sci-fi and 50's cafe

[Bens mom]

Leaving on our 1st trip soon. Thought that the sci-fi and the 50's cafe looked kinda neat. Just wondering if anyone has any oppinions or feedback on them?
Thanks,
Debbie

 

[Pakey]

Do you have ADR's? Make sure you make reservations, especially Sci Fi seems to be hard to get into as a walkup.

Our family has dined at both several times. Except for me, everyone else likes Sci Fi better. It's a lot of fun sitting in the little cars but the food is average at best. Great milkshakes though. I think going for lunch is much better than going for dinner. It's also more fun if you have the entire car to yourself (party of 6) rather than sharing the car with "hitchhikers".

50's PTC has better food. Some of the wait staff really get into certain antics but honestly, in our many trips there, we've never had much of an experience with it.

 

[Cookie Princess]

We agree...while the atmosphere at both is fun, the food at 50's PT is better.

 

[Hopefully]

I agree with Pakey. If there is ANYWHERE you really want to eat get an ADR ASAP. You may find you are unable to get into the popular Park restaurants at the last minute.
We like the 50's Prime Time Cafe very much. The food is good, the atmosphere and antics are fun and the servers are great. We are going for lunch again on our next trip.
We have not eaten at Sci Fi, so I can not compare.

 

[ms*mountaineer]

We really enjoyed the food at 50's PT. Everything was delicious - our table ordered pot roast, fried chicken, and meatloaf. The PB&J milkshake is wonderful!

 

[LVSWL]

I think that both can be fun. Go with the attitude that you are going for the experience and not for the fancy food . We like sci-fi b.etter at lunch because we tend to just get a burger and milkshake there, and there isn't a milkshake on the evening menu. I agree with the others about getting an adr quick to be sure that you can get in. Oh, and be sure to put your elbows on the table at 50's!!

 

[travelbug]

I really enjoy both places, but in different ways.

SciFi has (in my opinion) overpriced and kind of mediocre food, except for the burgers which I've always found to be very good. The attraction at SciFi is the atmosphere and entertainment factor. It's such a fun place, that it's become a "must do" for most of my trips with others.

50s Prime Time has great food. I've tried many things on the menu and have never been disappointed. I also love the atmosphere because it reminds me of my childhood and I think it's charming.

We eat at these places for lunch, not dinner, to cut down the cost somewhat. Be sure to make a reservation!

Have a great time!

 

[weich1001]

We had alot of fun at Prime Time this past September. Carole was our "Mom" and she ask us if we had ever been there before. When we said no, she said well let me explain the "rules" in "my house"....No spit wads, no elbows on the table, anything you order, you eat...and I mean you will eat everything or you will be punished! She laid silverware and napkins on the table and told us to make ourselves useful and help set the table! She told us if we were good and ate everything we could order dessert and play with the "viewfinder". It was a howl!

The food was good and the sillyness was just great. We watched a person at another table not eat all his green beans and she picked up his fork after he was done eating and made choo choo noises to try to get him to eat! Another table someone was caught with gum and she made him stand against the wall with his nose. My DD ordered chicken noodle soup and mac and cheese. There were carrots in the soup...she hates carrots, but that day she was afraid if she didn't eat them, she would get in trouble, so she ate everything...but ran out room, was full and couldn't eat all her mac and cheese...so I helped her with her last couple of bites...so she wouldn't get "in trouble" from "Mom". When Mom came around, DS spilled it and said I helped her....we both thought we were gonna be in trouble....nope instead "mom" had the whole area (maybe 15 people or so) put their two fingers together and say tattle tale, tattle tale...he turned sooo beat red, I thought his real grandparents who were there with us were gonna roll on the floor laughing!

It's alot of zaniness...the food is good too. I have some pictures on my trip report.

Best of luck!

