for pop culture research.

It would be hard to say no, anyway. I'm a mommy who often tries to give into my kids' reasonable wishes. Well, so long as they behave or follow through on a promise. (My daughter cried an hour last week when I cancelled a play date that I promised, but then she didn't follow through on her promise - I try not to create little brats.)

So when we decided to go last week, I worried about getting tickets. News stories have been circulating about sold out movie times and jacked up prices. It seemed the reality - a friend of mine bought her tickets early and paid $15 each for them and a coworker with daughters also warned me that many places had sold out.

My reality wasn't that bad. I got tickets, though not for my first or second choice for times. And I paid just $7.50 for the kids (the regular 3D price) and $9 for me on Sunday. I couldn't get matinee tickets for Saturday after soccer. Those were sold out. But there were tickets for Sunday, and I quickly grabbed them.

Honestly, I thought I lucked out. But this morning, as I surfed the web, I saw that several movie places in the Valley still are selling tickets on the weekend (mostly for evening shows) and throughout the week. But it's still anyone's guess how quickly they'll sell out.

Some places are selling for $15 each, and if you buy online, you'll get a $1 or so service charge per ticket. I went in person to buy my tickets (then I did some shopping).

My tips, if you plan to go to the movie: buy now and be flexible. It's not rocket science. :)

Arizona Moms Editor Yvette Armendariz shares stories about raising her kids and tips for busy parents in her Time-starved (goddess) Mom blog. She and her husband are raising two children, ages 8 and 11.