SciFi Dine In - Is it really that bad??!!

[rie'smom]

The Sci-Fi is my 13 yo DD's favorite restaurant. We eat there on every trip. The Shrimp Penne is very good. DH and DD have tried just about everything on the menu at one time or another and have always enjoyed their meal. Basucally, I have either the burger or the penne and bothe rae delicious.

 

[The Three Cabs]

My sons 9 and 10 love this place. We have gone twice, both times at lunch and I liked it. I had a chicken sandwich which was pretty good. The atmosphere is fun and I would go back again.

 

[moviegirl11]

DH and I both love to eat good food. That said, the sci fi was the only real "novelty" place that we ADRed for our upcoming trip. We both thought the food was fine when we went last time. I dont remember exactly what we ordered but I'm sure it was either a burger or a chicken sandwich. What we remember most about that place is how much fun it is. If we wanted to have a really good eating experience we'd definitely go somewhere else but for a fun dining experience, Scifi is our favorite WDW restaurant. The food is edible and not horrible (not that I can remember anyway) but thats really not why we eat there.

 

[sherabby]

Are their ribs good? I love their artichoke dip![/QUOT
My husband enjoyed their ribs. I had a grilled chicken sandwich with onion rings and a shake. My son had a hot dog and everyone enjoyed their meals.

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

DH and I ate here during our Disneymoon, and enjoyed the atmosphere, but that was about it. He had the BLT soup and enjoyed it, but my onion rings were no better (in fact a bit worse) than ones you can get at A&W. He ordered the Reuben sandwich for lunch (nothing too extravagant), and was greatly disappointed. The sandwich was only luke-warm and very flavourless.
The sundae was just bottled topping over icecream, again, nothing to rave about.

Luckily the atmosphere was great, but our server was a robot (figuratively) and seemed to rush us through our courses, and this was not a very busy time of year (August 29). We are not slow eaters by any stretch of the mind, yet we still had a few mouthfuls of food still left when the next course would be delivered.

We look forward to skipping this next time we go to MGM.

 

[PDJPrinceCharming]

By far one of my best dining experiences this past trip. I loved the atmosphere & I was seated 20 minutes prior to my ADR which helped me get in a TOT ride before Fantasmic. The food was really good, I had grilled chicken that was covered with bbq sauce & fries(I love WDW fries) & the sundae for dessert. The waiter took good care of me & made sure I got everything quickly but still I enjoyed watching the movie & chatting with this nice couple from California that were backseat drivers. They gave me the sundae with a candle to celebrate my birthday & overall I had a blast. Can't wait to go back again next year, I wish I would've known how good it was in 2006 & I wouldn't have skipped it, same with Prime Time.

 

[Disney Crazy Debbie]

I have never tried it for dinner but it is our favorite place for lunch at MGM, or should I say Disney Studios. It is a unique place, but who has ever gone to the drive-in expecting a five course meal, I mean come on. It is suppose to have offerings in the order of a malt shop, etc. We usually get burgers, onion rings (MMMM!), shakes (great), etc., but I also order salads sometimes and I have always enjoyed my meal.

IMHO, at least give it a try once for lunch and form your own opinion. And remember, you're at a drive-in, not the Ritz!

 

[DLBDS]

Okay everyone, I am leaving in appx. 3 weeks for my first trip with my son, who is 4. I made reservations for us at Sci Fi for our MGM day, but after reading all of the bad reviews I am wondering if I should switch to either Prime Time or somewhere outside of MGM. I know that my son will get a real kick out of sitting and eating in one of the cars (and watching the trailers!), but I don't want to eat there if the food is as bad as some people are saying. I mean, I don't expect a gourmet meal, but for a table service meal I do expect the food to be edible. I know that you are going to get bad reviews some of the time, but it just seems like Sci Fi gets a great deal of them!

So tell me....how bad is Sci Fi? Anyone have any good meals there lately???

I didn't read any posts but...my opinion? I think the burgers and the Reuben sandwich are great. It's the lame movies that I find so horrible. The place is really kinda dead to me. There's no audience participation at all. Everyone just sits in their cars (sometimes shared with other guests) eating or talking softly while these lame movie clips play on the big screen. I realize the theme of the place. I just don't like it. Why can't they show vintage black and white Disney animation clips instead? That would be so much better!! Of course, they might have to change the name from Sci-Fi Dine-In to.........<whatever> Dine-In. The food is good though IF you stick with the burgers...and the Reuben. I've not tried anything else so I can't say what to stay away from. Go. Have fun! Everyone should experience it at least once.

 

[KATHINOWA]

We were there in August and loved it. We had burgers, shakes, fries, onion rings and it was all good. The one thing I remember most about it was how quiet is in there. When we first walked in, I thought they had just opened for dinner and we were the first ones in but the place was packed. I would definitely go there again.

