Taste of Disney

November 2015 Review

NOTE: This breakfast was only offered from November 1, 2015 to January 23, 2016

Here is the description from the official Disney World website:

Breakfast Is Coming! Breakfast Is Coming!
Attention, Earthlings… From November 1, 2015 to January 23, 2016, your favorite 1950’s drive-in diner, Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant, will offer a never-before-seen dining that Earth scientists are now calling “Breakfast.”

Do not be alarmed. This is only a test. During this period, participating humans will be able to travel back in time to experience the “glory days” of their favorite 1950’s drive-in theater diner—in the early hours of your solar day, also known as “Morning.” Visiting humans should be prepared to encounter an “out of this world” menu of “breakfast” items, including (to name just a few):

I walked from the Boardwalk to Hollywood Studios and arrived sometime between 7:15 and 7:30. On the left side of the park entrance area there were CMs checking lists which contained the names of those who had dining reservations at Hollywood & Vine and those like me who were headed to the new breakfast at Sci-Fi. The Hollywood & Vine list looked like it was much longer. Once I’d been checked I was allowed to get in line at the turnstiles (are they still called turnstiles now that they don’t actually have a turnstile?? ). I believe we were allowed into the park at around 7:40 because at 7:45 I took this photo…

I figured this was the Hollywood Studios equivalent of taking a photo of Cinderella’s Castle without any people in the picture at Magic Kingdom.
Then it was on to my breakfast at the…After checking in at the desk for my 8:15 reservation, it wasn’t long before my name was called. By 7:58 I was seated as a “hitchhiker” in the back seat of a front row car with three other diners who were together. Two ladies were seated in the front and a gentlemen in the middle seat. I noticed that most of the cars were empty around us…

Here is a photo of the menu we were given…

NOTE: All of the Adult choices were a set price of $23.99 (plus tax and gratuity), which is $2.00 more than the similar breakfast that is held at Be our Guest. They did though allow me to use my Tables in Wonderland membership card for a 20% discount.

So anyway, I gave our friendly server my choices and then looked around to see that the place was still mostly empty. I got out of my car briefly to go to the back of the room to obtain photographic evidence of just how empty this place was…

I haven’t been to the Sci-Fi for more than 5 years but I distinctly remember it being a very busy place, so seeing it this way was kind of eerie, yet cool. When I returned to the back seat of my car, the thought did run through my mind though as to why I had been seated in the backseat of a car with another party of 3 when they had a room full of empty cars?? I guess they thought it unsafe for me to be driving alone in the dark.

And now it’s…

Ok, no tasty candy was served at 8:00 in the morning, but I did have a a cool, refreshing drink in the form of a glass of orange juice and a cup of hot (but not particularly good) coffee. These were served along with the plate of assorted breakfast pastries and my appetizer choice…

On my pastry plate were two croissants, two mini double chocolate muffins, and an orange glazed cinnamon bun…

I had one of the croissants during my breakfast and it was good. I asked for a box at the end of my meal to take the rest with me, as I planned to return to my room after breakfast. I enjoyed the other croissant and the muffins for breakfast over the next two or three mornings. The cinnamon bun tasted stale when I tried it a day or two later though so it got pitched.

As for my appetizer, I had a choice of fresh fruit and berries or a yogurt parfait. To this point of my trip I had not had much luck with the fresh fruit (which I’ll get into more later) so I went with the yogurt…

Yogurt Parfait with fresh berries and homemade granola
And a close-up shot…

This was pretty good, but I didn’t eat it all because I wanted to save plenty of room for my main course…

Sci-Fi Crab and Eggs – Puff Pastry filled with Scrambled Eggs, Crab, Asparagus, and Gruyere Cheese with a Roasted Tomato and Avocado (which is the green stuff that looks like guacamole in the middle of the plate)

And a close-up of the Roasted Tomato and Avocado…

I believe that was grated parmesan cheese on the tomato.

Then some close-ups of the main dish…

I’m not sure if the placement of the crab was done to be cute or scary, but since this was the Sci-Fi Dine-in I’m going to say they were going for scary…but in a cute way.

Anyway here is what the contents of the puff pastry looked like…

As you can see the asparagus was pretty plentiful but as for the crab, not so much. Overall the flavor of the scrambled eggs was rather bland and I thought would have benefited from some seasoning. This seemed to be the consensus of our car, because later when the chef came around looking for comments, suggestions for improvement, etc. my three dining companions all told him that they wished their entrees had had more salt added. I’m not sure what the ladies in the front had ordered but the gentlemen in the middle seat looked to have had the Traditional Breakfast with scrambled eggs and breakfast potatoes.

So I would have to give this test a somewhat mediocre grade. Our server was great and the chef coming to our car to solicit comments was a nice touch. However, the food, or at least the entree that I tried, doesn’t really warrant a return visit for me, assuming this breakfast is continued after Jan. 23rd. I had several great breakfasts on this trip, but this was not really one of them. Not bad, but not great.

NOTE: Despite the fact that I took my time eating and took many photos, I was still done with breakfast and out of the restaurant by 8:40. With the park opening at 9:00, I could have probably been on Toy Story before most of the crowd entered the park. So if you are able to get an early morning ADR (8 – 8:15), this breakfast would get you early access to the rides at a cheaper price than Hollywood & Vine.