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"Terrifying Plants" stalk the planet and "Invaders"
touch down from another dimension at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater
Restaurant at Disney's Hollywood Studios, featuring favorite science fiction
and monster flicks teamed with the finest drive-in food known to
earthlings and aliens alike.
On a replica of a studios soundstage, the 250-seat
restaurant re-creates a 1950s drive-in theater smack in the middle
of Hollywood Hills without the smog. Diners are seated in re-creations
of flashy, chrome-gilded cars of old, and fiber-optic stars twinkle
overhead in the night sky as all ears tune in to real drive-in speakers
mounted next to each car. All cars are facing the big screen, but
guests can’t resist checking out the wheels next door. The '50s
era automobiles, complete with fins and whitewalls, are painted
in a rainbow of colors ranging from fire-engine red and emerald
green to ice blue and metallic lavender.
Carhops decked out in campy versions of a '50s drive-in
costume take guests’ orders from a menu that’s out of this world.
The food arrives from the drive-in’s "Snack Bar." "Terrifying Plants
Stalk the Planet!" in the guise of salads fit for the pickiest of
palates. "Main Features" range from a pan-seared chicken breast
topped with a wild mushroom cabernet sauce to an all-American burger
or a grilled vegetable club. No earthling could resist the lineup
of desserts for all tastes, like the "Peanut Butter Blast," whipped
peanut butter mousse with a chocolate brownie cake, or "The Cheesecake
That Ate New York," with whole Oreo cookies baked into a cheesecake
with a crumbled Oreo crust.
The screen comes to life with trailers from "Cat Women
of the Moon," "Invasion of the Saucermen" and more. The Sci-Fi Dine-In’s
film is a 45-minute compilation of the best (and worst!) of the
science fiction trailers and cartoons, including segments from "It
Conquered the World," "Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster," "The
Amazing Colossal Man" and "Missile to the Moon."
Typical menu items - Salad, Italian Quesadilla,
Chicken, Steak Caesar, Tuna fillet, Pasta Primavera, Sirloin, Shrimp
Pasta, Cheesecake, Apple pie, Sundaes.
Hours - 10:30am - Park closing.
Meals - Lunch, Dinner.
Prices - $10-$20
Priority seating suggested. Call (407) WDW-DINE
(939-3463)
Tips
Eating in classic cars under the stars, young diners are often presented
a "Driver's License" card by the restaurant's cast members. As declared
on the card, the lucky holder is entitled to operate a "stationary
vehicle" and enjoy "good food while watching bad movies."
Reviews
"We had made priorty seating at around 11:30am for 7:30 (that
was the earlist time. We waited about 20 minutes to be seated.Which
we didn't mind it gave time for every one to wind down.They let
uslook at menus too. The food terrific! The amount of food they
give you is huge. If you have kids have them share an adult meal.
Altough we ofton waited a little while for the waiter. I would love
to go here again. Its so amazing when you first walk in! (12/03)
Emily
"Wonderful!!! Great food I suggest geting adult dinner for
2 kids to share. Or try to lie about your child age if they are
older then 11 because the portions are so big. My daughter who's
12 got a kid burger and took half of it back to the hotel. Definitely
worth the wait!!!" (11/03) Emily
"My husband and I went to WDW for our honeymoon in Jan 2003
and Sci Fi was the 1st restaurant we ate in on disney property.
That was a lunch on Jan 7th. We were amazed by the CMs with roller
blade, who happily took us to our seat in less than 10 minutes.
I don't remember too much about the food, fast food with ok standard,
but the atmosphere was really special! We have never been to a drive-in
and thought this is so special! With the small entrance of the restaurant,
you can never imagine that the restaurant can be so large inside,
even with the big screen for movie clips! I remember that the restaurant
was relatively quiet, we couldn't hear other talking, probably 'cos
everyone were busy with the food + enjoy watching the movie clips.