 

[goofy4tink]

This is the one restaurant that you can see consistently opposing viewpoints on!!! My dd, then 10, and I ate there on a Dec mother/daughter trip. We had one of the first seatings, as soon as it opened for lunch. We were seated in a car, close to the entry. We ordered, it was really dark so kind of hard to see, a burger/fries for me, hot dog/fries for dd, with a side of onion rings to share. We both had soda. Then, right after we ordered, the host put a family in the seats in front of us. Now, remember, it was early and there had to be about 20 people total in there. Plenty of cars open with no one in them. The woman in the seat in front of me kept swishing her hair around, and it kept coming really close to my food....her hair had to be almost to her waist!!! My burger was dry and overcooked, the bun tasted as if it had been left out overnight. My dd said her hot dog just didn't taste right, she drank her soda and that was it for her. Both our fries orders were lukewarm. Did we say anything? No...we just wanted to finish and leave. Now, my dd did end up getting sick later that day...had to go back to the resort so she could sleep.
Will I go back? Perhaps. But, it is one of the few spots where we got pretty awful food. But, many others love it there...I think we may have just hit an off day.

 

[RJD]

We love it there. The atmosphere is one of our faves at WDW. We usually do burgers & fries or the like, and I thought it was good.

 

[Tikihula]

We were there in January and I had the ribs, which I thought were pretty good, but I've never had a "bad" rib meal yet! I LOVE ribs!
It was cold that day and DH had the chili which warmed him up nicely without being toooo spicy.
The food is a little more expensive than some of the other restaurants with similar fare. Here's a link to the lunch menu:
http://allearsnet.com/menu/menu_sci.htm

I love the atmosphere there - it's fairly quiet since most people are watching the movie trailers instead of talking. I like the feeling of being at a drive-in movie on a summer night with the stars twinkling overhead. We always hit Sci-Fi or Prime Time for at least one meal at the Studios during each trip.

 

[Pumbaa_]

We ate at Sci Fi last month for lunch. We had a front seat (I did ask for this at check in) and were in the last row of cars. We ordered basic burgers and really enjoyed it. The burger was good, and we enjoyed the oh SO bad movie clips. Laughed at the refreshment cartoons and remembered when

I do not go there expecting anything fancy, but if my burger or service was sub-standard it would be very noticeable!

 

[IggyLans]

We just tried Sci-Fi for the first time on our trip last week. We had dinner there, and thought it was pretty good. The atmosphere was really neat. We liked the whole drive-in feel. Our waiter was pretty funny, too. We will go back.

 

[luna99]

I love their artichoke dip!

mmmmm me too! and for some reason I honestly believe the Sci Fi has THE BEST hamburgers on disney property. I don't know what it is really..but the burgers are delicious! Get a burger at the Sci-Fi and you can't go wrong! P.S. the burger isn't on the dinner menu but they will make you one if you ask for it.

I love the Sci-Fi and have eaten there at least 4 to 5 times.. it's actually my favorite restaurant in MGM (or should I say Disney's Hollywood Studios?:rotfl2):

 

[luna99]

The place is really kinda dead to me. There's no audience participation at all. Everyone just sits in their cars (sometimes shared with other guests) eating or talking softly while these lame movie clips play on the big screen.

I kinda agree.. I do think it would be more fun if people participated more during the movie clips .. but sometimes it just depends on when you are there. I've had times when everyone is quiet and other times when the waiters/waitresses will get the diners into it and yell and do fun stuff.

It would be kinda cool too if they changed the videos up now and again.. I love the Sci-Fi B movies though.. so if they just did different ones here and there that would be cool... either way though I love it. I love when they show the tom and jerry space cartoon and the giant with the needle! (LOOK OUT!)

 

[Rustysmom]

We ate there last month and I think it was the kid's favorite restaurant. They loved sitting in the car and watching the movies and the best part was that my DS sat in the front with me and DD sat in the back with DH, so no fighting like they usually do!

We had steak and I thought it wasn't bad. DS ate every bit of his. I was on the DDP and got a chocolate milkshake for my beverage and it was yummy. The artichoke dip appetizer was ok, but the onion rings were very good. Had the chocolate tart for dessert and it was good.

We would definitely go back again. It was dark, cool, and fun.

 

[Rustysmom]

I kinda agree.. I do think it would be more fun if people participated more during the movie clips .. but sometimes it just depends on when you are there. I've had times when everyone is quiet and other times when the waiters/waitresses will get the diners into it and yell and do fun stuff.

You know, they should show clips from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Now that would be a hit and incite lots of audience participation, and it has to do with science fiction. I guess they couldn't show the whole thing because a lot isn't really appropriate for kids.

 

[Markstudy]

I love the classic and old Sci-Fi of the 40's and 50's

But do they ever change that 45 min film?

I know there are quite a few clips-films you can buy from Amazon.com and others.

Disney has a terrrable record for never adding new material. Has anyone gone to Sci-Fi over the years and seen new clip films ??

 

[BoomNLeon]

Sci-Fi was fun. If you go with high expectations of a fine dining experience, you will be disappointed. Good for sandwiches and cooling off in a suprisingly quiet atmosphere.