great restaurant kids loved the theme of this as did i food was nice and good value

The Sci-fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant located at the Disney Hollywood Studios has been dinning and entertaining guests for many years. Novel in its concept as we don?t have drive-in theatres in the UK, due mostly to our temperate and varying climate, so the idea is very alien to most of us ? which makes for an exciting dining experience!

We had an ADR for 6pm, which for all table service restaurants in WDW is a popular time; which shows as the ADRs for places like this disappear very quickly. We arrived a few minutes before 6pm and checked in at the desk. My expectations grew, as the plain desk was situated in front of a plain wall and you could not see the dining area and only a faint mumble of sound could be heard. Anyway, the CM explained our ?car? was not ready and instead gave us a handheld device that would flash when they were ready for us. Instructing us we had a good 10-minute wait ahead we decided to venture to neighbouring shops but not too far to lose signal. At about 6.15pm the device started to flash with red lights so we headed back to the desk. The CM took the device and escorted us to our car.

If you haven?t been here before, just the walking to your car you feel like you are leaving the Tardis and entering a totally different world. The CM walks you along a corridor that looks like a backstage style area with exposed timber walling, spare props and cables dotted around. As we walked closer the noise of the theatre screen grew anticipation in us both. We entered a large soundstage to the side and it is now night, we?ve been transported to 1950s Hollywood and laid out in front of us are a vast gathering of 50s style American cars, all static and adapted into meal tables. The tables are dimly lit and the air is cool, darn, this place would be romantic if it wasn?t for the noise! As ahead is a large screen showcasing clips, jingles, 50s adverts and cartoons of various uniquely US TV shows. With a ?Great balls of a fire? and a clip of ?Lost in Space? later our CM was with us for our food order. We skipped appetizers and ordered main meals instead. I opted for the mainstay burger with relish and garnishes and my partner ordered Turkey Sandwich, for which she remarked later that it was the tastiest turkey she?d had in a long time. As we ?were in Rome? I ordered a big frosty Oreo Milkshake and she opted for the iced-tea.

The wait time was not so bad. The CMs seem very attentive here, which is probably due to their numbers, it looked to us that one CM could not have more than 6 or so cars at a time to serve, so this made for great service. My burger was amazing and the black bean relish was divine. My milkshake was also extremely tasty and much better than the Oreo milkshakes that are available in the UK (I?d expect nothing less!).

After the plates were cleared away and I could feel the steering wheel drawing closer to my stomach we thought it would only be right to share desserts. So we decided on the Hot Fudge Sundae. Vanilla ice cream served with runny hot fudge, pieces of fudge cake, whipped cream with hundreds-and-thousands bits and the obligatory cherry on top.

After devouring this wickedly awesome dish we settled our account and headed out. We only had 2 courses and were positive the movie screen had started to repeat its run of clips, as the annoying cat beating himself up was so loud the first time we didn?t want to see it a second!

Good points: The service was excellent and the food was great.

Bad points: The movie screen is a bit noisy and the cars might be too dimly lit for partially sighted people, I know I struggled and my eyesight is not so bad!

If the restaurant ever gets a makeover or refurbishment we will definitely be back. I would recommend it, as it is nice to try once and is ideal for families.

Fact file:
Style: Classic American.
Service: Table service.
Location: Commissary Lane, Disney Hollywood Studios.
Booking: Necessary.
Price range: $15 to $36.
DDP: 1 credit.
More Info: www.waltdisneyworld.com or 407 WDW DINE.
Other: Lunch is served from 11pm, Dinner is served from 4pm, no character dinning available. Some healthy options are available.