Tink Tested: Sci-Fi Dine-In Lunch

Location: Commissary Lane in Disney Hollywood Studios                      

Parking/Transportation Situation: General Parking available. Boat service available and/or walking paths from The BoardWalk, The Yacht and Beach Club, The Swan and Dolphin and the back entrance of Epcot. Bus service from all other resorts, The Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney. 

Meals Served: L, D

Characters/Entertainment: No characters appear, but there is a large movie screen, showing clips of 1950's sci-fi movies and more. 

Type of Cuisine: American fare

Type of Menu: A la carte

Pricing/Dining Plan: $/ 1 Table Service Point Per Person
Full Menu: Sci-Fi Dine-In Lunch Menu

Atmosphere: An old school, outdoor 50's drive-in, but inside, air conditioned, and eternally nighttime 
Dress Code: Theme park casual

Guests Who Would Enjoy This The Most: Really anyone, but it is a sentimental favorite for those that had visited this same style of drive-in when they were young

Level of Difficulty of Getting a Reservation: Moderate

Fun Stuff for Kids: Any kid will love this place! Where else can you eat in an old school car, in a setting that puts you outside on a starry summer night, (regardless of what time of day, or what the weather is like outside), and allows them to watch movie clips while they eat? 

Rating of Appeal to Kid-Diners: What rides?????

Stand out dishes: Fried Dill Pickles, Sci-Fi Popcorn Treat (Popcorn Soup), Sci-Fi Burger, shakes, Warm Glazed Donut and House-made Sci-Fi Candy Bar
Best Use of Dining Plan Point: NY Strip and any dessert

Experience: We did our Sci-Fi outing the day that the hubs and I took K to The Studios to see Baymax before the Magic of Disney Animation closed. D was at camp and though we gave her the option to stay home and join us, (sort of like taking a bereavement day from camp for a fallen Disney attraction), she chose to go to camp so that she wouldn't miss dance class. I booked the reservation for Sci-Fi a day out, and was able to get a table for lunch at 1:30pm. Sci-Fi is often a tough one to get, though lunch is always a little easier.
     On our Studios visit, we said our goodbyes to Baymax, and also got to catch the Olaf show, in front of the Chinese Theater, before we headed toward lunch. By the time we met up with our friend, KC, who was joining us for lunch, the three of us were hot, sweaty and hungry. We got to Sci-Fi around 12:45pm, and because it was so busy, they could not take us early, so we were asked to come back and check-in 20 minutes before our reservation time. I opted to take K and go into Writer's Stop to wait. Um, little bit of a hidden (not-so-hidden) gem here. Not only was the store/café pretty much empty, the fact that they have couches and comfy chairs set up in front of a tv that is showing Disney movies made this an awesome chilling out place with my little dude. Not to mention, the a/c was blasting and really made life bearable. When does fall get here again???
     At 1:10pm, we checked into Sci-Fi and were given a pager. We waited in the lobby area and I recalled to the hubs and KC the days when Sci-Fi's servers and seaters used to all wear roller skates. Ah, the good old days. Before anyone really cared too much about worker's comp or being sued by Guests who's toes got run over. (sigh) Anyway, we were paged right after 1:30pm and walked back to our table. I love how Sci-Fi truly looks like it's a movie set, with the lobby being a "backstage" area, and having to walk down around the backdrop wall, before you get to see the awesome restaurant. Very true to The Studios' original concept.

If you have never been to Sci-Fi before, add it to your list of "must-do's". For the atmosphere alone, really. It is set up to look entirely like an outdoor, nighttime drive-in theater in the 50's. It's kitschy, it's fun, and it takes those that remember the height of the drive-in's popularity back to those days before movie tickets were $15 a pop. Anyone would enjoy the atmosphere here. Though I will say, not a great restaurant for talking, as most parties are put into "cars" where you are required to sit two by two. This can also be difficult for those with mobility issues, those that have a child that needs a high chair, or anyone who, like us, is not exactly a small person. Regardless of weight, the hubs is 6'5", so booths in restaurants are always tough for us. The cars are a tight squeeze for bigger people. We were originally sat in a car right down front, near the giant movie screen, which would have been great, but as soon as we tried to sit, we knew it wasn't going to

This is what the cars look like that you eat in.

work. We didn't fit well, and they were going to have to put K's high chair to the side of the car, facing us. We politely asked if there was an alternate option, and luckily, there was. We were instead taken to one of the cars for parties of 6 or more, which has the hood and bumper of a car surrounding a regular style table with chairs. This worked perfectly for us, and we were still able to enjoy the movie clips and feel like we were in a car, as well. There are also some picnic tables in the back of the theater that are an option for smaller parties.

All of this is good to keep in mind when you check in to the restaurant. No particular seating arrangement is guaranteed, but you can put requests in at the podium. I would recommend that if you want to request a certain type of table, it is always best to try to eat at a slower time, (like the beginning or end of the meal time), check in as early as possible, and be willing to wait a little longer.

