DHS 50's primetime cafe or sci - fi dine in ?

[Luvdisney]

We love both, What we usually do is plan a lunch meal and we go to SciFi for that. Then we go to 50's PT for dinner. Remember elbows off the table or Ma will get angry...

 

[kevdo]

I know it sometimes gets a bad rap but I honestly liked the food better at SciFi. Both are great theme restaurants though.

 

[AustinTink]

Never go to Sci-fi as a party of two, unless you want to be seated in the backseat of a car far too close to another family. Talk about awkward. Nobody wanted to talk because we were literally right up on each other. What a jip! The food was just ok, as well.

The 50's cafe is one of our favorites. Love the fried chicken. AND... you get your own table!!!

 

[henry72]

Never tried 50's since the theme doesn't appeal to me. We have gone to Sci-Fi every time we have gone. The kids love it. We only have 3 ADRs booked for our upcoming May trip - 2 are character and the third is Sci-Fi.

 

[amcc]

In a way, I think it depends on the age of your kids. At Sci-Fi, the seats in the car all face forward, so if your kids are small, you have to split up if you need to sit close to them to help them. It makes it difficult to have a conversation with the people in the "back seat". There's also very little "hustle and bustle" noise there, just the sounds from the movie, probably due to the size and the acoustics. We didn't find it very conducive to a family meal. But we still really liked it

 

[Princess_Belle]

The food at 50's was awful and made me and my husband sick and we waited 45 mins after our reservation to be seated! I honestly don't enjoy being screamed at while I eat! It's really annoying!! Sci-fi is fun and the food was ok! It is dark and the cars are right on top of one another.

Personally the food is MUCH better at Mama Melrose! Shorter waits too. Plus their flat breads are AMAZING!! I'd skip both and go to Mama Melrose.

 

[Starclassic]

I've never done either, but when I was scheduling our ADRs for our upcoming trip I was stuck between these two as well. My friend who goes to Disney often really enjoys 50's Prime Time and recommended it, so that's what I ultimately went with for us.

I'm still really interested in Sci-Fi though.... Next time....

 

[GovieMom]

Personally the food is MUCH better at Mama Melrose! Shorter waits too. Plus their flat breads are AMAZING!! I'd skip both and go to Mama Melrose.

I agree!

 

[2girlsR2good]

We tried Sci fi for our last trip and I wouldn't do it again this time. It was fun and different, but the movies were weird to me, and my girls didn't really like them. Also the darkness of the restaurant makes trying to enjoy the food difficult. Kind of a sensory thing for me. So food just ok.
Overall it was a neat experience, but I would try 50's.
DH says he loved it though

This
Sci Fi's movie clips did not appeal to our kids much (age 6 when we went). Felt like midnight inside--when we left DH commented that he was ready to go to bed. Food--meh.

 

[mickey916]

We did both last time and loved both. We had an early lunch at Sci-Fi, burgers were awesome. Then, a late dinner just after closing (park closed at 7:00). The food was excellent. We had cousin (uncle?) Dale. He was very friendly, somewhat in character, but it was late. My son made sure to clean his plate but was disappointed that it wasn't acknowledged. We had meatloaf and fried chicken and delicious pbj shakes for dessert...will definitely do both "next time" (hopefully there is one!)

It was awesome too getting out of the restaurant after park closing!

 

[delaneyc52]

I vote Sci Fi. We've done 50's Prime Time only three times. The first time we had a ball. Everyone in the dining room and the waitress were all very interactive and fun. Went back second time and it was horrid. Thought that was just an off night and tried again --- horrid again. Sci Fi is more consistent and you know what your are getting!

 

[rentayenta]

Last time my family and friends did Sci-Fi, DD and I missed out because she was being a major teen beast DH said it was good not great. This trip we'll be trying 50's.

 

[Pacesetters]

We always do both on our trips. We usually do the Sci Fi for "lunch" on a day that we are doing that park. We always get park hopper tickets and then do the Prime Time some night for dinner. We tend to like the food at the Sci Fi better - except for the Smore's dessert - that is my son's favorite all time thing at Disney

 

[Bettie]

I haven't done Prime Time because the theming is not my thing. I don't want to get harangued while I'm trying to enjoy my food and relax on vacation! And there is no way I could talk my husband into that, even if I were interested.

