Sci-fi Drive-in???

[disneygal55]

Just to let you know that you can still get burgers for dinner even though they're only on the lunch menu. Just ask your server. We've eaten at SciFi
four times and had a great time each time. Cheeseburgers, fries, and onion rings were pretty good. My DH and I like the BLT soup a lot but we usually tell them to "skip the lettuce". My kids usually get one of the sundaes which they say are good. Enjoy...it's fun!

 

[TruBlu]

When is your reservation? Dinner or Lunch? I would highly recommend lunch. We have tried both, and lunch is SO MUCH BETTER. It really adds to the atmosphere to walk out of the bright Florida sunshine into a dark night at the drive-in movies. The shakes and burgers are really good, but don't be tempted by the other offerings... They sound good, but that's all!

Sci-Fi is one of our favorites!!!! I think it is one of the best themed restaurants at Disney (Coral Reef is the best IMHO.)

Have fun! Let us know what you think.

 

[ILoveDisney&Cruising]

I think it is one of the best themed restaurants at Disney

I agree! We thought the theming was superb! Food ... pretty yucky. We got burgers for dinner .... they were ok. I wouldn't return for the food, but would go back for the atmosphere!

 

[SassyLassy]

forgive me for being ignorant...but what is with the DD, DH, DS, etc? I just joined this site today but i have been reading it for a while now. Please enlighten a newbie.

This is a post where it gives all of the acronyms for the Disboards.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1660743


I love the chicken sandwich and the rueben as well. Its not the best food in WDW but its good and we LOVE the atmosphere!!

 

[Micca]

Burgers, rings, shakes...and you're golden. Anything more adventureous and yer on yer own

 

[Stacy_C]

We loved it and so did our kids (ages: 12, 6, 2). I highly recommend it!

 

[simonkodousek]

On a scale from 1-10, here is how I would rate the Sci-Fi:

Wait Times (non dining): 7
Wait Times (dining): 4
Appetizers: 3
Entrees: 1
Deserts: 1

Our waitress was rude and unhelpful, and got mad when we asked her for refills. Halfway through our meal she disappeared and we only saw her when she zoomed by to drop off the check.

The food was some of the worst that I have ever had. My burger was overcooked, lukewarm, rubbery, and flavorless. I am guessing that it had been sitting under a heat lamp for at least 1/2 an hour. My fries were dry and soft, and were literally swimming in grease. My shake was OK, but it had chunks of ice cream in it.

The atmosphere was fun and entertaining, but I would honestly skip it if I planned to have a full meal here. The most I would ever do at Sci-Fi again are shakes.

 

[HunnyPots]

I have to disagree that burgers are your only choice here. My son and I shared the ribs and thought they were great. Much better than the tough fatty ones we had at Flame Tree BBQ. DH had the ruben sandwich and loved it. I tried a bite and agreed that it was very good. DD had the chicken caesar salad and said it was one of the best she had in WDW, and she had one everywhere we went! I agree that your choices probably shouldn't be too exotic but by no means are you limited to burgers.

 

[angelmav]

If you have a dining plan credit burning a hole in your pocket...its a definite maybe! I wouldnt pay cash here for what you get. As another poster pointed out, the onion ring portion was rediculously small for what you pay. The shakes were all right (I like carls jr's better), they do mix a real cherry coke though. I thought the beef on the adult burgers was tasty, but the kids version was from a completely different animal...an inedible animal! I tried and liked the BLT soup, but really, pop open a can of cambells tomato, sprinkle some bacon bits and shredded lettuce and there you go. I think you get the picture.

 

[midge3426]

The Sci Fi is fun. The food has usually, in the past, been just okay and sometimes close to bad. This year the food was much better than usual. In fact, this is the only restaurant at WDW where the food had not gone down hill. Everyone was happy with their choices. My burger was very good and the cheesecake was also good.

It is a must see at leat once. You will have a good time.

 

[stemikger]

The atmosphere is very cool in this place.

If you want to order a cheeseburger there, you will be fine, but we went for dinner one year and the the food off the dinner menu was not even edible and we are not that pickey.

Also, that night the service was awful.

It is worth going for lunch because it is something to see, but stick with a good old cheeseburger or something on those lines and you will probably like it.

 

[onesadduck]

Hi, not to hi-jack this thread, but I have some questions about sci-fi (and ADRs in general).

My BFF does not want to go here because of the mixed reviews. She says she goes to restaurants for food not atmmosphere. I still kind of want to go. I just want to go for drinks and apetizers, though (I'm a vegetarian, so no burgers for me). I want to try a Space Monkey!

Is it okay to go in and not get an entree? I'll be in and out pretty quick, probably, and tip well.

I have a feeling my friend will change her mind if I go in. We agreed to split up at times because I love roller coasters and she hates 'em, but I think for food it's different- she did say it sounds cool. Is it wrong to make ADRs for a party of two, and then have only one show up?

Can I change ADRs from a party of two to a party of one a few days or weeks beforehand?

Is it even worth the wait for just a drink or two and some onion rings? Is it really that cool?

