50s Prime Time Cafe vs Sci Fi Drive In?

[jcieutat]

For your kids, I would go with Sci-Fi. The atmosphere is pretty awesome.

 

[CynBeth]

One follow up question - we (okay I) typically run a pretty tight ship on scheduling/touring plans...any comments on which one will take longer? With all the antics and goofiness at 50PTC I thought that might run a little longer. Which reservation do you think is harder to get?

Hoping for a 6:30 ADR with time to hit up Muppets and ToT (with a FP) before Fantasmic at 8:30.

You might want to schedule a slightly earlier time. I don't know about Sci Fi but the last few times we had a 4 something dinner at 50's PTC we waited a while past our ADR time to get seated and we are 3 adults.

 

[JinxedSydney]

I don't think your ADR and schedule will work. You'll need at least an hour for dinner. And I say at least because you'll be dealing with a full house at that popular time.

That said, our kids loved SciFi at 2 & 6 (dinner) and again at 8 & 12 (lunch). Actually, the entire extended family voted for SciFi the second time, over 50's PTC (lunch the first trip) because of the atmosphere. Seating really isn't a big deal, just split an adult with each kid. Our kids were entertained watching the screen until the meal arrived.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

I know when we schedules 50sPT in 2014 for the same night as Fantasmic we did a 6:00PM ADR, and we waited a little ways past our ADR time to get seated. The service for us anyways was a little on the slower side and we didnt get out until about 7:30ish. It was literally enough time to say our goodbyes to my hubby and the baby (he wasnt staying for fantasmic), walk around a shop to kill a little time, then head over to Fantasmic. We wanted to get to Fantasmic by 8 to get our seats and everything. I think if you want to do all of that after your ADR then you should move your ADR up to maybe a 4:00PM ADR or around there somewhere. That way you dont feel rush

 

[ozzyla]

Trying to decide on our HS dinner for our trip in April (ADR window opens in a couple weeks).

Thought I'd let the experts vote on which they like better: Sci Fi Drive in or 50s Prime Time Cafe.

Our kids are 3 and 7, so I'm curious which one they'd enjoy more. Also, is one busier than the other where we would have a better chance getting our ADR time of choice?

Menu's look to be about the same in terms of price/quality/selection...

Thanks!

My kids preferred science fi, and continue to request it every time we go to wdw. They didn't care for the jokes and attention they got from the waitresses at 50'S

 

[Calee]

We just took our kids for the first time and we ALL LOVED Sci-Fi. The theming was amazing. It was cool and quiet in there. Our food was honestly probably the best table service food we had (we didn't go anywhere fancy)

I agree with the others though-I think your schedule is too tight. This was the ONLY place we had to wait once we arrived for our ADR. It is very popular and I think people linger a little bc of the pace (quiet) and movie clips. We didn't wait long, but if I was on that tight of a schedule I would be worrying even about a 10 minute wait.

 

[goofyintoronto]

We have done both multiple times and our family prefers Sci Fi. There are some great things about 50s Prime Time, too- and really you probably can't go wrong. We just like the ambience of Sci Fi better.

I agree with this. Both are good. But we prefer scifi 100% because of the ambiance and atmosphere. We love it. The little bonus is that its the QUIETEST TS meal around. Nice getaway from the parks. Their oreo shakes are to die for. For food, I really loved the chicken wings, spinach dip, onion rings, & burgers.

Another vote for Sci Fi! My family likes both the food and atmosphere at Sci Fi. I didn't care for the 50PT servers pretending to being an over-bearing/bossy parent/relative when I went as a child.

This is why I would suggest SciFi if you have kids. My son HATED being scolded at 50's and didn't find it amusing at all. On the flip side, last trip I was in Disney with a friend and while at 50's we had a server who was a total dud! No antics AT ALL. We were rather disappointed. We saw people in the next room having fun with their server. So it can be fun if you get a great server....but with kids, i'll always recommend Sci Fi. Even as a teen my son loves it.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

This is one of our toughest decisions every time we go! For kids that little especially the three year old May like sci fi more, but you really can't go wrong

 

[vettegirl]

Both are excellent restaurants with theme that will create some wonderful memories for your family. We prefer the PT50s as we love their food, shakes, and the service is normally a hoot.

