The Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant is a theme restaurant at Disney's Hollywood Studios, one of the four main theme parks at Walt Disney World. Established in May 1991, the restaurant is modeled after a 1950s drive-in theater. Walt Disney Imagineering designed the booths to resemble convertibles of the period, and some servers act as carhops while wearing roller skates. While eating, guests watch a large projection screen displaying clips of 1950s and 1960s films such as Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster, Plan 9 from Outer Space, and Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.
The restaurant serves traditional cuisine of the United States. Popcorn functions as a complimentary hors d'oeuvre. Initially, the menu listed items with science fiction themed names, such as "Tossed in Space" (garden salad), "The Cheesecake that Ate New York", and "Attack of the Killer Club Sandwich", but these playful names were later altered so that they now describe the dishes in a more standard and straightforward manner.
In 1991, the Sci-Fi Dine-In opened along with nineteen other new Walt Disney World attractions marking the complex's twentieth anniversary. By the following year, the Sci-Fi Dine-In was serving upwards of 2,200 people daily during peak periods, making it the park's most popular restaurant. Thai movie theater operator EGV Entertainment opened the EGV Drive-in Cafe in Bangkok in 2003, in a very similar style to the Sci-Fi Dine-In.
The Sci-Fi Dine-In has received mixed reviews. USA Todays list of the best restaurants in American amusement parks ranks the Sci-Fi Dine-In fifteenth, but many reviewers rate it more highly for its atmosphere rather than for its cuisine. Ed Bumgardner of the Winston-Salem Journal wrote that the food is more expensive than it is worth, specifically calling the restaurant's roast beef sandwich both delicious and a ripoff. In their book Vegetarian Walt Disney World and Greater Orlando, Susan Shumaker and Than Saffel call the Sci-Fi Dine-In "the wackiest dining experience in any Disney park".Shumaker & Saffel (2003), p. 70.
History
As Disney planned new attractions to mark the 20th anniversary of Walt Disney World, it sought to replicate the success of the heavily themed 50's Prime Time Café, opened in 1989 to great success.
The Sci-Fi Dine-In opened on April 20, 1991, on Commissary Lane across from Star Tours and next to the ABC Commissary.Shumaker & Saffel (2003), p. 76. Within five weeks, the new restaurant was serving between 1,500 and 2,000 meals a day, comparable to the Prime Time Cafe. A year after opening, the Sci-Fi Dine-In had become the most popular restaurant in the park, serving more than 2,200 people per day at peak periods.
In 2003, there were twenty "character meals" offered at Walt Disney World, during which actors portraying various Disney characters would interact with guests while they ate at the parks' restaurants. At the time, Disney was increasing the presence of costumed characters in the parks. Nonetheless, Minnie Mouse character meals held at Hollywood & Vine were discontinued that year, and Robert Johnson of the Orlando Sentinel partially attributed this cancellation to competition from the Sci-Fi Dine-In, which he said "almost always has a line of customers waiting".
Theme The Sci-Fi Dine-In is modeled after a 1950s drive-in theater. The entrance is made to look like a box office, and guests can walk from there along a tall fence to the dining room, where they sit at formica countertops in booths made to look like convertibles from the 1940s and 1950s.For the information about the entrance and fence, see For the countertop material, see For the design of the booths, see Miller (2011), p. 12. For the imitated decades, see These booths were designed by Walt Disney Imagineering and are made of fiberglass with much chrome plating. The cars have whitewall tires, and speakers are mounted on poles next to each car. The license plates are dated from 1955. Each convertible seats four people, although these mock vehicles were initially six-seaters when the restaurant first opened.For the information about the license plates and the current seating arrangements, see Sandler (2007), p. 257. For the initial seating arrangements, see There are six picnic tables near the back of the room that are only used when the rest of the restaurant is full and there are guests who are willing to forgo the experience of sitting in the cars. All guests who make reservations are seated in the cars, although this was not the case the year the restaurant first opened. The restaurant has a total seating capacity of 260.
The restaurant's servers use point of sale mobile devices to relay orders to a printer in the kitchen, which in 1991 was a then-new technology in keeping with the science fiction theme.For the introduction and function of the mobile devices, see For the initial perception of the mobile devices, see
Some of the servers at the Sci-Fi Dine-In wear roller skates, acting as carhops, while others improvise characters such as a police officer ostensibly in search of people who have sneaked into the theater without paying.For the information about roller skates, see Sehlinger & Testa (2014), p. 491. For the servers' main acting role, see For the example of an additional acting role, see The dining room is dark and air-conditioned, and measures .For the lighting and air quality information, see Sehlinger & Testa (2014), p. 443. For the size of the room, see The ceiling simulates a night sky replete with twinkling stars made from optical fibers.Miller (2011), p. 122. There is the facade of a snack counter at the back of the room, behind which is the kitchen.For the information about the facade, see For the location of the kitchen, see The upper walls of the dining room display a cyclorama of Southern California as seen over a fence.
