Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant: Delight in This Out-of-This-World Dining Experience at Disney Hollywood Studios

Travel back in time to the nifty ’50s at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant, where you can watch silver screen wonders (and blunders) like The Blob while enjoying a milkshake and fries. Who knew drive-in movies could be so delicious?

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant at Disney’s Hollywood Studios consistently garners excellent reviews from guests! From the snazzy seating arrangements to the classic movie clips to the Americana menu, this is one of Disney World’s most iconic dining experiences. This homage to campy extra-terrestrial fun is right at home within Hollywood Studios.

If you love monster mayhem, antique autos, and flame-broiled burgers, then the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant will knock your socks off!

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant – Eat Among the Stars!

Since its debut in 1991, Sci-Fi Dine-In has been offering a futuristic look at a favorite era from the past. Recreating the set-up of a drive-in movie, the golden age of the silver screen lives on within this restaurant!

Each table is situated within an elegantly finned 1950s sedan; in place of the usual steering wheel and dashboard, you’ll find a flat surface for holding plates piled high with onion rings. (While the logo on each hood says Disney, we all know these are Chevy Bel Airs!)

Most “automo-booths” seat six people, with two people per row, but a few special automo-booths have enough seating for eight! If you’re a party of two, it’s possible you may end up “hitchhiking” with another group, but it’s not much different than sitting in a regular theater. People are mainly focused on watching the screen rather than trying to chit-chat!

The restaurant is housed indoors despite the drive-in movie theme, but it feels like it’s outside with a twinkling star-scape overhead. While the dim lighting might make it a teensy bit hard to read the menu, it creates a really great atmosphere that makes this one of Disney’s top themed dining experiences.

How to Get a Reservation at Sci-Fi Dine-In

Thankfully, it’s not too difficult to find a place to park at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant at Hollywood Studios.

Like other table-service restaurants at Disney, you’ll want to book your meal here well in advance! You can make reservations online, by phone, or by using the My Disney Experience app, securing your spot up to 60 days ahead of your visit. Your car will be assigned to you upon arrival. When it comes to viewing the screen, somewhere in the center is best (for that straight-ahead angle), but there really isn’t a bad seat in the house when it comes to overall visibility.

There is extra picnic table seating at the back of the restaurant, so if you have your heart set on eating in a car, make sure to arrive a little early and kindly request a car seat from one of the cast members. (If you chance a walk-in at Sci-Fi Dine-In, you’ll likely be seated at a picnic table, if they are able to seat you at all.)

Sci-Fi Dine-In Movies

If you like Quantum Leap, The Twilight Zone, or The Cat From Outer Space, then you’ll probably get a kick out of the clips that play during your meal!

The Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater restaurant movies are actually broken into clips that play on a loop, so it doesn’t matter when you arrive or when you leave, as there’s not a full-length film plot to follow. If you want to watch every clip, you’ll need to eat at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant for about 45 minutes to see the full loop. (Most guests usually spend around an hour here, so seeing every clip is definitely possible!)

Key clips are taken from films of the 1950s and 1960s, including Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster, The Cat That Hated People, Attack of the 50-Foot Woman, Cat-Women of the Moon, and Tom and Jerry in Mouse into Outer Space, and several more! It’s the ultimate sci-fi highlight reel, and with many clips shot in black and white, it’s also the ultimate dose of nostalgia!

While younger Disney fans might not fully appreciate the whimsy of it all, it’s a special throwback for those of us who remember the “good old days” and a great opportunity not only to reminisce but also make new drive-in memories, too!

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant Menu

The on-screen action may take place in outer space, but the food is definitely earthbound – in the best way possible! (We’re talking about ground beef. Get it?) Serving both lunch and dinner, you’ll find the best of American-themed cuisine.

As of writing, the offerings for lunch and dinner are identical, so you don’t have to worry about planning your mealtime around getting a particular dish.

Like any Disney dining option, the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant can be pricey, but it isn’t the most outrageous table-service option in Hollywood Studios. It’s less expensive than the Hollywood Brown Derby and the Hollywood & Vine and is on par with the 50’s Prime Time Cafe.

Alien Appetizers

$11.00 – $15.00

Start your meal off right with some crunchy, crispy onion rings (served with horseradish sauce) or some fried dill pickles. If that sounds a little heavy, you can always opt for something lighter, like the black garlic Ceasar salad. Of course, it’s hard to go wrong with the tried-and-true crowd-pleasers: spinach and artichoke dip served with house-made chips or “sci-fi smoked” wings (smoked chicken wings tossed in Porter BBQ sauce with house-made coleslaw).

While it might be tempting to simply fill up on onion rings and dip – and we wouldn’t blame you if you did – it is worth trying to save room for the entrees! (Not to mention dessert!)

Extra Terrestrial Entrees

$19.00 – $27.00

For your main course, choose from several signature burgers, chicken dishes, or pasta!

Mouthwatering burgers include the Drive-In BBQ Burger (beef burger topped with smoked pork, bourbon-bacon jam, cheddar, lettuce, and BBQ sauce), the Classic American Burger (beef burger topped with bacon, American cheese, shredded lettuce, marinated tomato, and house-made sauce), and the Pork on Pork Burger (pork patty topped with roasted pork belly, white sharp cheddar, caramelized onions, cabbage slaw, and house-made sauce). You can also ask a cast member about the Feature Film Burger, a special menu item that is periodically updated.

Oh, and there’s even a vegetarian burger option! The plant-based Flying Saucer Impossible Burger is topped with portobello mushrooms, “cashew-mozzarella,” garlic-tomato aioli, pesto, lettuce, and tomato. Yum!

For poultry people, there’s a chicken salad sandwich (made with Granny Smith apple, mayo, bacon, lettuce, marinated tomatoes, and cilantro-avocado aioli served on a croissant) and the grilled chicken citrus salad (lettuce, spinach, and arugula tossed with rainbow tomatoes, candied pecans, cranberries, feta cheese, and grilled marinated chicken, all drizzled with a house-made citrus vinaigrette).

You can also opt for some pan-seared chicken pasta or get really fancy with some pan-seared salmon pasta! Both pasta dishes are tossed in a lemon-butter sauce with rainbow tomatoes, spinach, and onions.

Each entree is pretty filling and pairs well with special effects from the 1960s.

Spacey Sweets

$7.00 – $10.00

The Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant has a delicious selection of desserts!

There’s the ultimate classic – a hot fudge sundae – served in a no-nonsense manner: vanilla ice cream topped with hot fudge, whipped cream, and a cherry just as it’s meant to be!

However, you’re welcome to shake things up with the “Out-of-this-World” pineapple mousse that has a swirl of passion fruit, spiced lime, and is sprinkled in space dust, or try The Red Planet, a slice of white chocolate cheesecake topped with spiced blueberry compote (all bedded on a graham cracker tart with a matcha sponge and candied almonds). There are also Oreo cookie, chocolate, and vanilla milkshakes if you’re looking to really indulge that ’50s diner feeling!

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The Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Hollywood Studios is an incredibly fun and tasty table-service option in Hollywood Studios. While the food isn’t necessarily earth-shattering (although it is really good!), the true attraction is found in the drive-in movie experience. Hot fudge sundaes aside, there’s nothing more appealing than the warm embrace of nostalgia.

Have you been to the Sci Fi Dine In Theatre restaurant? What movie clips did you catch? Tell us about your dining experience in the comments below!

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Featured photo: HarshLight via Flickr