Sci-Fi Dine-in is not for us!

[maxiesmom]

I'm not a huge fan of the Sci-Fi either. My burger wasn't very good, and maybe it was a blessing I couldn't see it either. It is fun for the movies and the whole sitting in a car thing, but the food is only below average. I'd go again if my traveling companion wanted to go, but I wouldn't be excited about it.

 

[Kennywood]

The Sci-Fi Diner is one of our absolute, must-visit restaurants. Because my wife and I are fortunate enough to have an actual drive-in theater nearby, and because we both enjoy those cheesy sci-fi "B" movies ("Night of the Lepus" anyone?? Lol), we love this particular restaurant. Honestly, we go more for the ambience than the food.

We wish we could reserve a table for 2 hours and watch "Plan 9 From Outer Space"!

 

[BelleBriarRose]

I'm with you, Kennywood. I love cheesy sci fi movies (MST3K, anyone?) and find it really fun and relaxing to sit quietly eating my meal and watching the reel. For this introvert, it's a good way to recharge my batteries during a busy day at WDW. I like the food too, and always make sure to grab a drink with a glow cube so I can bring a little Disney magic with me for my drinks at home.

 

[siren0119]

I can see why some might be put-off by the setup.

For us, it was THE most peaceful meal we had on our entire trip LOL. The kids (age 8 and 10 at the time) thought they were all kinds of special for getting to sit "alone" in the front seat of our car. Hubby and I sat behind them and were able to just chat and eat and weren't interrupted every three minutes. The quiet, low lights, and cheesy movies on the screen kept the boys engaged without overwhelming them/ramping them up.

It's not for everyone, but it's a must-do for us

 

[GoingSince1990]

We go because my kids still love it, even after mostly growing out of character meals. Definitely the atmosphere is unusual but that's one thing they like about it, and I can certainly tolerate sitting side by side with my wife while the kids are up front. And yes, certainly not a place you go to for the food, but I've always been fine with it.

 

[super7wdw]

We’ve typically had a few days of “togetherness” by the time we spend at day at HS, so I enjoy the “solitude” of Sci Fi. It is quieter than most restaurants. It’s cold and dark and a nice little rest. The kids sit together and watch the cheesy sci Fi scenes, and because they can’t see my plate no one asks for my fries or my pickle or anything else from my plate. I love this place!!!! We will chat around the table at literally every other meal on vacation (and dinner nightly st home) so I’m ok with giving up chatter at this one meal. If I were meeting up with friends or family for one meal, on the other hand, this definitely would not be the place to go.

 

[MomOTwins]

The Sci-Fi Diner is out of absolute, must-visit restaurants in the Magic Kingdom. Because my wife and I are fortunate enough to have an actual drive-in theater nearby, and because we both enjoy those cheesy sci-fi "B" movies ("Night of the Leapus" anyone?? Lol), we love this particular restaurant. Honestly, we go more for the ambience than the food.

We wish we could reserve a table for 2 hours and watch "Plan 9 From Outer Space"!

High five for the Night of the Lepus shout out

 

[Tigger's ally]

Do you mean the hitchhikers in the back? DH and I are often these people in the back row because we are a party of two. Why do you feel its awkward? Its still a separate table and far enough apart where we can't hear the conversation. No different than the folks sitting on either side of you.

But your husband kept flicking corn at the guy in front of him!

 

[mydisneyanytime]

My family does not like Sci-Fi either. There were 3 of us (2 kids and me) so one kid had to sit either in front or behind us. The booths are small and the tables are just not deep enough. Our service was barely ok and the food was meh. I have tried it 3 times now and just don't think it is for us. We won't be back. It is different for different families but this is probably my least favorite place in all of Disney that we have tried.

 

[tinkerhon]

High five for the Night of the Lepus shout out

Don't forget the "Cat that hated people !"

 

[Liz Z]

I used to love Sci-Fi but had a bad experience over Christmas week of 2017.

My adult daughter and i went for dinner. We were really looking forward to a nice quiet dinner. I think she had the salad and i had the ribs. Everything tasted fine. Well a few hours later we went to the Baseline Tap house. I wasn't feeling right so i just had a soda. We sat there for a while while my DD had a beer. We did a few more rides and went back to the resort.

No sooner did we get back to the room i vomited. Multiple times with diarrhea. Then i was fine So i'm pretty sure it wasn't the stomach flu.
Im not sure if that was due to the food at sci-fi but this all happened about 6 hours later after we ate.

I hate that you cant see your food.
It will be a while before i attempt to go back. Plus the food is less than desirable. It just a cute venue. But Ill take Prime Time over sci-fi any time.

Liz

 

[JeninTexas]

I completely agree that the burgers are sub-standard. We ordered ours medium rare and they came out medium well, which was probably necessary given the poor quality of the meat. It had no texture and very little flavor. The burgers seemed like they were made with pink slime instead of quality beef.

 

[Tksolomom]

We went in December and I think it was one of our most disappointing meals on the trip. We had been before and my son requested to go again this time. The movies were fun, and I liked the cars and sitting apart and just relaxing. Unfortunately no one really enjoyed their meal, it wasn’t horrible, just bleh. Nothing really had a lot of taste. We enjoyed Prime Time at dinner a lot more.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

The Sci-Fi Diner is one of our absolute, must-visit restaurants in the Magic Kingdom.

It's located at Hollywood Studios.

 

[disneycat321]

We love Sci Fi! We thought the food was great. Especially the milkshakes!

We also love 50s. (The fried chicken is my personal favorite.) Both are must do restaurants for us.

 

[Kennywood]

It's located at Hollywood Studios.

I stand corrected.

 

[goofyintoronto]

We brought my husband's family to Sci-Fi, and I for one was thankful for the seating set up. I love family, but the whole trip was a lot of together time, so it was nice to have a quieter meal in the dark and AC. Thankfully for us everyone enjoyed their food and we left full and rested.

Exactly this. You spend your entire vacay together. So a little quiet time never hurt anyone. Its great actually! I love that its one of the quietest restaurants around. I like to talk to my family during meal time too but the ONE TIME we go to SciFi during the trip we do appreciate the quiet time and unique atmosphere. Besides, you have other restaurants with normal seating arrangements where you can talk.

And im sorry, but it is a drive-in which means you sit in cars (facing forward). For people to complain they cant talk properly to their party....again, you knew about the seating arrangements before hand. Not sure how one can go into it, knowing the seating arrangements, and not realizing how awkward it can be. But oh well. At least you gave it a shot, and of course its not for everyone. To each their own.

BTW, their shakes are out of this world. Oreo is my fave. And i absolutely love the picnic burger but im not sure they have that anymore.

 

[Dug720]

What is REALLY awkward is when they sit strangers in "your" car...
At least you were all family in one car.

Which is the reason I will NEVER try it. As a solo, I'd be stuck in a car with another party AND be referred to as a "hitchhiker". No thank you. That's just...ew.

 

[GillianP1301]

Sci-Fi is a must do for us every trip, sometimes twice. The things that the OP noted as "weird" are actually some of the things we like the best about it. I love how quiet/cool/dark it is in there. We travel to WDW in August and it's a very welcome break in there from heat and noise. I do agree that the lobby/waiting area is often a disaster. I've eaten at Sci-Fi about 10 times now and every time it is one of our longest waits with an ADR and that is frustrating. If I didn't like the restaurant so much, I would stop going for that reason alone. But once seated... amazing!

 

[maryj11]

We love Sci Fi. We have been going there every trip since my son was little. He is now 32. It is our family tradition. I think I like it mostly for the atmosphere and memories. The food is pretty good not excellent, but we like it.