That was surely special. We spent an hour there and would consider
this as one of the most unforgettable experience in MGM. I don't
think the fun you get in this eating outlet would be less than any
character meal on property. Highly recommended!" (06/03) Connie
Leung
"This was such a unique dining experience; the atmosphere
alone was worth it -- eating in an indoor drive-in theater with
old 50's sci fi movie clips. You are seated in the cars by 2's all
facing the screen, so it isn't condusive to conversation with a
big group (we had 8 in ours, they seated 6 of us in one car, and
2 in the back seat of the car next to us; they had a different waiter.)
But I enjoyed the quiet time with my husband while the kids were
amused by the movies and glow in the dark ice cubes. Our waiter
was very friendly and was great with the kids. Nothing really unique
on the menu, but tastey and generous portions." (5/03) happy
kids
"We had a reservation for 6:00, but found out that it would
be impossible to take in the "Fantastiqe" show at the end of the
day if we ate that late. We were able to get in almost immediately
(5:15 approximately)and had the time of our lives. I have 16 and
19 year old sons who have never seen a real drive in, and they were
quite impressed. I'm 57 years old and remember very fondly the experience
of going to the drive in with a car full of friends. This restaurant
really gave us the feeling of being in the convertible at the show!
It was great!! Service was excellent, food was very good, but the
real kick was the ambiance. The film clips were great - some of
my very favorite grade D movies! You even had the famous dancing
hotdog refreshments promo! Thanks for saving the experience for
a whole new generation! Way cool! I highly recommend this restaurant
to anyone who remembers the good old days, or missed them the first
time around!" (3/03) jeff wells
"We visited the sci-fi dine in theatre on our first visit
to mgm (november 2000). We had priority seating, and were taken
right in. The atmosphere is so great! We sat in the "car" and had
a great time while we waited for our orders. My seven year old loved
the kids meal that comes with a souvenir "frisbee". The food is
great and the service is excellent. This is definetly one of the
places we will go back to." (8/02) Gaylynn Branham
"We had been to Disney several times and always made it a
point to eat at Sci-Fi, however on this last trip in Dec. of 2001,
the Sci-Fi had definately changed. Same great cars and movies-which
always kept my 11 year old attentive. We were handed a for menu-
which I thought was going to be a sandwich and such menu. Well,
I thought things were really changing. Limited menu, high prices
and not really what we wanted to eat. Ordered steaks. Had priority
seating-park was not far from closing. Three in party- only two
plates arrived at same time. We were done when other steak arrived.
Asked for salad but left it off-additional charge. Asked for bread-sorry.
Doesn't even have in restaurant! $17 for a steak with no bread or
salad and beverage additional as well. One meal for three with tip-almost
$80. Too expensive! Good atmoshere but, still need the food! Mentioned
to our waiter about the sandwich and such menu- reply- you could
could of got that! Now I know! I guess I should of asked. Never
got the frisbee!" (8/02) Darlene Guthrie
"I have been to Disney World twice and both times visited
the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, I loved it both times. I really liked
theold comical flicks on the giant screen. Only problem was the
first time we went (6/31/98) we did not have priority seating and
waited a good hour to get in and, of course assumed we be seated
in one of the cars, we shocked to find out that we were to be seated
at a small table behind the cars. Their were a lot more tables than
i expected, all at the very bac k We were a little ticked off, and
so were the ppl beside us. But we stayed and orded our lunch. We
waited, and waited, and waited. After 45 minutes or so we asked
a waitress why it was taking so long. She said they were really
busy, but she would look into how our order was coming. We were
skeptical, even if you are swamped, how long does it take to fix
3 cheese burgers and fries. She came back and told us our order
had been lost in the huslte and bustle, and they would begin cooking
i t shortly. 15 minutes later our order finally came. We ate it
and got 2 of the meals free because of the mix up. The second time
we went we got to sit in one of the cars, and it was much more enjoyable.