 

[tnd]

The food at Sci Fi is good but not great, especially for the price. It's equivalent to TGI Friday's or something. But the atmosphere is really fun and my three year old keeps talking about eating in a car, so it made an impression for sure. We were on the dining plan, so I wasn't stressed about the cost, but I might have skipped it if paying cash.

We went right at 11:30am and were able to get a walk up for 6, only waiting about 5-10 min., but it got pretty busy by noon.

 

[NHMom4]

We had a blast at PTC. It is on of the two places my kids want to go back to. The other being lunch with the princess in the Norway pavilion.

 

[goofy4prez]

My choice would be for the 50's PT. The atmophere can be a lot of fun. However, I'm going to be in the minority here about the claim of them having "great" food. I would call it good but not great. I had the pot roast and while it was good it was far from great. My DW and DD(11) both had the meatloaf and also felt it was good but not great.

Would I go back there again? More than likely. But my expectations would be more down to earth than what I had expected from this place. Again, IMHO it's good, but just not great.

 

[MickeyNicki]

50's PT is great! Lots of fun, great decor, awesome fried chicken and yummy cocktails!

 

[steelfish535]

I've been to both (although Sci-Fi was 10 years ago) and we LOVE 50's Prime Time. The food is excellent! The wait staff is fun and the atmosphere is cool. Sci-Fi's food is just ok, and depending on your party, you sit facing the screen, two by two...so you can't talk alot. If I had to choose, I'd go with 50's Prime Time. But try to make ADRs, because we've never been able to go by just walking up.

 

[HopeCatherine]

I've never been to Sci-Fi but 50s PTC is really fun, though the experience you have really depends on the waiter. The first time we went, our server was totally into character, even going as far as to punish my sister and I for having our elbows on the table. (Our punishment consisted of us pressing sugar packets to the wall with our noses!) The second time we went, our waited barely did anything special, it was more like just eating at a diner. Still, the food is delicious, especially the milkshakes + the fried chicken.

Overall, is Sci-Fi worth trying??

 

[SuzieN]

LOVE both of them!!!!!!

 

[jimmytammy]

We ate at Sci Fi once. It was ok, but not a must do. In fact, I wish we would have enjoyed it more, as it would have given us more option in HS. 50s on the other hand has always been good. This is a must do for us.

 

[Stitchfans]

Been to both. Enjoyed both. IMO the food is better at Sci Fi but the entertainment is better at 50's cafe.

 

[ekidwell0001]

DBF and I love both places!! Typically, we eat at both of these resturants for dinner, and everyone seems to think sci fi has okay food, but we've never had a bad meal yet... Typically we always get the steak, and of course the chocolate tart bc it is so yummy! But we also love 50's PT, the food is amazing, usually i get the pot roast, DBF likes the meatloaf... Also you must get a PB&J shake!! Best creation ever made!!!!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

We ate lunch at Sci-fi in October. We all had burgers, shared a side order of O-rings, & the 2 teens had milkshake. Everyone enjoyed their meal. My burger is one of the best I've ever had. We're debating whether to return to Sci-fi for lunch, or try 50's.

Speaking of 50's, I'd like more info from those who've eaten there, if you don't mind sharing your thread. As noted above, we're debating Sci-fi or 50's for lunch. What are the best light lunch choices at 50's? I checked out the menu, but thought I'd ask for personal opinions too. I grew up on country cooking, so I usually avoid ordering it at restaurants. Noone cooks it like my mom did, or I can. We'd want a lighter meal for lunch anyway. Also, I never clean my plate. I wouldn't be the least bit amused with someone trying to force feed me. Is there a way to let the server know that you aren't interested in the antics, especially force feeding?

 

[hammie59]

Guess I'll jump on the bandwagon. I agree with most others on here.
I like both. Sci-fi has cool atmosphere and 50's is fun. I don't remember my Sci-fi lunch being all that spectacular for the price, (but that was a long time ago). I plan on taking the kids there next trip, and will probably do 50's again. Go to both if you can.