Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant is located on Commissary Lane in Disney’s Hollywood Studios and is open for lunch and dinner. This table service restaurant, which opened in 1991, is incredibly unique. The restaurant is themed to a retro drive-in theatre where guests are seated in cars and dine while watching Sci-fi horror films from the 1950s and 1960s. Films include clips from Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, The Blob, Cat-Woman of the Moon, Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster, and many more. There are not only black and white films in the loop but cartoon shorts as well such as The Cat That Hated People. The loop lasts about 50 minutes and our lunch lasted about an hour so we did not see too many repeating clips.

The entrance to Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater is set up like a box office with vintage movie posters and random props around. After checking in, a carhop will lead you down the back soundstage of the theatre to your car. This is another indoor restaurant that is made to feel like you are dining outdoors at nighttime, similar to Biergarten. The entire perimeter is all decked out to look like a clear and starry night, with a cityscape beyond the theatre. The lighting is very dim which makes it hard to read the menu and see your food. There are two different types of cars, plus a few picnic tables for seating options. The majority of the cars have three forward-facing rows with each row seating two people. The guest in the front left of the car is the driver, with the passengers seated beside the driver and directly behind. The hitchhikers are in the very back row; make sure they pitch in for gas money! There are a few cars that have one long table in the middle with three seats on each side, facing the middle. This latter type of car and the picnic tables have accessible seating for any moviegoers who need some extra space.

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater’s menu mainly features burgers, though there are a few other options such as New York strip steak, sandwiches, salads, and pastas. Prices average around $15 – $25, with the steak being closer to $30. The food generally has mixed reviews. I thought I would be adventurous and try the vegetarian falafel burger but I personally did not enjoy it very much. The rest of my party did enjoy their classic burgers and sandwiches though! However, the best thing on the menu has to be the milkshakes! Milkshakes are priced at $6 and are a reasonable size. The flavours are Oreo, chocolate, vanilla, and the shake of the day, which was red velvet when we were dining there. The Oreo one is the best in my opinion! We were celebrating my parent’s anniversary when we were there and our server brought them a complimentary shake of the day, which was very sweet of her and gave our experience a little bit of extra pixie dust.

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater is a must-do, more so for the atmosphere and experience than the food. This restaurant is perfect for those guests with a bit more of a geeky side to them (and I definitely put myself in that category!) I recommend Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater but since the film loop is rarely updated, I would not necessarily recommend reserving this restaurant for every single trip to Walt Disney World.