HELP Sci-Fi & 50's Cafe - Keep ADR's or cancel?

[TacoBaco]

I'm 40 days out…. and once again I’m beginning to question all of my ADR's. (do these decisions ever end, lol?) I made ADR's at the Sci-Fi and 50’s Café on our two days in Hollywood Studios (in my opinion all the food choices at HS are just so-so, but I do enjoy the fun atmosphere of the Sci-Fi and 50’s).

This is the first trip with the DH and I’m really trying to make everything perfect, if he doesn’t enjoy Disney as much as I do, we may have to get a divorce.. We both enjoy food and dinning out, and I’m starting to think that maybe the Sci-Fi and 50’s Cafe aren’t the best place to eat, when trying to impress the DH with his first trip to Disney. I’m not sure yet where we'd go instead, but we’d probably take the ferry over to Epcot, and eat at a couple more places in the world showcase.

I guess I feel like Disney is lacking in both fun atmosphere and good food. I feel like I have to choose one or the other, and I’m having a hard time making that decision. Food or fun? Food or fun?

Your thoughts and or suggestions are appreciated, Thank you!

P.S. I'm 36 and the DH is 28. We’re traveling with no kids.

 

[OhThePain]

I'd say keep them both. We have done both on the same day before. Lunch, IMO, is better than dinner at both restaurants, especially Sci-Fi. I think Sci-Fi has some of the, if not the, best theming on property and is well worth checking out at least once. 50's has good comfort food. Even if your "Aunt", "Mom", "Uncle", "Cousin" or whatever doesn't lay it on as thick as some of the others do, it's still a better meal than any other restaurant (TS or CS) at DHS.

 

[KungFoomF]

HS doesn't have great food, but both Sci-Fi and 50's both are impressive to newbies. I wouldn't cancel them unless your #1 priority is good food even if it is an inconvenience. If you are planning to eat something simple, say a burger, then Sci-Fi is perfectly fine. A burger and shake in Sci-Fi can be a great memory.

 

[JadeDragon]

I'm probably in the minority when I say we absolutely love SciFi. (And the ribs!) I'd go just for the experience alone....

50's was cute, but way too much food. I love me some fried chicken, but it felt like I was on chicken overload. (Which can be bad or good, depending.) Everything was tasty there... and love the theming as well.

If it were me, I'd keep both. (Or you can try out another fave of ours, Hollywood Brown Derby. Totally different feel than the other two, but truly scrumptious!)

 

[Figaro972]

I would not cancel them. We love both personally mostly for the atmosphere. 50's has great fried chicken and pot roast, and as a good app we always get the boursin cheese app. its so good i make it at home.

DH likes the sci-fi food. me not so much but like i said i love the atmosphere so i will just get a burger and shake.

 

[TacoBaco]

I do love the Sci-Fi atmosphere even if the food is just average. Course the DH isn’t as picky as I am, He’d probably eat cardboard with ketchup on it.. so I guess atmosphere trumps this round.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Cherinva]

At this point, I would keep them both. 50s Prime Time is so much fun.....

 

[Alabama Minnie]

My DH has been to both with me several times and I would say he likes the Sci-fi atmosphere better with a burger for lunch. He liked watching the old shows at the 50s cafe because they were on when we were kids.

If we had hopper passes he would rather hop over to Biergarten at Epcot for dinner. He loves it. Me, not so much.

 

[nkereina]

I suppose it depends on what you and DH are more picky about - would you rather have great food and a boring atmosphere, or a fun and unique atmosphere with satisfactory food? For us, we are not foodies and are not into fine dining, so we'd much rather eat plain food in a fun atmosphere. What they lack in the food (according to some), they make up for in uniqueness. You would be hard pressed to find a place similar to Sci Fi or 50's PT in any other city, but I bet you could find a good steak dinner anywhere.

 

[Eliserose]

I had ADR's at Sci-Fi and Mama Melrose and wound up canceling Sci-fi due to mixed reviews on the food (dinner).

 

[TacoBaco]

You would be hard pressed to find a place similar to Sci Fi or 50's PT in any other city, but I bet you could find a good steak dinner anywhere.

Good Point!

I had ADR's at Sci-Fi and Mama Melrose and wound up canceling Sci-fi due to mixed reviews on the food (dinner).

Eliserose, I think most people on this thread agree, its not the food that takes you to the Sci-Fi, its the experience. It is a very unique place.

As for me, I think we're gonna keep our ADR's,

 

[Quin]

Why not keep one (I'd pick Sci-Fi) and for the other day, take the boat to the Boardwalk? Between Boardwalk, BC/YC, and Swan/Dolphin (if paying oop) you've got some pretty darned good food choices, plus a whole different type of entertainment.

 

[loveshak22]

I've got a similar dilemma...I'm doing all the meal planning for myself, my parents and an 11 year old and I'm stressing way more than I need to

One day we're doing AK and then HS for late afternoon fun, dinner, and Fantasmic. I went to 50's Primetime back in 2006 and remember the food being good but I've never been to Sci-fi. So I made an ADR for Sci-fi but am worried that it will be a let down.

So I thought maybe we'd go somewhere else for dinner and come back to HS for Fantasmic but that seems like a waste of time that we could be using towards spending on rides and there's not really anything else I want given that we have Ohana and Crystal Palace so my parents don't want any more family style/buffet options. Then the other menus I like are all 2 TS credits and we don't want to do that since most of the 2 TS credits are food we can get at home anyway and we want to stretch our free DDP as far as possible!

