Dinner at the Studios - TS or CS

[desparatelydisney]

Having looked at all the menus for the table service resturants at HS I must say that nothing just jumps out and grabs me. The adult meals seem interesting but the children's menus seem lacking. That said, would you guys recommend a table service or a counter service resturant for dinner for 2 adults and 3 children under 7. Which one & why...

 

[winterman]

We have never been impressed with the dining choices at DHS. On our upcoming trip DH and I plan to take a boat the the Boardwalk, eat at ESPN Club and than retaurn to DHS for Fantasmic. We find that we can't really fill up a whole day at DHS, so this will give us a relaxing break.

 

[bluejasmine]

I also have not been impressed with any food at DHS, I have tried H&V which was yucky, PT which was ok and Sci-Fi which was also just ok both places you really go for the atmosphere not the food. Then again your family may really enjoy it. PT has alot of homestyle cookin and Sci-Fi is mostly burgers, chicken, ribs. If you really want to enjoy the food I say save your TS credit and just use a CS, Toy Story Pizza wasnt so bad and ABC Commissary was bad either..

 

[KatMark]

Like the pp's, we are not fond of food at Hollywood Studios. We eat every year at Mama Melrose...although not the greatest restaurant at Disney or anywhere else, we have always had good service and good food. Any other meal, we tend to leave the park for a resort or the Boardwalk.

 

[BeckWhy]

For a TS I hear 50's is good. But I have never ate there.

I like to do CS when in DS. Toy Story Pizza Planet is your run-of-the-mill pizza but has an arcade, so can be fun. But this can also be a problem with children if they want to explore or play games. I like Backlot Express also. I don't know what their kid's choices are though, but its basic theme park food (burgers, chicken fingers, etc).

Do you have DDP? If not, then you can always get adult meals to split between the kids if you want also. That's what my parents always did.

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

The only food we consumed at DHS was at the Sci-Fi Dine-In. I'm not exagerating when I say that it was the worst food I had ever eaten in my life. How can you mess up burgers and onion rings so badly, I would like to know? While you might be tempted in by the awesome atmosphere, stay away unless you're only ordering milkshakes. I wouldn't even recommend dessert. Even that was terrible. Keep in mind we enjoyed pretty much every other meal at WDW and we ate a lot! (The only other thing we didn't like was the quick service in Mexico. Blech!)

So, that being said, I'm a little leery to try any other restraurants at DTD. I would probably stick to counter service if anything but I like the PP's idea of hopping over to the Boardwalk for some grub.

 

[MagiKitty]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one not thrilled with my choices at Hollywood studios! I have ADRs at 50s, but I've been going back and forth on it. I think I'll look into a TS lunch somewhere else and just grab CS for dinner before Fantasmic.

 

[SuzieN]

My kids all love 50's Prime Time and Sci-Fi! The atmosphere at both places is awesome and we all enjoyed the food too. They are probably our 2 favorite restaurants on Disney property!

 

[AbbyPan]

What about Brown Derby? Although i know it is a 2 credit, is it worth it?

 

[PrincessDisney96]

We have ate at 50s, Hollywood And Vine, and Sci Fi. Out of those I would do 50s Prime Time Cafe. The atmosphere is great and we love the food! Do not go with DHS CS PLEASE!

 

[desparatelydisney]

Thanks for all the responses. I just didn't get excited about anything I'd seen; seems like I'm not alone. Anyone else with any thoughts, please add them.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

We ate at 50's Prime Time in February and loved it! The atmosphere is so homey and fun, looks like a bunch of tables and dining rooms from the 50's. The food was good and our waitress was a real hoot, she kept yelling at my husband for putting his elbows on the table and then my 4 year old kept calling her over to "tell" on him the whole meal! We'd eat there again! Also, we ate at the Hollywood Brown Derby. That was really good food. We did the Fantamic package. The cobb salad was delish and I had the steak with cabernet sauce, yummy! Dessert was really good too. I liked both places and would eat there again no problem!

