Lunch at Sci Fi
We arrived at DHS about 5 minutes after it opened and proceeded to have a fabulous time doing a few of our favorites. Maniacs for Toy Story Mania, of course!!! - so we got fast passes and then also did stand-by - which said 30 minutes at 9:15, but was actually 20 minutes. Then we walked on Great Movie Ride - waited no more than 1 minute in the screening room - never got on that quickly before! After that, it was over to Muppets 3D (had to see Miss Piggy, our inspiration for Disney dining), after which it was time to use our TSM fast passes. Love, love, love that ride/game.
On to the food: we had an early lunch reservation (11:15) at Sci-Fi, and we were in the first groups seated after we checked in. They were taking walk-ups, as well as letting a couple of groups with later reservations check in for earlier seatings. Even though the place was virtually empty - like 5 cars total were in use, apparently they like to fill each car before starting on another, so we were seated as “hitchhikers” in the back seat of a two-bench car…joked that the young couple in the front seat were going to feel like their parents were in the back seat for their drive-in date. DH & both enjoyed the film clips, including this gem with Walt Disney & a silly looking robot, which I suspect we saw long ago as kids watching the Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights...Walt used to introduce the show, often with some sort of character like that robot.
…and we got a kick out of the corny concession ads - dancing hotdogs & such (we’re old enough to remember actually watching those ads at the real drive-in, back in the day. Think we might have seen some of those movies on late-night re-runs when we were teens, too.
) I wondered before we went in if there’d be a problem with taking photos in there, but everyone was snapping pictures, and the flashes really didn’t detract from the “movie.“ When our waitress saw my camera, she immediately volunteered to take our photo:
We were offered their famous milkshakes, but we’ve made that mistake before -- getting way too full on milkshakes before we even started in on the food. So we ordered the cherry-cokes instead ($3.19.) These were delicious (so much better than the pre-mixed version in a can!) Our glasses were not allowed to get any more than ½ empty before our waitress showed up with a refill. For my app, I ordered the “Spinach and Artichoke Dip - A blend of Monterey Jack, swiss, and asiago with spinach, artichokes, and corn tortilla chips $7.99” This was delicious - the dip was warm and gooey…actually almost like a thick cream cheese soup...scrumptious way to start a meal on a cool, breezy day. The tortilla chips are out of a bag, but they were fresh & crisp, and perfect for the dip. (Note-the Allears menu lists this item as “for two” - I don‘t recall if the actual Sci-Fi menu listed it that way. But when we ordered on the deluxe dining plan, I asked for this appetizer first, and then the waitress immediately turned to DH and asked him what he wanted for his app, so she didn't seem to think it was supposed to be "for 2"...although it was certainly large enough for at least two people, if not more.)
DH chose the famous Sci Fi onion rings ($6.99), which came with ranch dressing for dipping. These beauties well deserve their excellent rep…these were among the best we’ve had. The rings are at the top of this picture, nachos & dip at the bottom:
For entrees, keeping in mind the many reviews I’ve read that stress sticking with the sandwiches at Sci-Fi, DH chose “The Reuben - Corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, thousand island dressing on marble rye bread, served with a pickle spear and a choice of cucumber-melon salad or french fries $11.99” He chose the French fries.
As you can see, it’s a huge Reuben -- has to be at least ½ lb. of corned beef on this sandwich. DH really enjoyed this sandwich.
I chose the “Angus Chuck Burger - Flame-broiled beef patty topped with cheddar or swiss cheese, sauteed onions, mushrooms and crispy bacon. Served with a choice of cucumber-melon salad or french fries $12.99” I also chose fries, even the sound of “cucumber melon salad” just did not appeal, at all (cukes & melon -- Sorry, but that's just a burp-fest waiting to happen, lol.) My burger was delicious: loaded with toppings & very juicy beef. Our plan here was that we were going to cut our sandwiches in ½ and trade, so we’d each get to sample both sandwiches.