I think I've decided to just keep Sci-Fi for dinner and give it a shot...I can read a million reviews but won't know until I give it a try (although the fried cheese/chicken at 50's is tempting....)

 

[Quin]

I've got a similar dilemma...I'm doing all the meal planning for myself, my parents and an 11 year old and I'm stressing way more than I need to

One day we're doing AK and then HS for late afternoon fun, dinner, and Fantasmic.

I think you'll be fine with Sci-Fi. If you're still concerned, what about a mid-afternoon TS meal at Yak&Yeti in AK instead? No buffet, no characters (ask to sit upstairs for an even quieter experience), lovely theming, a more extensive menu than a lot of WDW restaurants, and really good food.

To maximize your park touring time, get a CS breakfast at your resort early so you can make RD at AK. Share some snacks mid-morning (I'm thinking the special AK cupcake topped with the white chocolate elephant for the 11 year old). Have the Y&Y TS meal around 3 pm. Then you can wander over to DHS whenever you're ready. Share some more snacks while waiting out in the street with the mob for F!, or wait until you are inside the ampitheater and hit the small snack bar there.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I'd say keep them both. We have done both on the same day before. Lunch, IMO, is better than dinner at both restaurants, especially Sci-Fi. I think Sci-Fi has some of the, if not the, best theming on property and is well worth checking out at least once. 50's has good comfort food. Even if your "Aunt", "Mom", "Uncle", "Cousin" or whatever doesn't lay it on as thick as some of the others do, it's still a better meal than any other restaurant (TS or CS) at DHS.

I completely agree!!! Keep both. Dont expect anything spectacular at sci fi thou (food). Its decent, but nothing "wow" about it. Its all about the theme. Its amazing! 50's has good comfort food, and the antics are hilarious. If your deciding on only one between the two, thats a tough call. As both places are pretty unique.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I suppose it depends on what you and DH are more picky about - would you rather have great food and a boring atmosphere, or a fun and unique atmosphere with satisfactory food? For us, we are not foodies and are not into fine dining, so we'd much rather eat plain food in a fun atmosphere. What they lack in the food (according to some), they make up for in uniqueness. You would be hard pressed to find a place similar to Sci Fi or 50's PT in any other city, but I bet you could find a good steak dinner anywhere.

Very good point here. I agree 100%. We look for 'great atmosphere' before asking about the food most of the time.

 

[loveshak22]

I think you'll be fine with Sci-Fi. If you're still concerned, what about a mid-afternoon TS meal at Yak&Yeti in AK instead? No buffet, no characters (ask to sit upstairs for an even quieter experience), lovely theming, a more extensive menu than a lot of WDW restaurants, and really good food.

To maximize your park touring time, get a CS breakfast at your resort early so you can make RD at AK. Share some snacks mid-morning (I'm thinking the special AK cupcake topped with the white chocolate elephant for the 11 year old). Have the Y&Y TS meal around 3 pm. Then you can wander over to DHS whenever you're ready. Share some more snacks while waiting out in the street with the mob for F!, or wait until you are inside the ampitheater and hit the small snack bar there.

Hmmmmm....that's a really good suggestion! I hadn't even considered any of the AK restaurants for TS because I didn't think there were any good ones there. But I just looked at the Y&Y menu and it does look yum!! Now I'm even more torn I've never tried Sci-Fi and really want to give it a try but feel like my expectations are too high and I'll be disappointed. And after reading the menu at Y&Y the shrimp tempura with the plum chili sauce sounds delish! I called my parents and they said do whateve I want but they seemed to like the Y&Y menu.

This is prob TMI but we only have 3 full days so my original plan was:
Day 1: MK (all day with CP for dinner)
Day 2: AK (morning)/HS (afternoon/evening with Sci-Fi for dinner & F!)
Day 3: Back to AK or HS (morning)/Epcot (afternoon/evening with Les Chefs for dinner)

But if I change my ressies I'd probably be more in line with the recommendations on lower crowd levels on easywdw.com and could do:
Day 1: MK (all day with CP for dinner)
Day 2: HS (morning)/Epcot (afternoon/evening with Les Chefs for dinner)
Day 3: AK (morning/afternoon)/HS (evening for QS and F!)

I'm excited about our 'Ohana ressie on our arrival night too!

Great suggestion so now I've just got to decide

 

[loveshak22]

To maximize your park touring time, get a CS breakfast at your resort early so you can make RD at AK.

So...I've been to WDW quite a few times but in all my reserach and visits I've never heard of the Rope Drop!! I think I need to do some research on here because I'm still unsure of what all it entails

 

[Quin]

So...I've been to WDW quite a few times but in all my reserach and visits I've never heard of the Rope Drop!! I think I need to do some research on here because I'm still unsure of what all it entails

Different things at different parks, but usally at some point (maybe 20 -25 minutes?) before the official park opening they let you through the ticket gate and into a staging area. For example, at MK, they let you into the open space in front of the Train Station. You still cannot go through the arches and onto Main Street. Then about 10 minutes before park opening there is a bit of a show. MK's is the best - characters & CMs ride in on the train, get out and sing and dance. They do a countdown and officially declare the park open. A family is randomly selected from the crowd to take part too, to represent all guests. CMs who are actually standing at rope barricades at the train station drop the rope and pull them aside, and you can go through the arches and into the park. Thus, rope drop.

 

[sarmat1]

Sci-Fi is definitely unique, but was anybody else bothered by just how dark it is? I know that's part of the theming, but really, not only couldn't I see the menu, I could barely read the check. I would suggest bringing a flashlight if you want to see anything.