Hi Laurel!
My family also loves to eat at the
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater in Disney's Hollywood Studios. In fact during our last family trip the plan was to eat at the Sci-Fi before going to Fantasmic! I have to tell you we did not make it and looking back at my notes for that trip, we had a dining reservation for 2 and a half hours before Fantasmic! I thought that was good, but it wasn't so I suggest having a reservation for 3 hours before show time.
Besides the fact that 2 and a half hours didn't work for me, here's how I came up with 3 hours:
- It might take 15 to 30 minutes to be seated; I suggest arriving 15 minutes before your reservation time
- It generally takes about 60 to 90 minutes for a meal at a Table Service restaurant, though you could skip dessert if necessary.
- It will take about 15 minutes to walk from the Sci-Fi Dine-In to the stadium
- You should arrive between 60 and 90 minutes early for Fantasmic!, depending on the time of year. May is not historically busy, so 60 minutes should be fine.
As you can see, if you hit the high end of all of my estimates then you will need to make the reservation even earlier! However, I think 3 hours would be fine. The problem with my last trip is I arrived at Fantasmic! about 40 minutes early only to find that there was only standing room left.
By the way, May 21st is the first day of
Star Wars Weekends at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Be sure to see it if anybody in your party is a Star Wars fan.
Enjoy planning and write back if you have any more questions!