Hollywood and Vine or Sci-fi Diner?

[phillymummer]

Hello!

Which restaurant is better with a child (7 yr old girl) ? Hollywood and Vine or Sci-fi diner? I had the H&V booked, but after looking at the description and menu for the sc-fi I thought that might be more fun so I canceled H&V and booked at Sci-fi. We are not planning on doing Fantasmic, so that is not a concern. Now, like everything else with this trip, I am second guessing myself.
Are the movies "scary"? Is the food good? Tell me what you think!

 

[DisneyFamily123]

Hello!

Which restaurant is better with a child (7 yr old girl) ? Hollywood and Vine or Sci-fi diner? I had the H&V booked, but after looking at the description and menu for the sc-fi I thought that might be more fun so I canceled H&V and booked at Sci-fi. We are not planning on doing Fantasmic, so that is not a concern. Now, like everything else with this trip, I am second guessing myself.
Are the movies "scary"? Is the food good? Tell me what you think!

The food at SciFi Diner is a million times better. The movies are not scary... they are very short clips of old SciFi movies... laugh at them. And there's some cartoons mixed in too. Old SciFi movies... think of movies like the giant spider eats New York City... or the monster with 3 eyes... goofy stuff like that.

What's good to eat? Stick with things like burgers and sandwiches, fries and onion rings and you will be happy. Avoid pasta and steak dishes. And get a milkshake! Desserts are good too!

 

[phillymummer]

It sounds like fun, but we will be doing mostly CS throughout our trip so I wanted a restaurant where we could get away from the burgers and fries. Is the steak and pasta "bad"? I thought that actually sounded good and I thought it would be a good way to not do "fast food".

I love milkshakes!

 

[theblondebee]

Sorry, I have to disagree about the food. My family greatly prefers H&V. If atmosphere is more important, I'd say SiFi but if it's the food you're wondering about, H&V has a good selection.

 

[Forensicmom]

I wanted to add my experience. We have only eaten at the Sci-Fi and it was for dinner last November. It was by far the WORST restaurant we have ever eaten at. With 6 (2 adults and 4 kids) it was almost impossible to talk and help the kids order since we were in the tiny booths and I had to keep getting up to go to the back to help my kids. There is almost NO lighting in there and DH and I could barely read the menu. THe kids all hated the burgers and DH actually got sick within an hour of eating there. I ordered the pasta because I felt it was the only safe thing to order. It was OK but I had trouble seeing it.

After we came home we read some more reviews and only going there for the milkshakes.

I'm sure some people like it but our experience was bad.

 

[phillymummer]

I'd like a little bit of both! I would like a "dining experience" with some good food (not "fast food" selections). I don't want to leave DHS for an ADR. I did that last time and I did not like doing it. We missed out on so much at DHS bc we had to leave for dinner at WCC (although that place was a blast!). I considered the Brown Derby, but it doesn't look like a place for kids. Am I wrong? Is there another TS place in DHS that I am not thinking of?

 

[Stacy_C]

Hollywood & Vine is the only WDW restaurant my family refuses to go to again. Sci Fi gets requested every trip. We have always had great food and experiences there.

 

[RHMH]

Hello!

Which restaurant is better with a child (7 yr old girl) ? Hollywood and Vine or Sci-fi diner? I had the H&V booked, but after looking at the description and menu for the sc-fi I thought that might be more fun so I canceled H&V and booked at Sci-fi. We are not planning on doing Fantasmic, so that is not a concern. Now, like everything else with this trip, I am second guessing myself.
Are the movies "scary"? Is the food good? Tell me what you think!

My DD and I have eaten at Sci fi for 10 years and fortunately we have had great food and service each visit. It is by far our Favorite. If I gave my DD and choice between Chef Mickey or Sci Fi, DD would chose Sci Fi.

 

[dmurch1]

You *may* want to also consider the 50s Prime Time Cafe.

We've enjoyed H&V, but the place lacks atmosphere, and the food is a little out of the norm for a buffet.

Sci-Fi has a great atmosphere, but I find the food to be roughly on par with a CS.

With the 50's Prime Time Cafe, you might find it's a good mix of atmosphere and food. Plus they have great milk shakes there too!

Sorry if a bit off topic!

