Among the streets of Disney’s Hollywood Studios, lies a place where you can transport back in time. A time period when cheesy movies, far fetched inventions, and drive-ins were the things that were most talked about. Take a stroll back in time when you dine at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. Despite the fact that the restaurant is indoors, Sci-Fi Dine-In gives you the feeling that you are outdoors under the twinkling stars. While patrons dine on salads, burgers, ribs and more, they sit in a vintage car straight out of the 1950’s. In addition, to all of the great food you also get to enjoy the creature feature on the big screen, just like you were at a drive in theater.
Upon entering the restaurant you are unable to see the theme quite yet as the lobby area is sectioned off from the drive-in theater. The actual restaurant is full of vintage style cars that you can eat in!! Each car holds up to 6 people, three rows of 2. In front of your seat is a counter/table for you to eat on. Due to the way the seating is set up, if you have an odd number of guests in your party one person may need to sit solo. Parents traveling with children may want to sit in the back row so that they can see the children while they are eating.
Just as the theme states you can expect to view movie clips on a big screen. While the clips are unintentionally funny, they loop about every 20 minutes. This means that you are viewing the same clips about 3 times during your meal. It would be great if they could add some more clips.
The theme gets and A+ every time from my family. What about the food? While on many discussion boards Sci-Fi gets very mixed reviews, I personally have never had a poor meal there. On this past trip I got the Shrimp and Penne pasta and thought is was fantastic. The dish had a TON of shrimp in it!! My husband ordered the Angus Chuck Burger with cheddar cheese mushrooms and bacon. He said the burger was yummy!!! By the way, the burger is not on the dinner menu but can be ordered if you ask your waiter. My daughter ordered the Butcher Steak and said that she enjoyed it. Both my mother in law and brother in law got the ribs as usual and loved them!! Just an FYI, the ribs used to be called Coke Ribs, they no longer have that name, which leads me to believe that the recipe has changed. In addition to our meals, we of course ordered milkshakes. You cannot leave Sci-Fi without getting a milkshake. They are just fantastic!!! Quick tip, if you are on the Disney Dining Plan, you can ask your waiter to swap out your pop for a milkshake, this way you can still order a dessert at the end of your meal. The only thing I was not too happy about was that the waiter would not give my 5 year old son a milkshake, he said that the childrens’ dining plan was not set up to swap the pop for a milkshake.
The dessert options are probably a favorite of most Sci-Fi regulars. In fact, many people visit Sci-Fi just for the atmosphere and dessert. I get the Warm Apple Crumble every time and love it!! The rest of my party always opts for the Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cake option….if you are a chocolate lover this is where it is at! My husband has been known to order the fresh fruit and have them box it up. Then we take it back to our room and eat it for breakfast….yummy!!!
Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake
Warm Apple Crisp
Fresh Fruit Plate
