I went during spring break (March) with an ADR time of I think 11:30 or noon and we were seated in like 5 mins in a car that was right up front with a great view of the screen.
Like you, I had always wanted to eat there too - the idea of an indoor outdoor movie theater showing cheesy old Sci Fi flicks sounded pretty cool, but every time I had been to WDW before, I had a tight budget, didn't have time (kids were younger and would rather grab a counter service quick bite or snack than interrupt "rides time" with a sit-down meal), or thought of it last minute and couldn't get a reservation.
THIS trip I decided, was going to be my trip of "firsts", in which I was GOING to do all of the things I didn't have time or money for in the past, and eat at the places I had always only read about and glanced through the doors wistfully as I walked past. So I saved up about 10 grand for a week long stay (sounds like a lot for a week to the average working class person, but keep in mind, we live in Texas and RT airfare for 3 adults sucked about 3300 out of the budget). And I made a list of everything I wanted to experience and made dinning res's at some of the restaurants I wanted to try (only "some", because after years of just eating at Quick Service and counter restaurants, I have a BIG list and couldn't afford time or $ wise to do them in one trip)
In HS Sci Fi and the Prime Time Cafe were on my wish list as far as restaurants. I wanted to do them both but even with a 2 month head start reserving everything online, it was hard to get that magical balance of FP reservation times and ADRS that didn't overlap because , with it being Spring Break, the rez times for attractions and dinning were limited. So The only way I could make it work in the calendar was to choose ONE of these. (I did go to Mama Melrose's too but that was only because I wanted the Fantasmic reserved seating which came with a dinning rez at one of 3 restaurants by default, and MM was the only one available. This actually turned out be a blessing in disguise because I had never considered going to MM - barely knew it existed- and it was AMAZING! The best meal we had on the trip.)
So anyway, I reserved Prime time. It was a tough choice but I liked the menu and I thought it would be fun eating in a "kitchen" that was probably like what my parents had in their homes growing up, and the cast members lecturing everyone and putting people in corners would be fun - especially since I was travelling with my son and his friend (both 16) who were always goofing around and would probably love laughing at each other getting "scolded".
But you know how it is...you spend days planning your rez's/fp's online...then overthink it, and rethink it..and second guess your choices...and go back and start changing things. I did that with Prime time. I though maybe 16 year old boys would appreciate the Sci Fi dinning experience and menu more than Prime time's "your eating in your grandmothers kitchen" feel.
So I changed my rez from Prime time to Sci Fi.
Big Mistake.
I didn't like Sci Fi at all. And I'm a hardcore Disney fan who is loath to find ANYTHING wrong at Disney. It was the only restaurant in which I didn't have a great experience, but the boys seemed to like it so I kept my thoughts to myself and my mood light.
We had the cars that were facing forward (to be fair to the staff, they DID give me a choice). So I was in front and the boys sat behind me. It was very tight and awkward to have a conversation with them - I had to twist in my seat, but this was expected given the type of car i chose so that wasn't a big deal. Next time (which I doubt there will be) I'll chose the other type of car.
The 3 things that I didn't like were:
1. It was VERY dark in there. I understand that fits the theme of being outside at a drive in theater but they should have little low watt lights on the backs of the seats above the table (design them like the vanity visors you pull down in your car) that you can turn on to see your menu. Because you couldn't see the menus hardly at ALL. We all had o break out our cell phones and use the light on that to read our menu. It also made it hard to see our food and that's problematic if you can't inspect your food. What if there's a bug or a hair or dirty utensils, etc.?
2. The cast members seemed very hurried and our sever was downright surly. This was the only place were I didn't get the warm Disney smile or feeling that they were happy to serve us. She expected us to be ready to order 30 seconds after our butts hit the seat. I asked her to give us a minute and I swear she came back four times in the next 5 minutes. I really got the vibe from her that we were being rushed . She did the same thing after she brought our food - kept stopping by every few minutes to see if we were ready for dessert, which had the not-so subtle undertone of "and then the check, so you can get out of here". It was like she wanted to turn over tables as quick as possible and squeeze in as many $30 tips into her shift as could. Fat chance, lady. This was the only restaurant we ate at were I didn't give the recommend tip. She didn't deserve it and she was lucky to have received the 15% I did leave. With all of her constant hints and pressure to move us along and out the door, it was very difficult to relax and enjoy the meal at a leisurely pace.
3. The food was awful. At least mine was. The boys ate theirs - I don't remember if they finished it or had any complaints but if they did, they didn't make a big deal. The APPETIZER was ok though - at least what little I had of it. I ordered the sampler: Honey-Barbecue Chicken Wings, crispy Onion Rings, and Fried Dill Pickles with Spicy Ranch and Horseradish Dipping Sauces
I wanted them to have room for the entree so I just ordered one for us all to share but the boys gobbled it up between them...I think I got to eat a couple fried pickles and an onion ring.
For entrees the boys picked a burger and the ribs. I cant remember how theirs was but I got the Reuben and it was God Awful.
It was dry, cold, and tasted very bland- hardly any flavor at all and the bread tasted funky. I remember forcing myself to finish it on principle alone because I couldn't stand the thought of throwing away all that money. I then ordered the Star cocktail to hopefully give me a better flavor experience to wash out the Reuben but it was mediocre too. So I asked for a plain old beer to drink while the boys had their desert and honestly the beer was the best part of the meal, lol.
I regretted changing my PT rez, and as soon as we left I got on my phone and tried to make a rez at PT for another day during the remainder of our trip but it was booked solid for a full week :-(
Hopefully, you have a better experience than I did. It didn't ruin the rip for me or anything - just was a let down because I really wanted to like it. But I AM still glad I went because now I can check it off the list and say that I've been there
JK..while this has happened to us we were still out in 60 mins after being seated but it took us 10 mins to be seated.
