Fantasmic! returned to Disney’s Hollywood Studios at the beginning of this month, but the dining packages didn’t return until today. Naturally, our first stop was the Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater Restaurant.

Here’s what’s included in each Fantasmic! Dining Package:

• An entrée and appetizer or dessert at select full-service restaurants or one (1) full buffet (where applicable), along with a non-alcoholic beverage
• One voucher for guaranteed seating at Fantasmic! in a reserved area

Exterior

Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater Restaurant is a unique experience themed to the drive-in theaters of the mid-1900s.

It’s located on Commissary Lane, near Baseline Tap House and Star Tours: The Adventure Continues.

Interior

Guests dine in booths shaped like vintage cars, appropriately named “automo-booths.”

Monster movies play on the screen and the ceiling is decorated like a starry night sky.

Sci-fi themed decorations are tucked away around the restaurant.

Fantasmic! Dining at Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater – $49 for Adults, $22 for Kids

Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater Restaurant does not have a buffet, so the package includes an entrée and your choice of appetizer or dessert, plus a non-alcoholic beverage.

Appetizers

Crispy Onion Rings – $11

Served with Horseradish Dipping Sauce

A perennial favorite: crunchy, salty, a sizable order. The cream horseradish sauce is preferable for us, but the “onion ring sauce” also pairs well. 

Fried Dill Pickles – $12

Served with your choice of Ranch or Horseradish Dipping Sauce

These are basic, unremarkable fried pickles. When eaten fresh, the batter is nicely crispy, although you never really get any crunch, or much flavor for that matter, from the pickles. After sitting for several minutes, the batter becomes soft and flavorless, which means you really just have a fried slice of sogginess that doesn’t offer any real taste. Stick with the onion rings unless you and your party plan to destroy a basket of these as soon as they hit your table

Spinach and Artichoke Dip – $13

A blend of Spinach, Artichoke, Red Peppers, Cauliflower, Cashew Cheese, and Oat Milk served with House-made Chips (Plant-based)

Despite being plant-based, this is about as good as the old version. We didn’t have these today, but we recently reviewed all the new menu items here at Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater Restaurant. We’ve included our overall thoughts for every item we’ve reviewed so you can plan your Fantasmic! package visit, but click through the item name for the in-depth and video reviews.

Sci-Fi Smoked Wings – $15

Smoked Chicken Wings tossed in a Porter Barbecue Sauce with a House-made Pineapple and Poppy Seed Coleslaw

The smoking process makes these more flavorful and tender than the usual entry, but they’re still a standard offering comparably. 

Black Garlic Caesar Salad – $11

Petite Romaine Lettuce with Grilled Artichoke Hearts, Chopped Applewood-smoked Bacon, and Shaved Parmesan topped with a House-made Black-Garlic Caesar Dressing and served with a Toasted Garlic Crostini

If you absolutely need a salad, it’s here, but we wouldn’t recommend it.

Entrées

Drive-in BBQ Burger – $23

Our Signature-blend of Beef and House-made Seasoning served on a Brioche Bun topped with9-hour Smoked Pork, Bourbon-Bacon Jam, Cheddar, Lettuce, and Barbecue Sauce

We really enjoyed the Drive-In BBQ Burger, it’s one of our favorite items on the menu here.

The Feature Film Burger – $25

Signature blend of beef and house-made seasoning served on a brioche bun and topped with shrimp, crab cake, pepper jack cheese, chipotle hollandaise sauce, grilled onions, heirloom tomato, arugula, and house-made vinaigrette

The burger and bun are really solid offerings here, and the shrimp and crab cake never tasted overly fishy.

Pork on Pork Burger – $23

Grilled House-made Pork Patty topped with Roasted Pork Belly, White Sharp Cheddar, Caramelized Onions, Cabbage Slaw, and a House-made Carolina Mustard Sauce

The base items are good — a moist burger patty and a well toasted bun that’s soft inside with a light, crispy, buttery exterior. 

Pan-Seared Salmon Pasta – $27

Pappardelle Pasta tossed in a Lemon-Butter Sauce with Rainbow Tomatoes, Onions, and Spinach, served with a Toasted Garlic Crostini

This is a nicely sized dish. The salmon was well-cooked and flaky, it had a nice lemon flavor to it, although it was minimally seasoned, if at all. The noodles themselves were tender and paired well with the salmon. The dish was doused with based powdered parmesan cheese, so the first layer delivers a lot of that artificial taste and the accompanying texture that we all know from that shaker of Kraft. Once you got past that initial layer, the sauce had a creamy and enjoyable, although strong, tomato and onion flavor. The flavor as a whole really improved once getting past the parmesan. Overall it’s a nicely prepared plate, everything cooked as it should be, and with pretty good flavor, although a heavy pasta dish will always be a questionable choice for a day in a theme park — especially one with minimal shade.

Flying Saucer Impossible Burger – $22

Grilled Plant-based Burger, Grilled Portobello Mushroom, “Cashew-Mozzarella,” Garlic-Tomato “Aïoli,” Nut-free Pesto, Lettuce, and Tomato (Plant-based)

The patty has a grainy taste, but it’s not unlikeable. The giant mushroom was cooked perfectly and bursting with flavor.  The cashew mozzarella is more akin in flavor to cheese, so all in all, it’s a viable option for those who can’t or choose not to have meat. The French fries are perfect, as always, offering a hefty portion of well-salted steak fries.

Desserts

The Red Planet – $9

White Chocolate Cheesecake with Spiced Blueberry Compote on a Graham Cracker Tart with a Matcha Sponge and Golden Candied Almonds

This is essentially a white chocolate cheesecake over a blueberry pie. It certainly takes a pretty photo, and it doesn’t taste bad either. 

Out-of-this-World – $10

Pineapple Mousse with Passion Fruit Cosmic Swirl and a Spiced Lime Spaceship garnished with Space Dust and Blood Orange Coulis

This is even prettier than the Red Planet, and probably a better all-around dessert. The UFO of lime mousse is both adorable and absolutely delicious.

Fantasmic! Seating

Your server will give you the voucher used to redeem your seating. It will have your showtime and date on it.

Seating opens 90 minutes before showtime, and you have to arrive at least 25 minutes beforehand, or they will start to seat other guests in the reserved area.

The queue for dining package guests uses the old FastPass queue.

There are Cast Members stationed with directional signage to ensure you get to the reserved area.

The reserved areas are the center sections of Mickey and Scar.

This is the view if your seat is in the center of the center.

And this is a view if you are stage left in the reserved area.

Overall

We thought the package was worth it, especially if you go with some of the pricier items on the menu to get the full value. We recommend arriving about 45 minutes in advance of your showtime. You’ll still have to wait, but it will be while seated in the amphitheater rather than enduring standby.

Check out the new scenes featuring Moana, Elsa, and more in our full show video here.

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Katie Francis