A continuous loop of previews, old food stand/snack commercials, and a couple of cartoons are projected on the movie screen. One drawback to this is, if you are the kind that believes in taking your time while eating at a sit-down restaurant then you will be subject to repeats. Chuck and I have debated on how this could be improved upon. Our sons wanted to actually see some of the movies that were previewed, Chuck and I would love to see MST3K shown in here, and I have begun to think that maybe with Star Wars belonging to the Disney family, how about showing one of those films? Timing it would be difficult with folks coming in at different times. I understand that the whole point is to get the customer back out to the park, but it would be a lot of fun to see a movie.
We had lunch reservations for 11am (opening time for the restaurant). We were seated right away. We had the deluxe dining plan this vacation, and as part of it we were able to order appetizers. Chuck went with the spinach artichoke dip while I tried the fried dill pickles. Our picky eaters, or children, decided to skip the appetizers. Chuck thought his dip was on the bland side. It was good, just not enough heat for him. The fried dill pickles came with a spicy ranch dip. They were crisp, tart, and were wonderful with the dipping sauce.
For our entrees, the boys ordered cheeseburgers and fries, Chuck chose the flame-broiled New York Strip Steak and I finally decided on the Build-Your-Own Angus Chuck Burger. The boys enjoyed their burgers and fries.
Chuck's steak came with two fried onion rings and veggies. He ordered his steak medium rare and it was cooked as requested. He felt it was lacking in flavor. We have had steaks from different places in Disney World, and he believed that this did not match up to some of the others in taste. It was alright, just not as great as previous ones.
My burger was ordered well done with bacon, lettuce, tomato, and Swiss cheese. It came as requested and was a great burger. Many times, I find when ordering a burger with bacon, that the bacon is too chewy almost rubbery. This bacon had a little more crispness so that when I bit into the burger, I did not pull all the bacon out in one bite. I went with the fries for my side item (not the healthiest choices, I know, but sometimes you just need a burger, fries, and fried pickles). While eating, our car hop was great with teasing our boys about their driving. She alerted us when we had obtained our hitchhikers and made sure all food allergies (mine) were taken care of.
For dessert, the boys ordered milkshakes. Sam ordered vanilla and loved it. Luke ordered chocolate. He didn't like his. This isn't really an accurate review for the chocolate shake, since we all tried it and it tasted like a chocolate shake should. Luke is our pickiest eater. If food looks the least different, then he has already decided before eating it that it is no good.
Chuck ordered the hot fudge sundae and I ordered the apple crumble. Chuck enjoyed the sundae more than his meal. My apple crumble came out piping hot with vanilla ice cream and little cinnamon pearls. It was soft in the middle with a crunchy crust surrounding it. It was delicious!
I have had the turtle cheesecake and the house-made Sci-Fi candy bar on previous visits which are both yummy, but I believe that the apple crumble knocks the other two out of the running. Definitely puts one in an autumn state of mind. After lunch we received our bill, or "speeding ticket." Our boys drove a little too crazy for the theater and we as their parents were forced to pay the price.
Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater is a unique dining experience. The ambience alone is good for a visit. It is just a fun place. The food is good, though not on the signature scale of other restaurants. It is easy to make reservations and/or walk-in.
Based on our past couple experiences at Sci-Fi my review differs a little:
First, I think it is way overpriced even for Disney standards. The last time we ate there we ordered onion rings and received 5 rings in our order for something like $8-$9. We let our server know about it and he did get us another order on the house, but I let him know for the price being paid, that second order should be included with the first one to begin with. I wasn't a particularly good start to our visit.
We both find the burgers to be on the "meh" side. I have never been so bold as to order a $30 steak there and probably never will.
The desserts are unique. They rotate them on a fairly regular basis and we feel that and the ambience were the two best parts of the experience.
My wife and I as you did, felt the loop needs to be longer or possibly some new content. I like your idea of seeing more of the movies they preview, or possibly sharing more old movies of the early days of MK. Whatever the addition, it should be at least a 90-120 min loop so people can relax and not see reruns during dinner!
Having said that, you should've tried the cookies and cream/Oreo shakes they have there. They're just amazing. Always order at least one while I'm there, but then again, I always order the hamburger and fries, too.
