Disney’s Hollywood Studios is home to a variety of themed restaurants. You can experience old Hollywood charm at the Hollywood Brown Derby or get a scolding from your server for not finishing your vegetables at 50’s Prime Time Cafe!
This place is a big hit!
One of the most popular dining locations in Hollywood Studios is the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater because of its classic car tables (called automo-booths) that make it feel like you’re at a real drive-in! While there are picnic table seats as well, most guests are coming to this spot to enjoy their meals in one of the unique automo-booths.
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater does take Advanced Dining Reservations but these do not allow for you to select a specific seat style. Seating here is first come first serve, so even with a reservation you aren’t guaranteed a specific seat. We recently got a pop-up notification on the My Disney Experience App stating that walk-ins will most likely be seated at a picnic table.
© Disney
Because reservations are planned in advance it is more likely that the restaurant will have space at one of the automo-booths. Most guests will request to sit at one of the booths, so when there are walk-up openings here, they’ll probably be at the picnic tables.
Sci-Fi Dine-In
If you arrive for your reservation or check for openings you can ask a Cast Member if it’s possible to be seated at an automo-booth. For those with reservations we suggest arriving around 10-15 minutes early to let them know. If there aren’t any available, you may be able to request they contact you when one does become available, but this isn’t guaranteed. The Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater can still be a fun experience even at the picnic tables, and we suggest walking around to check out their cool movie props and posters!
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We ate in a car booth when we were last at HS. They put another couple in our backseat, which made for a close encounter. We could hear every word of their conversation as they were inches behind our ears ….wasn’t a great experience. We will not go back as the food wasn’t anything special either. It was our least favorite table service dining experience we have ever had at WDW and we have eaten at most of the restaurants.
Dotty that’s sad because my husband and I just went there on Saturday and was seated the same way but we had a great time! We had a server, Gabe, that was a total delight!! The food was good, we laughed at the screen show and smooched in the front seat. We were much older than the girls behind us, so we just had fun with them and they were very nice. I do understand though, we have had a bad experience there too but this time was great and I was worried because the first seat they sat us at was awful and I had them change our car. Try again, maybe in a couple of years. That’s what we did. D
While the automobooths are well themed, they are also quite small.
As a single diner with appetizer entree and beverage, I felt a bit cramped. I can only imagine what it would be like for 2 in one of those things.
My car’s seat is bigger. 😉
Ate there once and were not impressed. Tried again a few years later and the food was worse and service not up to Disney standards. In fact hostess told me even though we had a reservation we had to wait as they were trying to seat walk ins. I found that strange asked for a manager and suddenly a table opened up. Give me Whispering Canyon Cafe. Never disappoints
Another themed dining experience that needs some improvement and re-imagining. Most visitors have no idea what a drive 9n theater is. And I agree, the food is standard drive in theater fodder. Burgers, fries, dogs and shakes or soda. Stopped going there because the effort to get in is just not worth the wait.
yeah both the food and menu here is at the lowest and worst its ever been, they are cheapening out and charging you triple. They even took the fun type of food away with the menu, its just awful.
I remember the days where almost nobody made reservations and most guests were walk up. Never waited more than 10-15 minutes for a table. Nowadays you HOPE you can get a reservation 6 months in advance, but aren’t surprised when most of the park restaurants are already fully booked. I’m not sure what I want to eat when I open the menu in the restaurant, let alone later today or tomorrow. I can’t imagine having to decide what you will be in the mood for half a year before you get there. Wish that reservations would just go away and every table at every restaurant was walk up and wait your turn. Sighhhh
I ate here once and the hamburger was actually raw. Uncooked. I have been to Disneyland and disneyworld 100s of times and this was worst meal I ever had. Could not eat it
We’ve eaten here twice. I was not impressed by anything. My husband and son sat in the front seat, and I sat in the back. Having a conversation with them was impossible. I won’t go back.
We love the theme that is the only reason we eat there. The food is meh but we really enjoy the nostalgic theme. My husband owned a 57 car
Years ago this place had nice hamburgers and we really enjoyed the drive-in theater atmosphere. There aren’t many drive-in theaters left and we really enjoyed the nostalgia of it. But the food Quality can be very erratic. Waiter really recommended the ribs and said they were ‘fall off the bone soft’. They weren’t. They were so tough I couldn’t cut them with a knife and fork. I actually chipped a tooth trying to chew them! I had to put up with the painful tooth until my vacation was over and I could go see my dentist. Not happy.
Much of the food at Disney Is now lower quality & higher priced! Lately, they have limited menus and it’s hard to get a gluten-free & dairy-free diet taken care of there.
‘Disney’ used to mean ‘excellence’!
I first visited Sci_Fi back in 2000 and the food was pretty good. But within a couple of years the quality dropped dramatically. Since I keep hearing stories of disappointment with the food I haven’t been back since.
SciFi is one of our favorites! We love sitting in the cars and make it a priority to eat there every trip at least once!
We definitely eat here for the atmosphere and not the food. They used to have a great Buffalo chicken salad but unfortunately it disappeared. All that being said, I highly suggest NOT sitting in the cars. Even for smaller guest they are TIGHT. I always look around to see if it’s just me thinking they’re uncomfortable and I’d say 90% of adults thin or heavier would say it’s an uncomfortable situation.
Just update the movie for heaven sake
the movie loop is fine, the menu and food is horrible, they are getting away with serving things not up to par and ripping off the guest. Someone has decided in management to not serve food here that really belongs here, instead a lousy entrée selection that doesn’t fit the establishment, and what they serve is not worth the prices they are charging, plus there are no options whatsoever. Yes your paying for atmosphere to some extent but that can only go so far. People need to start complaining to guest relations and then they may be forced to make a change.
Sci Fi is also not a great spot if you have 5 people in your family and they are young. Even though there are 6 person cars, they seat 2 to a car with all seats facing the screen. This means that some child (or parent) ends up sitting alone. My oldest daughter had to sit alone the last time we were there, and she was sad about it.