The event was very well organized. It was sold out but we arrived early enough to get great seats right in the middle of the theater. Everyone was given a goodie bag with a tee shirt, a poster and a couple other items. FOTR started at 11:30 AM and ROTK ended about 11:00 PM. Dinner, a buffet set up by Outback Steakhouse at the front of the room, was served after FOTR and dessert was served after TTT. About 100 door prizes were given away by lottery. The theater staff members were quite friendly and efficient.
There really is a big difference in seeing the films on a big theater screen as opposed to watching them on my not particularly big TV in letterbox format. There are so many gorgeous visual scenes that can only be fully appreciated in a theater. I spent a lot of time looking at details and things on the periphery of the screen which can hardly be made out at home. I also really appreciated the theater surround sound system which enhanced Howard Shore's wonderful score.
Since I've seen the movies several times on DVD over the last few years, I was afraid I might get tired or lose mental focus over the course of the long day but this never happened. I was fully absorbed in the story the entire time and was actually sorry when it was over. It was a pleasure to see the long story unfold in one long sitting. I wouldn't have minded watching the extended versions which would have added another couple hours.
It was interesting to see the shorter theatrical versions again. I'm pretty aware of what entirely new scenes were added for the EE's but occasionally I would notice that a few lines or seconds were "missing" and I would think "I didn't remember that part was not in the theatrical version". One example of this are the lines Faramir says about the dead Southron right after Frodo and Sam are captured by the men of Gondor in Ithilien "What lies and threats led him on this long march from home?", etc., paraphrasing what Sam thinks in the book.
The scenes I particularly missed from the EE's would include the extra Lothlórien footage, Faramir's flashback in Henneth Annun to Boromir and Denethor in Osgiliath, and the extra time Frodo and Sam spend in Mordor after escaping from the Tower before arriving at Orodruin. And as I expected, the Paths of the Dead scene is a lot more effective with the absence of the skull avalanche and the Three Hunters encounter with the Corsairs on the river.
My wife and daughter also loved the 3 film marathon and even said they would do it again tomorrow if possible. Interestingly, though, on the 2 hour drive home we spent much more time going over all the things we don't like about the movies - such as the sidetrip to Osgiliath, Frodo sending Sam away on the stairs
, and a bunch of logical inconsistencies in the second and third movies which I won't get into here, but which always bother me and momentarily take me out of the movie. This is not to say I don't love PJ's films (even if I wish I could have talked him out of some of the things he did with the screenplay), I just love the book much more.
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