Hollywood Studios’ Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater is something of a hidden gem in the otherwise very hyped park. It’s a restaurant that has earned a spot in our rotation, but not every aspect of the meal meets the high bar we set for Disney experiences. Read on to find out what hits the mark and what misses in our review of Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater!
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant Basics
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant is a table service restaurant at Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World. It participates in the Disney dining plans, requiring one table-service credit. Annual passholders and Disney Visa Cardholders get a 10% discount at the restaurant, subject to some restrictions.
The full name of the restaurant somehow fails to skip that this is a faux drive-in theater. I’m not sure why—I guess when they tested “Sci-Fi Drive-In Theater Restaurant” people got confused about how to fit their car through security.
That said, I’ve always known the restaurant colloquially as the even less-informative “Sci-Fi Diner,” and that seems to be the most popular way for guests to refer to it, so I’ll mostly stick with that in this post.
Making a Reservation at Sci-Fi Diner
I’ve never had much trouble booking a reservation at Sci-Fi Diner, but peak mealtimes can get booked well in advance. Walk-ups are sometimes accommodated, but priority for the “car” seating is given to reservations (seating discussed more below).
Advance dining reservations are available 60 days in advance. Or, for Disney resort guests, 60 days in advance of check-in for the first 10 days of your visit. If you’re unable to secure a reservation at your preferred time, we recommend MouseDining.
Be sure your reservation time doesn’t end up conflicting with Lightning Lane times, particularly for the most popular rides that can be hard to modify (Rise of the Resistance, Slinky Dog Dash, Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror).
If you’re planning a dinner, keep Fantasmic! times in mind. And in any case, consider whether you want a late dinner—so you’ll have to get everything done before your meal—or an early dinner that leaves you enough time for a ride afterward. There are a dozen ways to put together your day at Hollywood Studios, just make sure you have a handle on your plan when booking your dinner.
Sci-Fi Diner Location
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater is located in what’s technically called the “Commissary Lane” area of Hollywood Studios, which is really just to say it’s next to the ABC Commissary quick service restaurant. You can find it easily from Star Tours—it’s right next to the BaseLine Tap House bar a few steps from Star Tours. The signage helps a lot:
Dining at Sci-Fi Diner
We arrived for our 5:05PM reservation at 4:47PM and checked in via the app. We were called and seated at about 4:59PM.
Sci-Fi Diner Theming
We dine at Sci-Fi Diner for the theming, 100%. As we walked into the restaurant, the Cast Member explained we were “time traveling” back to the 1950s.
The restaurant is designed to mimic an outdoor drive-in theater. The bulk of the “tables” look like cars at a drive-in theater. These cars accommodate a variety of group sizes.
At the back of the restaurant are picnic tables. While many guests disfavor these, it’s worth noting that the cars aren’t perfect. For example, in our car we sat with Zoe and Emily in the front seat and me in the back seat, all facing forward. It’s good for screen-watching, but bad for conversation.
The theater as a whole can feel quite dark, but the lights inside the cars do a good job of enabling you to read the menu and eat without disturbing the ambiance.
The large screen at the front plays a loop of about 45 minutes of old, campy sci-fi clips and associated drive-in theater content. I’m sure a few of them could scare some kids, but overall they’re all short and and humorously fake-looking.
Of course, I’m generally a skeptic of screen-heavy experiences, including in theme parks. But when I look at Sci-Fi Diner as a whole—particularly the fact that the screen is explicitly connecting us with a different era of film and entertainment—I’m comfortable letting Zoe be entranced for a meal.
Sci-Fi Diner Food
The Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant menu is pretty deep Americana. There are multiple burgers, a pork chop, onion rings, and two kinds of buffalo wings.
With the necessary caveat that we are vegetarians, we were incredibly underwhelmed by our food at Sci-Fi Diner our most recent visit.
The Flying Saucer Impossible Burger was flavorless, and the Sci-Fi Plant Nachos carried the fake meat flavor that we’ve been masking at home with little trouble for years now. Zoe had no interest in the kids mac & cheese, which Emily described as tasting like noodles with plain cream on them—no cheesiness.
Thankfully, I had the foresight to order an Oreo Milk Shake, which kept me happy. Zoe’s meal came with a sundae, which helped on that end. Emily was saving her “treat” for something later in the day. Oops.
Conclusion
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant is one of two table service restaurants we make an effort to visit regularly at Hollywood Studios. The other is Roundup Rodeo BBQ, and the contrast between the two is notable.
As to Roundup Rode BBQ, I write:
I think the atmosphere and design are short of perfect, but that’s okay because I don’t think you’re coming just or even mostly for those things. I think kids will be entertained enough (ours was) and I think adults will be happy enough with the food.
I find Sci-Fi Diner to be the opposite. I would rather not eat Sci-Fi’s food at all (I don’t think it would good form to just order a shake, though), but the theming is just too fun to resist, for both Zoe and us. The kitschiness and nostalgia are lost on Zoe a bit (not that my own youth had many drive-in theaters), but the sci-fi clips on the big screen (plus the animated theater snacks) probably earned more of Zoe’s attention than anything at Roundup Rodeo BBQ.
Overall, even though the food falls short, I love Sci-Fi Diner for what it does right. It’s a true celebration of a specific type of cinematic experience. It’s a blend of history, nostalgia, and fun. It’s very much the sort of experience that belongs in a park dedicated to the “Hollywood” state of mind. We’ll be back…but probably we’ll try the cheese ravioli.
What’s your favorite thing about Sci-Fi Diner?
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