 

[Heathr6913]

There aren't any food choices that are too exciting at DHS. The CS is all HORRIBLE IMO. We ate at 50's PT and we did NOT like it not at all. We enjoyed every other meal on our trip but left most of the food on our plate there. Maybe we had an off night..but I doubt we'll ever go back.

 

[stopher1]

We've eaten at all of the ts locations at DHS - our favorite for atmosphere was tie between Sci-Fi and 50's PT... but the food wasn't knock down good. The Hollywood & Vine was better for our DD just because there were a few more options to choose from being a buffet and all. Mama's was ok - but again, not great - and the atmosphere suffers here. We did Brown Derby on our honeymoon and I remember that at that time it was very good - but that was 14 yrs ago, so who knows what it's like now!! It remains our favorite - but of course, time changes a lot of things - especially at WDW!!! I simply DO NOT LIKE any of the CS options at DHS either.

 

[VickiVM]

50's PT food is just ok - can be hit or miss. If you've never been, then try it because there is nothing like it anywhere - cool experience. Stick with tried and true. I think my DH had the fried chicken and it was decent.

 

[GrumpyPajamas]

The food at Sci-Fi was like Johnny Rockets on a bad day. The atmosphere was neat, although the car-booths were a bit cramped.

The food a Prime-Time was better, and it was just really fun if you were ever into those family sitcoms like Leave it to Beaver and such. The servers are a blast as well, admonishing you for not eating your vegetables or putting your elbows on the table and such.

In that respect, bring your sense of humor, there was a fellow at a table near us that just didn't seem to understand it, and he kept saying things like "How about I leave my elbows on the table or else I leave and complain to the manager, how does that sound" Ahh well, anyone like that has had his food tampered with a few times, I imagine. Don't bite the hand that feeds you, eh?

 

[mikerobrewer]

The one thing that I find very interesting is all of the differing opinions you will get regarding the restaurants. Just because someone else hated the food or atmosphere doesn't mean you will.

As far as DHS goes, we've eaten at the ABC Commissary, 50's PrimeTime, Sci Fi, Mama Melrose and Toy Story. I wasn't all that impressed with the ABC but Toy Story was fine for a quick pizza.

Mama Melrose's is hit and miss -- I've had very good meals here and some that were just okay. It may depend on how busy it is.

We always go to Sci Fi for lunch and enjoy it. I would be reluctant to order anything more than a sandwich or ribs here though.

The 50's Prime Time is fun if you don't mind being picked on. I am not thrilled with the menu because I typically don't want to eat pot roast, meat loaf and fried chicken, etc. when I am on vacation.

 

[suzimar57]

at MGM we only do TS - there isn't a CS there we like (sorry!)

at 50s primetime DH always loves the pot roast and brownie sundae - for me, it's chicken noodle soup with a side of onion rings and a shake

sci-fi dine in is perfect for cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings and shakes - they do have a nice spinach artichoke cheese dip, too

brown derby is cobb salad and grapefuit cake - and when it's available (usually at dinner) toss a crabcake on the plate, too!

 

[since71]

Having looked at all the menus for the table service resturants at HS I must say that nothing just jumps out and grabs me. The adult meals seem interesting but the children's menus seem lacking. That said, would you guys recommend a table service or a counter service resturant for dinner for 2 adults and 3 children under 7. Which one & why...

My family and I vist WDW every September. We do not like any TS at Hollywood Studios. We leave the park and have dinner at Big River City Grille on the Boardwalk. You can take the boat right outside the Studios to the Boardwalk and return to the park by boat or walk. It is not much time to do so and we like the food much better. Mama Melrose, Sci Fi, and the Brown Derby are not my cup of tea. Prime Time is okay. Hollywood and Vine is also tolerable, because the kids have choices. My advice is leave the park and eat on the Boardwalk or the Swan and Dolophin offer deightful places to dine.

Have fun!

 

[ihearttink]

We have never been impressed with the dining choices at DHS. On our upcoming trip DH and I plan to take a boat the the Boardwalk, eat at ESPN Club and than retaurn to DHS for Fantasmic. We find that we can't really fill up a whole day at DHS, so this will give us a relaxing break.

We also do this each visit. IMHO ESPN has much better food than any dining spot in the Studios.