Cars started arriving at the Orange County Fairgrounds more than two hours before the first show began at the new Star-Vu Drive-In. A "sold out" sign was up 30 minutes after the gates opened.

"If this doesn't prove Southern California wants its drive-in theaters back, nothing will," said Long Beach resident Tom Dahlke, who attended with his wife and son. "This turnout is phenomenal."

The Star-Vu's debut comes 10 years after the county's last drive-in, the Hi-Way 39 in Westminster, shut down. But for those who came, it was as if barely a day had passed. Early-model Ford roadsters turned out in force, and families piled into the beds of pickup trucks with quilts and bags of popcorn.

"Hot rods and drive-ins – that's like peanut butter and jelly. You gotta come out," said Yorba Linda resident Bob Rhoades, who steered a black Ford "shoe box" with yellow flames into the front row.

Costa Mesa resident Nick Cousyn, who drove his wife and friends to the show in a 1961 Chevy Impala, called the drive-in's revival a no-brainer.

"Baby boomers are going to enjoy it. Families (and) kids are going to have a great time," he said.

Jill Lloyd, the drive-in's spokeswoman, was awed by the crowd. "Oh, wow," she said. "It's a great first turnout, obviously … but not surprising. It's unique to Orange County now."

Like many of its predecessors, the Star-Vu aims to offer more than movies. A bounce house, inflatable slide and giant trampoline kept kids busy before "Shrek the Third" flickered onto the screen Friday night. An Austin Powers impersonator regaled attendees with ribald jokes.

Despite the demise of drive-ins – 90 percent of the more than 4,000 that once existed nationwide have disappeared – the Star-Vu's principals are confident of success.

Whereas previous drive-ins occupied vast swaths of valuable real estate, the Star-Vu is on public land, shielding it from market pressures, officials say.

"The decline of drive-ins is a misnomer," Fred Armendariz, a Star-Vu principal, said in an interview last month. "They've always been popular and still are to this day, but what has dramatically affected drive-ins as an industry is real estate value.

"For example," Armendariz said, "the Stadium Drive-In in Orange was very popular until it closed, but if you can put a condominium complex over it, it's a very easy decision to sell the property to a developer and receive multimillion-dollar gratification overnight."

Despite the excitement, not everything went perfect on opening night. Lights from a nearby extreme-sports expo at the fairgrounds may have hampered the picture quality. And at one point during previews, the movie image lost its alignment with the screen, prompting a flurry of honking horns.

Organizers shrugged off the early hiccups. "This is not an art form," said Mary Jean Duran, Star-Vu's president. "There's going to be stuff we learn along the way, and changes will be made. But so far, we're off to a great start."

Contact the writer: 714-445-6683 or joverley@ocregister.com