 

[shannonstar]

I am not a Hollywood & Vine hater, but I would only do it for breakfast. If it's dinner time, I would go with Sci-Fi. That being said, I would recommend you consider the breakfast option. It's great and can help you get in the park a little early without the crowds. I know they don't do rope drop anymore, but you can eat at 8am and be out by 9. Then you can send someone to get your TSM fps while you sign up your child for Jedi Training Academy.

 

[phillymummer]

Thanks for all of the responses! I have decided to go back to Hollywood and Vine bc I don't want to eat at a TS restaurant and order burgers. In looking closer at the menus, I think my family would enjoy H&V more.

@Stacy- why do they refuse to eat there?

 

[rsleleux]

I've been to both. I prefer Sci-Fi for the food. The movie is not scary but annoying. It's dark in there too. H&V's dinner is not great, we will only go to character breakfast there, and that is pretty good. I'm not really a fan of any of the food options at HS. We usually go to a hotel resort for dinner on our HS day! If I had to pick from the 2 I would go to Sci-Fi

 

[GrumpyBelle]

I would go with Sci Fi. We did H&V on our last trip and will definitely not return. We were very disappointed in the food and the atmosphere was just so-so. Definitely not worth the cost of a TS meal. If Sci Fi isn't to your liking, I would also check out 50s PTC. My family enjoys the food and the atmosphere here very much.

 

[Turkogloop]

Real quick point, even though your decision appears to be made. I needed one last ADR last January and I threw in the Sci-Fi dine-in as a "whatever" kind of thing. I based the decision solely on the atmosphere and I'll say this - WOW, I was really selling this place short! I had the Reuben, and I was blown away and we ate at such places as Whispering Canyon, Hoop Dee Doo, and 50s Prime Time among 5 other restaurants and the Sci-Fi Dine-In was right up at the top as far as how good the food was. Again, your decision is made but I had to throw this one out there.

 

[RHMH]

Real quick point, even though your decision appears to be made. I needed one last ADR last January and I threw in the Sci-Fi dine-in as a "whatever" kind of thing. I based the decision solely on the atmosphere and I'll say this - WOW, I was really selling this place short! I had the Reuben, and I was blown away and we ate at such places as Whispering Canyon, Hoop Dee Doo, and 50s Prime Time among 5 other restaurants and the Sci-Fi Dine-In was right up at the top as far as how good the food was. Again, your decision is made but I had to throw this one out there.

Yes, I have to agree. I had the Ruben also and it exceeded my expectation. There is a little paragraph about our experience at Sci-Fi on my 2011 trip report under my ticker.

 

[Stacy_C]

@Stacy- why do they refuse to eat there?

We are a very non-picky group and normally love buffets but we found H&V to be very cafeteria-ish. We probably could have dealt with the food if the restaurant itself was fun but the whole experience (food and the atmosphere) was underwhelming and very unappealing to us.

 

[mommyof3princess27]

I have to say that I absolutely LOVE Sci-Fi! I ate there for the first time last year with DH and he requested it this time too. It was fun. This time we are bringing our girls 13,8 and 4. They are really excited about dining in the 'cars' I cant wait!!!!

 

[DisneyFamily123]

Did you consider 50s Prime Time? The food there is good diner type food and it can be fun too with some joking around about manners and such.

But if you want really good food in that park, then Brown Derby is the way to go. The menu changes sometimes so it might be a little different than what's online. Their soups are incredible. Been there several times and always happy. Steaks very good but the seafood entrees are my favorite. If you change your mind, you can do the fantasmic pkg too. Have you seem Fantasmic before? It's a great show, one of a kind.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

We are a very non-picky group and normally love buffets but we found H&V to be very cafeteria-ish. We probably could have dealt with the food if the restaurant itself was fun but the whole experience (food and the atmosphere) was underwhelming and very unappealing to us.

It's very much cafeteria like quality food. Id compare it to your typical chain restaurant all you can eat place but smaller Not bad but not great. I'd only go there for the characters at lunch if that's what you're after. The music and dancing is fun. FS had a blast at age 4-6 but no characters at dinner last I checked.

 

[phillymummer]

Wow.... I am back to thinking about this again. I did the 50's Cafe on our last trip for lunch. It was fun joking around with the waitress and the food was okay. I had a problem with the wait time. We had a reservation for 1:15 and weren't seated until almost 2pm. It was PACKED! Plus, there are other negative energy (personal family issue) associated with the restaurant, so I want to avoid it.

I don't want to sit down to a dinner and eat burgers or sandwiches. We will eat enough of those at CS.

Is the Brown Derby kid friendly?