TIA,
Alisa

 

[Dawn68PA]

We love this restaurant. It's a must-do every trip. We like the food, true it's nothing spectacular, but the milkshakes are top notch. The atmosphere is cool. My DDs first went there at the ages of 5 & 7. They are now 16 & 18 and won't let me take it off the list.

 

[dvcdisney]

We have eaten there a number of times for dinner. Unfortunately, we only go for the experience. My children love the cars and some of the features they show on the screen. The food on the other hand is horrible compared to the other table service restaurants. I think it is more in line with the quality of the Counter service meals.

I think it's worth experiencing the restaurant. But if you are looking for good food, I don't think you will find it here.

 

[belle&sebastiansmom]

We are not fans of the Sci-Fi Cafe. We've been twice. The first time we weren't impressed at all, the second time we needed to use a Table Service coupon and that was all that was available.

The food is below mediocre. The service is slow. You have to sit and watch the same reel of trailers over and over and over and over. If you have a larger party you'll be split up in the two seater cars so there's zero conversation. The atmosphere gets old real quick.

We're an average sized family, and we found the cars to be a bit small. There's no room to spread out and enjoy your meal, if you could enjoy the nasty stuff they serve. I like the idea of the atmosphere of this restaurant, but it's not executed well.

 

[kakiegirl]

We love the Sci-Fi for the atmosphere. To us the food was good we all got standard burgers and fries. Not great but good. But to us it is alot of fun. Sitting in the cars with the old movies and DD always has to get her glow in the dark ice cubes. If you make an ADR make sure you request to be seated in a car when you make your reservations they do have some seating that is not in the cars. I know some opinions differ but unless I just had extra TS on my dining plan I would probably consider paying out of pocket especially if we were getting burgers and fries again because it was one of the least expensive TS resturaunts. However, we don't like to do TS everyday so we usually have some left over that we use.

 

[Luv4Disney]

We really enjoy the burgers, shakes, and flavored sodas. Add the atmosphere and it's a must do for lunch for us every time.

 

[agentpleakley]

Visited: December 19, 2007

Party size: 2 adults, DS (11), DD(5)

Table: at checkin, was advised we could have a table immediately or we could wait for a car -- chose to wait for car -- wait time approximately 10 minutes (worth the wait).

Time: we chose lunch -- from all the bad reviews of this restaurant on the DIS we felt safer with lunch options

Service: Exceptional ... our server was GREAT! They did run out of silverware and we had to wait - but it arrived before our food so no biggee.

Items orderd: We all stuck with the Angus Hamburger (prewarned) -- they did not disappoint. IMHO, I thought it was way too much food. DD (who ate off the kids meal) shared my fries and I handed half of my burger to DH -- I was just too stuffed. DS(11) had a shake and said it was great. I'm glad we paid OOP for this meal rather than using a dining credit -- it was way too much for me. DH did say that his vanilla coke was too vanilla-y for him -- but he drank it anyway.

Atmosphere: Awesome --real blast from the past -- I actually enjoyed watching the intermission clips just as well or better than the movie clips. Sitting in the car was a thrill -- and was great because our 2 kids didn't have to look at one another -- all in all ending up peaceful for me and DH because of this.

Overall: Yes, we would go back --- wouldn't use a dining credit and would stick with burgers (I actually failed to see anyone around us order anything other than burgers, mixed drinks and shakes)

 

[goofy4tink]

If you had asked this a month ago, I would have said 'stay away, the food is mediocre at best, the atmosphere okay'. But, I took my 31 y/o dd to WDW for her first trip two weeks ago. I gave her a guide book and had her read it. When I asked her if she had seen anything she was really interested in doing, she said she wanted to eat at Sci-Fi. My stomach (no pun intended) dropped. I had eaten there before and the food was awful, we had someone seated in front of us with really long hair that kept swishing in my food (although it wasn't close to full in there)...but, I booked it anyway.
Well, this visit was a bit different. The food was fine. My dd had a cheeseburger and said it was perfect. I had a chicken sandwich that was really quite goodd...I was surprised in fact. Our server was very good and made some good suggestions. But, again, although it wasn't crowded, they put someone right in back of me. Thank heaven I was seated in the front seat. I just wonder why they don't leave a seat empty inbetween guests if they can. That's the one thing that will keep me from returning. I hate someone breathing down my neck or swishing their hair in my food.
But other than that, it was a good lunch.

 

[jennie31708]

I'm very mixed about this place. My husband and I ate there, and we were seated at the back of a family of four's car. The kids kept turning aboud and staring at us, it was a little weirs. What bothered me the most, was the parents asked us to get out 3 or 4 times so they could take pictures... I was a little put out by that. The first time, okay... but 3 or 4 times?? I know that has nothing to do with disney, but I wish there were more tables for parties of 2. A lot of couples go to disney, not just families.

The food was exactly what everyone is saying, mediocre. Hubby and I had chicken sandwiches. Nothing great, but decent enough. But honestly, the atmosphere was awesome!! That alone makes me say we would go there again!