 

[Mr & Mrs DD]

*50's Prime Time Cafe - The food is much better. We eat there on every trip. We were seated & served more quickly than at Sci-Fi. We have eaten at 50's PT many times now and the antics have never been overbearing for us. It seems to me they kind of feel you out for how far you are willing to go (at least that's been our experience). The Fried chicken dinner is the best.
*The Sci-Fi - In my opinion, the food is just ok. It's not bad, but it's just ok (Nothing special). The atmosphere is what makes this place such a treat to go to. We enjoy going every now and then for the atmosphere. The atmosphere is what brings us back (not the food).

 

[Disneylover99]

I like the food and ambiance better at SciFi.

 

[osully]

Sci Fi! We loved every minute of it, and every bite of food. The fries are the exact same as Be Our Guest steak dinner fries... yum. 50s was good too but I much preferred Sci Fi.

 

[Andy S]

Definitely a consensus that Sci Fi wins out, and thanks for the comments as well on timing - you guys are great!

 

[Little E]

We tried both places on our 2016 trip, and while we liked them both, Sci Fi was more enjoyable for us. It's dark, cool, and has a calm atmosphere. There isn't a ton of ambient noise, and I think the whole family appreciated the ability to "chill out" for a little bit. We had a very fun server at Prime Time, and we loved the food. However, the server really embraced his Cousin Ryan persona and "forced" our youngest to eat a spoonful of veggies. We all laughed and thought it was good fun, but as soon as we left the restaurant, my DS burst into tears and made us promise not to go back. He laughed along with us inside the restaurant to be a good sport and we didn't realize how upset he was over "having" to eat veggies. To be clear, our server did absolutely nothing wrong, but it confused our little guy.

 

[Lyndylou]

Our whole family absolutely loves 50's. We are in Disney every second year and always do 50's (since we discovered how much fun it is.) I think we have been 6 times now and never had a bad server. They have all been awesome. Will def do it again next year.

 

[alex9179]

We've done both and DH and the kids would go to either, again.

Sci-fi is has cool seating and the films made us laugh. It took 30-45 min to be seated, though. It's pretty dark and hard to see what you're eating. My burger was...not good. The rest of the family were fine with their orders.
50's food was much better and we like antics. Our server was funny and my family got a hoot out of the whole experience, probably because I was the butt of the jokes! We had a good time. Since we dined there on our last trip we're going to try for an ADR at Sci-fi, or just stop in Pizza Rizzo if it's not panned. I won't be ordering the burger next time.

 

[DizDaD7]

Trying to decide on our HS dinner for our trip in April (ADR window opens in a couple weeks).

Thought I'd let the experts vote on which they like better: Sci Fi Drive in or 50s Prime Time Cafe.

Our kids are 3 and 7, so I'm curious which one they'd enjoy more. Also, is one busier than the other where we would have a better chance getting our ADR time of choice?

Menu's look to be about the same in terms of price/quality/selection...

Thanks!

Both are fun....We do like both, but we love the food * (Especially the sampler) at 50's P/T & the antics have always been spot on....
For that alone we choose 50's... That , & of course the PB&J milkshake---->

 

[Barbruka]

We took our 2 sons to Prime Time when they were younger and they hated the banter at their expense. Also I don't think young kids would "get it".

 

[SSRFred]

As many people have mentioned, the ages of your children are really important to consider in the choice. My sons are 4 years apart, just like your children. When they were 3 and 7, they hated the antics at 50's PT and liked the atmosphere and kitschy movies at Sci Fi. Fast forward 8 years, 50's PT is a must do on every trip. My DS15 refuses to eat anywhere else at DHS. He loves the fried chicken and shakes and we all love the antics. The food is fine at Sci Fi and has gotten better over the last few years but we like the food much better at 50's PT. The shakes are great at both. We have waited past our ADR time at both places but especially at 50's PT but we love it so we don't care.

 

[sharadoc]

We've done 50's PT multiple times, and Sci-Fi once. We like 50's because we can sit around a table and interact, we like the fun theming, and we like the food selection. Sci-Fi food is great, too, but we don't like the car setup where you sit all facing the screen. Especially on vacation, we enjoy our family time together and Sci-Fi just feels like a separation. Also, little kids can get scared at some of the silly movie scenes if they are sensitive. I know my DD wouldn't have handled it at a young age, she believed everything she saw on TV was real and there's monsters and UFOs in those clips.