   Once we were sitting and comfortable, we looked over our menus and pointed out the movie screen to K. Honestly, K didn't seem all that into the entertainment. He looked at the screen a couple of times, but was more in to the snacks I had given him to keep him from screaming like a banshee. He did enjoy the fact that because the restaurant is dark, I let him play with his light up toys, so that kept him occupied for a bit. The server didn't seem to catch K's noted egg allergy, so we did have to call it to her attention. She brought us out the allergen menu to look over. Have I mentioned my disdain for these menus? They just seem so backward to me! I am used to looking at food labels and knowing that if something shows egg, K can't have it. My brain gets confused about looking at the allergen menu and knowing that if it lists "egg allergy" under the item, it means it's ok for him to eat. It just seems backwards to me. Maybe I'm the only one though. Anyway, we put in an order of onion rings while we figured out our entrée options. Sci-Fi's menu is what I would consider "fair". There is a little bit of something for everyone, and a variety of price points, but to me, nothing super exciting that draws me in. There was an appetizer on the menu that involved "popcorn soup", which seemed unique and kind of gross, all at the same time. We did not venture out and try it, so if you have had it, please tell me about it in the comments. I am very interested to know.

     We ended up deciding on a burger for the hubs. K and I would share the salmon entrée, and KC wanted the one thing she always goes to Sci-Fi for, the fried pickle appetizer. By the time we put the entrée order in, the onion rings were out and on the table. They were tasty, but I am not a big fan of a thick, greasy beer batter, so I didn't like them as much as the hubs did.

      We enjoyed watching the crazy old school sci-fi movie trailers, with the occasional cartoon thrown in. It was kind of funny... when Tom and Jerry came on, K had no idea who they were. My kids are such Disney Junior kids at this point that they don't know other cartoon characters, or even Sesame Street characters. That's right. We live in an Elmo-free house. (And I'm totally ok with that.) Again, the atmosphere here is SO much fun. I am going to venture a little into the rumor mill here. While waiting for our entrees, a server came over to play with K, since he was being a bit of a whiner. We started talking about The Studios in general and all the changes taking place. She mentioned that she had heard rumors that Sci-Fi might be either closing or being re-themed. Now, don't freak out. I don't necessarily think Sci-Fi is doomed. We know that during Star Wars Weekends, Sci-Fi has been used for character breakfasts. And we also are like 99% sure that at least SOME of the changes coming to The Studios involve the expansion of The Star Wars presence in the park. Soooooo.... if we put two and two together..... I honestly don't know any of this to be true, but I'm just saying, I think it would be awesome if Sci-Fi became a Star Wars drive-in! Hopefully, we will start learning more about what's coming after the D23 convention in mid-August. SO, to be continued...
     Lunchtime! The entrees came out looking tasty. KC's fried dill pickles were served a way that I have never seen. They were whole spears, deep fried. They looked delicious, but I am not a dill pickle fan, so I did not try them, but since KC specifically goes to Sci-Fi for them, I'll trust that they are delicious. The hubs got the make-your-own burger, which he enjoyed. Really, it's hard to get a bad burger at Disney. The steak fries were awesome! So much so, that I ended up getting a side for myself. The salmon that I ordered for K and I to share usually comes atop a salad. I had asked the server if it was possible to just do the piece of salmon, with a side of veggies, which she was happy to accommodate. The salmon was grilled nicely and had a good flavor. The mixed veggies came as a huge portion, and was a mix of red bell peppers, asparagus, green beans and carrots. They were seasoned perfectly and even K loved them. Though my meal was tasty, it wasn't a stand out dish and not one that I would need to return to Sci-Fi for.

     Once we finished up our entrees, we were offered dessert, and of course, I had to say yes. Research purposes. Clearly. Though we considered getting the Warm Glazed Donut, we ended up settling on the Sci-Fi Candy Bar. Um, yum. It was a layered sponge cake with chocolate mousse, crispy chocolate pearls, and chocolate ganache coating. Really yummy and a really large portion. Definitely sharable. K got his own little ice cream sundae, since the candy bar had eggs in it. He is always stoked for ice cream, though, so we were good.

 

     After lunch, we were ready to head out of the park. It was way too hot to stick around. The true beauty of being a local and an annual pass holder. Over all, I enjoyed lunch very much, but what I enjoyed most was the atmosphere. It's so fun to enjoy the cool darkness of the drive-in. The food was good, for sure, but nothing that made me feel like if the restaurant setting was different I would still want to eat there. I would love to see a menu shake up, or maybe something new and exciting happen...... we will watch and see!

Tink's Tots Try It Out: According to K (2 yo boy)  K, I had fun at Sci-Fi for lunch, did you?   "Yeah, Mamma. Had fun. I see Baymax."   Well, yeah, you saw Baymax before we ate, but what about when we ate in the car and watched the movies? That was fun, huh?   "Yeah. Watch Baymax?"   We didn't watch Baymax there. We watched those black and white movie clips.   "Nooooo, Mamma! I watch Baymax now?" (He grabs his blanket in one hand and points at the tv with the other.)   Well, Buddy, I'm trying to write up this review. Did you like the restaurant?   (He silently climbs into my lap, spreads his blanket out, and lays back against me. I put the computer away, and turn on the DVD player, because... you would too. My kid is pretty freakin' adorable. And clearly star struck by Baymax.)

Will we be back: Though the menu isn't necessarily pulling me back, this environment is a hard one to turn down. I am hoping that if the rumors are right that change is coming, that they are keeping the setting, but maybe making it Star Wars themed and revamping the menu.