OK, so really...how bad is the Sci-Fi?

[757hokie]

For our upcoming February 2010 trip, I have an ADR at the Sci-Fi at DHS for dinner. With DD5 and DD3, our dining options are somewhat limited at the Studios, so I figure we'll give it a shot despite the negative reviews I've heard about the food, and sometimes the service.

Of course, it's mostly for the atmosphere and the gimmick of eating in the cars. I'm not expecting much, so hopefully it'll at least meet, and maybe even exceed (long shot), those expectations.

Anyone have any noteworthy experiences with young kids at the Sci-Fi? It'll be an early dinner so we can head off to get in line and catch Fantasmic afterward.

Thanks!

 

[fireman17]

We went in 2007 and just loved it. Our three kids had a blast sitting and eating in the cars and seeing the old movie trailers they had a lot of questions about those movies.
It's pretty cool how they take you to your car and that's all I'll say about that so not to ruin it for you.
The food was great as well as the desserts and service was wonderful too you'll all have a really fun time there.

 

[JustBusiness]

The Sci-Fi cafe is a ton of fun, and the food is better than any counter service. Also, they are the probably the best milkshakes in the park (with a kick for adults).

I have only had lunch there, but dinner should be fun. It's so dark inside for lunch, you can forget it's light outside. My only issue is that the trailer reel is a little short, 45-50 minute loop it seems.

Does anyone know if the loop changes?

As for food, it seems to change pretty significantly between lunch and dinner, but the offerings are few, I usually take this to mean that everything must be pretty good (or at least should be).

Take a look at the current menu on the disney site (I would post a link, but need to earn my ears). I googled disney's sci-fi cafe, and went to the dinner menu right on the official disney page.

Did I mention the milk shakes?

 

[The Masked Maniac]

Its not bad its a semi quick pit stop......The food is alright not great , not the usual high quality Disney food but better then anything Universal has.....

 

[SuzieN]

My whole family loves Sci-Fi!! We find the food to be very good - the burgers are VERY good. Even though they are not on the dinner menu, I have never heard of anyone not being able to order them for dinner. The theming is sooooo cool! You will be amazed at how quiet it is in there - everyone is too busy watching the campy movie clips and cartoons to talk!!!!

 

[JanetMom]

We love the Sci-fi and it is near the top of our must book list for every trip.

The food is mediocre, but not bad. If it were only about the food we wouldn't be as excited about it, but wouldn't avoid it either.

The atmosphere is so great, it is a nice change from the other restaurants.

I know of plenty of Disney restaurants that only offer mediocre food, so I don't think that anyone should single out Sci-Fi as being any worse than most Disney restaurants.

I'd encourage everyone to go at least once.

 

[eventamy]

We just went to Sci-Fi this past February and loved it! It was one of my favorite meals the entire trip! It was me, DH, my mom and my 2 DDs (then 5 and 22 months).
We had shakes that we shared with my mom and DH, they were fantastic. I had a veggie burger with sauteed mushrooms and cheddar with fries. The fries are SO good! The burger was quite tasty. DH had a bacon cheeseburger that he devoured, he really enjoyed it. Mom had the chili and thought it was so good that she mentioned later in the week that she would go back just for that. My DDs split a kids pizza. Our waitress was excellent. She had the girls' meal split before it came out so that they each received a Mickey plate and extra veggies and dip. They really enjoyed it. My DD5 is a huge Tom & Jerry fan and was so excited that they had a T & J cartoon. I knew about this and had her wear her Tom & Jerry t-shirt but didn't tell her that there would be a cartoon at Sci-Fi.
You can definitely get burgers at dinner, just ask! Awesome experience. We would definitely do it again. This time we're trying 50's only because we have vowed to try all new restaurants this time. Sci-Fi would probably be our only do-over! Enjoy!

 

[mollygirl13]

DH and I seriously eat here on every trip, mostly for lunch and the occasional dinner. It is one place we always return to!

We have always found the food to be great! We have never had a bad meal there and the service has always been exceptional! We look forward to our meals at Sci-Fi!