Bottom Line: Great Family Restaurant, I would go again. But do not
think you're garrented a seat in one of the cars, make sure you
request one or may get stuck at a little table in the back."
(7/02) Matt
"We had priority seating in March 2002 and had no problem
getting in. Because there was 8 of us, we split up between 2 cars
but we easily maintained conversations because the cars that we
were in were right beside one another. The service was out of this
world (thanks Cory). Excellent drinks & food. The youngest in our
group was completely mesmerized by the large screen (she's 5 and
had never been to a drive in). Everyone enjoyed the food and atmosphere.
It was the favorite of at least 2 in our party. We will go there
again the next time we are at Disney." (5/02) Charlotte
"We waited only about 5 minutes to be seated. Really cute
atmosphere with the "cars" at the drive-in theater. We both had
burgers and malteds, and the food was great. Our server was fun
and we laughed at the cheesy old horror movies on the screen. A
bit expensive, but we knew that in advance and were prepared for
it. Don't go there thinking you can get in and out cheaply...you
can't. This place is best for the 40-50 set who remember drive-in
movies. Only complaint is that the "dash board" lights are so dim
that it is difficult to read the menu. Otherwise, a fun dining experience."
Mary
"We didn't have priority seating the first time we went and
didn't wait at all...that was in May, 1998. The service was excellent.
My husband and I were on our honeymoon and the only picture we have
together was the one our waitress at Sci-Fi took for us. The food
was excellent - large portions that really fill you up. And the
desserts were even better! So make sure to save some room! The second
time we went in Sept. 2000, we did do priority seating, but really
didn't need it. There wer e several groups that arrived at the same
time we did and they were seated rather quickly...maybe 5-10 minute
wait.The food was excellent - they have seafood, steak, burgers,
pasta, ribs - something for everyone really. And you have to get
the sundae at the end of the meal because it is to die for!
I LOVE this retaurant! The atmosphere really makes the dinner, but
the service is usually very good and the menu contains a selection
of various foods so everyone in your party is sure to find something
they like. I would not recommend taking very young children since
you are seated in cars (two people per seat) and horror flicks are
showing on the movie screen. These are the older horror flicks like
the attack of the 50 foot woman, which most kids 6-7 and up think
are pretty funny so it's not likely to scare the children...unless
they are very young. Many people skip Sci-Fi because they think
that the only option for seating is in two-seat cars, but there
are a couple of actual tables set up for larger parties. The tables
are still surrounded by a car body so you don't have to sacrafice
the atmosphere, but I would definitely do priority seating if you
need one of those. However, the two-seated cars usually hold six
so if you have somewhat older kids who are capable of beha v ing
themselves and eating without assistance, this would be a great
place to give the kids some space and entertainment." (1/02)
Clara
"As usual, we arrived 20-15 minuted early for our Priority
Seating, and as usual; we got right in. This was my second time
eating here, so I knew what to expect. My husband, however; was
a Sci-Fi rookie. Having worked in a movie theater growing up, I
thought this would be right up his alley and he loved it. We had
a wonderful car hop (he chatted alot and even took our picture)
and got our order within 20 minutes. We had a very typical lunch,
cheeseburger and chicken breast sandwiches and split a milkshake.
Nothing fancy, but very filling. I don't think the prices were too
high either, especially when we weren't hungry until later that
night. It really pays to go ahead and have one slightly pricey breakfast,
lunch or dinner because we did just this and only ended up eating
2 meals everyday versus 3 fast food meals a day. We also enjoyed
all the old movie clips and advertisements and especially enjoyed
one clip about the St. Louis zoo since we are from Missouri. ! Again,
overall this is (I think) one of the best not to miss restaurants
at WDW and the theming is out of this world." Gayle Jones (05/01)
"I strongly recommend the Sci-Fi Dine In Theater. It is something
different and would be great for a quick lunch. Dont pass this one
by!"
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