Here, steaks are in the $25-$30 range, easily. A hamburger in most restaurants is $10 and above. My family doesn't eat out much because it's just not in our budget but last week I was in a little Greek diner with friends and I had a chicken shishkebob plate that was $16. If I made the same dish at home, it would have fed four people for that.
I took my kids to the Brookfield Zoo by us and the food prices there actually are higher than things I've seen in Magic Kingdom. And the quality of the zoo food is terrible. They have a barbeque place at the zoo that is like $15 for chicken and a few ribs and $4 for a basket of very tiny sweet potato fries. A refillable drink mug at the zoo costs $15.
Movie theater prices are even higher. We almost never buy snacks at a theater, but the last time my folks were in town they treated and it came out to like $40 to get snacks for all of us (drinks, some candies, popcorn, and nachos). That was on top of the tickets. My dad easily dropped close to $100 for that outing.
The food is good for what you're getting, but that's not why you're there. I don't recommend it for others. I won't be going back, so maybe that's why you can get reservations easily; however, on busy days, all restaurants are hard to get in so make reservations if you really want to go or be prepared to wait at least one hour.
BTW, I don't know about Amanda's experience with the DDP, especially since I believe she's a DVC member, which rarely includes any DDP promotions, but I have extensive experience with the DDP, and wrote a story about it a few years ago. The rules have changed a little bit since I wrote the piece (can't seem to find it right now on the archives), but the general rule is that the DDP is not worth it unless you're getting it as part of a promotion, and even then, you have to be meticulous in your planning and making ADRs far in advance to ensure seating at the most sought-after, best-DDP-value restaurants. We have gotten the DDP on four different occasions, but those were all during trips during the EPCOT F&W Festival, when using snack credits on kiosk itmes in EPCOT creates instant value for the DDP over using the credits for fruit, bottled drinks, or popcorn. Disney continues to clamp down on the rules, limiting flexibility and some of the "tricks" you used to be able to do to get more out of the DDP (like getting 2 bottled drinks with a breakfast credit along with using your refillable resort mug, but that was disontinued at least 2 years ago). The rules today are even different than the last time we got the DDP last fall, and they're always tweaking restaurant menus and categories to bring costs in line with what you would pay al a carte.
Disney's explanation of the DDP has gotten better over the years, and is pretty simple now that they've elminated many of the loopholes. The quick-serve DDP (offerred as part of the "free dining" promotion for guests booking in value resort) is pretty worthless these days since you only get 2 CS credits and 1 snack per person per day at a cost of @$35/day. That means you pretty much have to get some of the most expensive counter service meals in the parks just to break even. The standard DDP with 1 CS, 1 TS, and 1 snakc credit is a little better at @$50/day, but you've still got to work just to break even. All of the diing plans require you to stay on property, so you have to consider those costs as well, which is why it's typically only valuable during the times when they offer it free or when there are deep resort discounts.
Amanda - keep up your great work and thanks! I look forward to everything you write - dining reviews, hotel, anything you write is worth reading...you don't send free stuff do you??? lol -- just kidding -- thanks for your reviews.
@Russell, I agree with you about the DDP. You have to really plan to get the most for your money. With my boys, the regular dining plan was just not enough food for their wants back in December. We ended up spending more money than was intended. That and along with making reservations at many places (especially character), was why we went with the Deluxe Dining Plan.
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This is another restaurant I'm going to have to try. The thing is, though, that the Disney dining plan intimidates me and I end up being too stressed out to make reservations 180 days in advance. I have some anxiety disorders and I am just not good at competitions like this, so I've never been to the SciFi Diner or the 50s Cafe because I had heard that you have to fight for reservations. The Dining Plan is so complicated to me that I prefer just paying cash or credit card in the parks and not having to worry about understanding the plan.
So, in DHS I've eaten in Brown Derby (since it was easy to get a same day reservation when I was in the park that time) and then the counter service places. Next time I am going to have to try SciFi since Amanda made it sound so great.
I would LOVE it if Amanda did a column on how to use the Dining Plan and make reservations without being stressed out and if she could explain how the Dining Plan works. Disney does a bad job at making this stuff understandable to people who are not very knowledgeable about the parks. I'm not the only one in my group of friends who is intimidated and scared off by all the rules and procedures for dining in the parks at Disney.
I wish someone like Amanda Jenkins would explain it in her careful, charming, plainspoken style. That's what's needed for my family, for sure.