While eating at the Sci-Fi Dine-In, guests watch film clips from 1950s and 1960s science fiction films, B horror films, monster movies, pseudo-documentaries, bizarre newsreels, and animated cartoons, all on a loop that lasts 47 minutes.For the segmentation of the film into clips, see Sehlinger & Testa (2014), p. 491. For the inclusion of science fiction, horror, newsreels, and cartoons, see Miller (2011), p. 122. For the inclusion of monster movies, see Gindin & Greenhill-Taylor (2012), p. 67. For the inclusion of pseudo-documentaries, see For the information about the loop, see For the length of the film, see The film clips are taken from such films as The Blob, Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster, Teenagers from Outer Space, The Amazing Colossal Man, Plan 9 from Outer Space, Invasion of the Saucer Men, and Cat-Women of the Moon.For the inclusion of The Blob, see Sehlinger & Testa (2014), p. 491. For the inclusion of Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster, see Miller (2011), p. 122. For the inclusion of Teenagers from Outer Space, see Gindin & Greenhill-Taylor (2012), p. 149. For the inclusion of The Amazing Colossal Man, see For the inclusion of Plan 9 from Outer Space, see For the inclusion of Invasion of the Saucer Men, see For the inclusion of Cat-Women of the Moon, see Sandler (2007), p. 257. The original Attack of the 50 Foot Woman trailer is also included.Sandler (2007), p. 257. The clips are shown on a large projection screen.Miller (2011), p. 12. During Star Wars Weekends, a special breakfast is offered called the Star Wars Dine-In Galactic Breakfast, during which guests can interact with Star Wars characters and watch clips from the Star Wars films. Film props and vintage horror and science fiction movie posters can be found on the outside perimeter of the themed restaurant, including many props used in Disney's The Rocketeer, which premiered about three months after the restaurant opened.
Food At the Sci-Fi Dine-In, lunch guests stay for an average of fifty minutes and dinner guests for an average of just longer than an hour, with lunch and dinner guests being served their food on average five and ten minutes after ordering respectively. The restaurant participates in the Disney Dining Plan. Meals are served starting at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays and Wednesdays, and starting at 11:00 a.m. every other day of the week. The restaurant closes each day at the same time that the park does, which is in the late evening.For the coincidence of the restaurant and park closing times, see Sehlinger & Testa (2014), p. 491. For the time of day at which the park closes, see Ingersoll (2005), p. 35. The menu is the same all day, without a distinction between lunch and dinner. A full bar service is available, and there is also a limited wine selection.Sehlinger & Testa (2014), p. 491.
Food selection at the restaurant comes from the traditional cuisine of the United States. Popcorn used to be served as a free hors d'oeuvre.For the cost, see Miller (2011), p. 122. For the course, see Miller (2011), p. 12. Other food items include milkshakes, hot fudge sundaes, seafood salad, turkey sloppy joes, fried pickles, St. Louis-style barbecue ribs, beef-and-blue-cheese salads, sautéed shrimp with farfalle, French fries, cucumber salads, Buffalo wings, Boca Burgers, Tofutti, and steaks.For the inclusion of milkshakes and sundaes, see Sehlinger & Testa (2014), p. 491. For the inclusion of seafood salad and sloppy joes, see For the inclusion of fried pickles, see For the inclusion of ribs, beef-and-cheese salads, shrimp, French fries, and cucumber salads, see Gindin & Greenhill-Taylor (2012), p. 149. For the inclusion of Buffalo wings, see For the inclusion of Boca Burgers and Tofutti, see Shumaker & Saffel (2003), p. 77. For the inclusion of steaks, see Miller (2011), p. 122. Drinks include souvenir phosphorescent ice cubes. The desserts are served in larger portions than are customary elsewhere. There are vegetarian options. The chefs at the Sci-Fi Dine-In sometimes cater for special requests in advance.Shumaker & Saffel (2003), p. 77. The cookbook Delicious Disney Just for Kids contains a recipe for the BLT soup served at the Sci-Fi Dine-In.Miller (2011), p. 24.
Items in the restaurant's menu used to have themed names, such as "The Galactic Grill" (triple-decker grilled cheese sandwich), "Beast from 1,000 Islands" (Reuben sandwich), "Tossed in Space" (garden salad), "The Cheesecake that Ate New York", "Attack of the Killer Club Sandwich", "Beach Party Panic" (fish fillet), "Saucer Sightings" (rib eye steak), "Terror of the Tides" (broiled fish), and "Journey to the Center of the Pasta" (vegetable lasagne), but these have since been replaced with more descriptive names.For the characterization of the initial and current names, see Miller (2011), p. 122. For the grilled cheese sandwich name, see Shumaker & Saffel (2003), p. 80. For the garden salad and cheesecake names, see For the club sandwich, fish fillet, and steak names, see Sandler (2007), p. 257. For the broiled fish name, see For the lasagne name, see A popcorn bisque was once on the menu, but it was removed due to poor reception.
Imitation