We cruised into Disney’s Hollywood Studios to try out the newly revamped menu at Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater Restaurant.

Appetizers

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

This was the first offering that felt very out of place. How are we supposed to cut up a wedge salad in this lighting? It’s not bad, a bit peppery even for the name, and no ingredients were off-putting, but it’s just too much of a hassle to eat in this setting. If you absolutely need a salad, it’s here, but we wouldn’t recommend it. The crostini isn’t served very hard, it’s soft and tastes akin to garlic bread, a bit of the opposite from what you’d want.

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. They’re absolutely loaded with a sweet, tangy barbecue sauce though. A solid offering, just a step down from the saucy chicken strips that were taken away in this refresh.

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. It’s a little chalkier, but that’s to be expected with the ingredients. Filled with loads of spinach, the flavor is quite similar to its former counterpart. The chips are the typical house-made Disney chips — crispy, salty, and a good accompaniment for the dip. We would recommend this, even if you aren’t vegan.

Entrées

The Feature Film Burger Surf & Turf – $24

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. The shrimp and crab cake never tasted overly fishy when we had it on the burger, but when I cut some out and had it alone, it may be at the point of off-putting for some. There is a TON of arugula underneath, maybe even too much, but it didn’t ruin the burger.

Everything worked together in harmony to create another solid choice. Our favorite upgrade is the new logo plates they got a few weeks back, a nice touch that few Disney restaurants boast these days.

Pork on Pork Burger – $22.50

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

We can see why guests wanted this to return. The base items are good — a moist burger patty and a well toasted bun that’s soft inside with a light, crispy, buttery exterior. The smoky, tender pork belly combined with the tangy slaw (which we appreciated not being overly crunchy) and sharp cheese in total makes a solid combination that we think will please anyone. The steak fries are still our favorite on property, even if slightly over-salted on this visit.

Chicken Breast Nuggets with Barbecue Sauce

Those who loved the old chicken strips can still order chicken breast nuggets with barbecue sauce on top. It’s not on the menu, but they will gladly make it upon request.

Dessert

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. We suggest pairing bites with the candied pecans and matcha cake as well for the full experience, but the blueberry pie filling and the cheesecake are both sweet and well matched with each-other. The pecans and cake break up the gelatinous consistency well, but so did the pie crust. The irony here is how pretty they made the desserts for a restaurant where you can barely see them.

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 chocolate cake is rich and moist, paired with a perhaps too overpowering tropical swirl of pineapple and passion fruit. The UFO of lime mousse is both adorable and absolutely delicious.

In the end, these desserts are Instagram-worthy if you can find lighting, but feel very out of place here. Burgers, fries, and milkshakes don’t just feel right, they make an iconic American trio. We’d stick with ice cream unless you really feel the need for these.

Overall

In review, we lost a few perennial favorites — chicken strips tossed in sauce for example, and even a relatively new favorite in the salmon burger — but there’s still life in this menu. You can still at least get chicken breast nuggets tossed in sauce with a side of fries if you need, a discovery made by one of our very picky fathers.

We don’t necessarily feel like the menu was improved, but it wasn’t heavily damaged either. Again, nothing was outright bad, just relatively forgettable. We appreciate the effort with the desserts, but most guests will never even see it or will just get a milkshake or lament the loss of the candy bar (which arguably might have thematically been a better fit as a concession offering).

All in all, the only thing we would absolutely order again is the spinach and artichoke dip, but based on your preferences, you might fall in love with a few of the other dishes above. Either way, Sci-Fi Dine-In remains one of the most fun and unique offerings in all of Walt Disney World where the food is always secondary to the experience. And based on that alone, we still recommend booking a table on your next trip.

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