Now, Sci-Fi is right up my family's alley. My kids absolutely LOVE B-movies. So while they are 6yo girls who adore princesses, they are also obsessed with Godzilla & Mothra, love 'em some Ray Harryhausen, and generally love any kind of schlocky movie from the 50s-60s. So I knew I had to take them to Sci-Fi, and sitting in the cars would just be icing on the cake for them. They abolutely LOVED it. The waiter we had was so awesome. I read a lot of compaints about the food, but I actually thought my food was great.

 

[Gregawsk8]

We have been to both. we like the 50's better for both the atmosphere and the food. The Smore's dessert was really good.

 

[kaligal]

Food at 50s is okay. I wouldn't call it good, but it isn't bad, either. The PB&J shake is my favorite treat at WDW. I don't know if it is back on the menu or not, but they'll make you one if you ask for it. Sounds gross, tastes yummy. At 50s, you don't always get a server who is really into the whole teasing thing. It has caused some DISers some disappointment over the years - they weren't made the center of attention, they weren't entertained enough, that sort of thing.

Food at Sci-Fi has sucked for a very long time. I hear it is getting better. Haven't been in for a while and can't comment on that. I've never had anything good and once had something totally inedible. But the movie clips are fun. Seeing "stars" up in the "sky" is neat. For people who like sci-fi monster movies like "Them", Sci-Fi is doubly cool. And you sit in a car...unless you are pretty fat, in which case you need to sit in a table at the back of the cars, which disappoints some people.

Good luck with your decision!!

 

[TiggerDaddyo714]

Wow, seems 50's PTC has gone through some changes since we were there last.

I agree that Sci Fi is consistant, but then again so are most, just different decorating.

Prime Time is something that we just don't miss, the 'home cooking' part is something we like. That being said; we are from the south for sure and the first time we were there "cousin Vinnie" (perhaps a role dreamed up in Jersery) wasn't exactly what we were used to.

Since then however we just look at the "idea" of 50's Prime Time like anything else at WDW. It takes a bit of imagination, nothing hard really. It's great fun to ask for ketchup, put your elbow's on the table and have your head on a swivel like you're guilty or something, wait for the server to head your way (or even someone else's server) and throw a napkin at your kid or something. They look at you like WAIT A MINUTE, "I don't wanna' get in trouble!". There's the server that's like say a 'big sister', that'll 'tell on you', then she can say 'tell mom' you're acting up and you're gonna' get it when dad get's home. But the "Vinnie" thing ended up turning into one of those things where I'd say, "I'm not afraid of you sis, tell mom, I don't care", then 'mom' might send Vinnie out to 'handle me' a bit. We would shake our fist's at each other, and finally agree that we better both behave before 'dad' got home and got us both.

Even with that, nobody AT ALL has to be a part of the 'theme' at Prime Time. Just tell them when you are seated that you don't prefer to enjoy it. I've neve seen anyone get yelled at or harrassed what so ever. We all go to WDW to get away, yet we end up being tired when we get home, go figure. When it comes to theming though, nobody does it better and I think that's why we go actually.

 

[Tomh]

We've never done 50's Prime Time, so I can't comment on it, though after reading some of the reviews here, we might have to try it in the future.

We have had lunch at the Sci-Fi every time we've gone to DHS. I honestly found the food to be perfectly fine, not fantastic, but at least as good as a typical chain restaurant. The atmosphere is amazing. Of course, it is dark, it is supposed to be a drive in movie theater, and it does a pretty good job of being just that.

Good food, great atmosphere, it is a winner in my book!

 

[chiefmickeymouse]

I've just polled my family and the consensus is Sci-Fi. We had more fun there and found it more relaxing. The Prime-Time diner was fun, server wasn't really in character...but it was fun. If I could, I would do both because I enjoyed them both.