 

[PearlySwan]

We went to Sci-Fi Dine in Theatre and loved it! The atmosphere in there is fantastic. The restaurant has quite unique theming. We went for dinner not lunch. DD and I were able to order cheeseburgers even though they only have them on the lunch menu. They were really good! DH had the Reuben and loved it, and my youngest had the chicken fingers which he liked too. The onion rings and super thick milkshakes were outstanding. If you stick with the basics, you can't go wrong.

 

[Big Vic]

We've always had great service, and have always stuck to the basics with regards to the food (burgers, fries, milkshakes).

I can remember watching the horror movies as a kid. It's cool watching the trailers.

 

[hstrickland]

I really enjoyed it, but husband didn't think it was that great. We ate lunch there...thought the food was good...just your basic burger & hotdog type food. My son absolutely loved eating in a car and watching a movie. For us, it's more a lunch type restaurant. Go in with an open mind and know that it won't be a gourmet meal, but still good. The atmosphere is the real reason we go. Have fun!!

 

[OKW Lover]

You may want to read the dining reviews here when trying to decide.

 

[topmonkeygirl]

Love the Sci-Fi, one of my favs. Burgers, onion rings, milk shakes, and artichoke spinace dip are off the chain. I just think there are too many food snobs that think everything should be fine dinning and crystal. I just love food fine dinning or not. I love greasy messy cheeseburgers to lobster, so let me tell you Sci-Fi is a great place to eat.

 

[jb01]

The atmosphere is what it is about. The food has been okay and kids will probably love it. I can almost bet it will exceed your expectations.

 

[Pig Pen]

Food is okay, atmosphere is fun. Bring a sweater because it is always freezing in there!

 

[Tomh]

Your experience at many of the Walt Disney World restaurants will depend a lot on your dining experiences / preferences outside the world. If you are accustomed to eating in fine restaurants elsewhere, you will likely be disappointed by many of the offerings at Disney World.

If, on the other hand, you frequent chain restaurants (like Applebees, The Outback Steakhouse, Ruby Tuesday's, etc.) and fast food joints like McD's, or Wendy's, then you should be perfectly happy with most of what Disney World offers.

We frequently eat fast food, or from chain restaurants, and have been quite happy with nearly every meal we've had at Disney (with the notable exception of the Electric Umbrella in Epcot).

For our family, the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater was fine. The atmosphere is fantastic, and the food was just fine. I had the ribs, on two different occasions, and was perfectly happy with them. Other members of my party tried many different meals, including a steak, and no one had any complaints.

 

[pocahontasgal87]

I really love the sci fi, and not just the atmosphere, the food was actually really yummy, i had a shrimp pasta which was ecellent and for dessert i had a really tall sundae and omg it was heaven, i soo definitely will come back here and hopefully try a car next time, cuz last time we just got a normal table

 

[pinkerbell]

we ate at Sci Fi last month and LOVED it ~ one of the best overall experiences of our trip. Out waiter VINNY was on of the best we've had at Disney. We had sworn of this rest. becuase of a bad exp - due to an unhappy child and found it hard to get past it but are so glad we did. Vinny was from NY and very good ~ a manager came to our table and we were all given cups with carmelcorn - Vinny noticed DD bday button and she received special b day treatment. Another waiter cam over and handed each daughter a drink light up toy.
Of course all the pleasntries in the world do not make up for bad food, so onto that hubby had ribs I had shrimp and pasta and it was very good and the portions were very generous

 

[KatMark]

We ate at Sci Fi in September for the first time in over ten years and had a great meal and great service. The onion rings were to die for, and my cheeseburger (which was not on the dinner menu, but they let me order anyway) and DH's reuben were very good (the reuben was excellent in DH's opinion).

 

[DisneyLover83]

I have been to Sci-Fi many times over the last few years and the only bad thing I have had there was the turkey sandwich they serve at lunch. I thought it was just gross and ended up pulling the turkey off and just eating the turkey. It seemed as though the sandwich had been prepared much earlier and left in a fridge, the bread was soggy and the tomato was mushy. The new bean relish side I also did not like. I will go back, but next time I will stick to the burger and onion rings

Also, I froze in this place, bring a coat!