Hah! I was so full from the apps, that by the time I ate half my burger & a few fries, all I had room for was one small bites of the Reuben. The fries were fresh & tasty - we both agreed they reminded us of fries from our childhood (I.e., hot/greasy/salty…undoubtedly bad for us, but delicious.)
Neither of us finished our entrees, ‘cuz dessert was coming! DH chose the hot fudge sundae ($6.99), which he managed to finish most of. He offered me a bite, but I declined -- saving room for desserts I can’t get at home, ya know.
With that goal, I chose the “Peanut Butter-Chocolate Cake - Warm chocolate cake with a creamy peanut butter center served a la mode $7.99”
Oh my…this was scrumptious. The cake is sort of crunchy on the outside - almost like a crust - but the inside is soft cake & the very center is filled with a molten-style peanut butter filling. The scoop of ice cream on top immediately starts melting on the warm cake, so the whole thing quickly turns into a mushy - but delicious - mess.
All in all, as usual, the deluxe plan is WAY too much food. Seriously, we could have used one credit & split the entire meal, especially with it being deluxe so we got the app with the meal…we would both have easily had enough food sharing one app, one entrée & one dessert. Next time we do the deluxe and we‘re stretching one night‘s credits over two park day, that‘s exactly what we’re going to do - we’ll split lunches on both days.
We liked everything we ordered, there was just too much of it. And while we enjoyed the experience (having gone to many drive-in movies in our day) I have to say it is
too dark in there (you really cannot see the food like it looks in these pictures: the flash “illuminated“ the plates for the pics, but we couldn‘t actually see the food that well while we were eating. For instance, I had no idea that the tortilla chips with the spinach dip were tri-color until I uploaded the pictures later that night…while eating at Sci Fi, it was too dark to see that detail!) Also, though people were chatting at the car-tables, the movie clips are fairly loud, and sitting side-by-side is not really as conducive to conversation. My other problem was the size of the tables...I understand the limitations of "car tables" but these are seriously too narrow...the plates barely fit. The picture above with DH's Reuben gives you a good view of the size - as you can see, his dip cup is at the top of the plate -that was actually at the top edge of the table, and his plate is a little over the bottom edge - so that table is just a couple of inches wider than the plate itself. His coke is completely off to the side, because there was nowhere near the top of his plate to fit a drink. These tables are just too shallow for comfortable eating. The drive-in experience was certainly nostalgic, but it did remind me why we quit going to drive-ins long ago, lol. Drive-ins are fun, but cars are not really made for eating in, and Disney has masterfully recreated that inconvenience!
Total cost with tax (before tip) was $65.31. Definitely a pricey lunch (especially for sandwiches! Even without the apps & dessert, just burgers/fries/cokes would have run over $17 each, plus tip.) However, with the Deluxe Dining plan, we were now into the “Bonus round” so didn‘t mind using the meal credit here. Service was excellent, and the food was good…but we’d only give Sci-Fi a solid 7. The food was actually more like a 9, but Sci-Fi is just too dark, and the tables too cramped to totally enjoy it. And really, the prices are high for what you‘re getting. I'd say this is a place to try at least once, especially with kids. If you're on the dining plan, it's a good use of a meal credit. For cash, we probably would not return for a meal...better burgers can be had in more comfortable seating arrangements.
don't I know it...I'm looking at the pictures I'm uploading for the next section of reviews, and boy do they start the cravings. Hard to stick to my diet with all this Disney food porn around here.
You two are so cute!
) The potato is barely visible in this picture (mostly under the steak - dont know why they always bury the potato at Disney, but seems like all the restaurants do that? And this one was not only buried, but had a bit of shrubbery planted in it.) Anyway, it was ½ a baked potato topped with broiled parmesan cheese. The potato was tasty, but we each only had a bite of it (just too much food, at this point!) I did not try the ratatouille at all - I wanted room for dessert, so skipped my veggies entirely (sorry, Mom.) DH tried just a bite, said it tasted like chunky tomato soup with peppers
not worth wasting his appetite on. 
)
