F! dining package - few questions...

[tjknitz]

I am going back and forth between Hollywood and Vine dinner and Mama Melrose. I have never been to either of these locations......if you had to choose between these two locations for dinner which would you choose?

What time is a good time to schedule dinner when you plan on getting to F!? And how early will I need to show up in order to get a good seat and not have to wait in line? The day that we are going is on August 31. DHS is NOT RECOMMENDED this night due to the evening EMH. There are 2 F! shows and the Frozen fireworks going on.

We will actually be spending the day at EP - then hopping onto the ferry to take us to DHS for dinner and F!. Anything else we can get in is bonus....I think our plan is to hit a show or two before F!

 

[Mr & Mrs DD]

I have never eaten at the other place, but we loved Mama Melrose. We would love to eat a Mama Melrose again.

 

[minnie mum]

H&V is one of 2 restaurants at WDW that we will never set foot in again. It was really that bad. Twice. YMMV.

We've always enjoyed the food at Mama Melrose for both lunch and dinner.

ADR times for Fantasmic dinners are early. They help fill the restaurant during off peak hours. Book it for around 3 hours before F! so you don't have to worry if you are seated late or your meal runs long. ( the reserved seating is ONLY for the first show.

Plan to be in your seats 30 minutes before the show at the latest. If the theater is reaching capacity they will open the reserved seating to the public 20-30 minutes before showtime. There is no line up for the reserved seating. That's the whole point - no waiting in line.

 

[hammie59]

We loved our meal at MM with the F! Pkg. (Strip steak....yum) I beiieve our ADR was for 4 or 5pm. We got there 10 min early and had to wait about 20 minutes past our time. I had read way too many bad reviews about HW&V, plus it's buffet and we wanted sit down. We got to our seats for the show about 40 min before it started.

 

[Lucius Best]

H&V is one of 2 restaurants at WDW that we will never set foot in again. It was really that bad. Twice. YMMV.

We've always enjoyed the food at Mama Melrose for both lunch and dinner.

H&V is one of the few restaurants we have never visited at WDW, mainly because I've read so many reviews like this. We have eaten at MM several times, including with the F! package, and liked it. Similar to previous posts, our ADR was early ~4pm and we got to F! about 30 minutes before the show.

One other note, be aware that the ferry between Epcot and HS can be slow because it is stopping at every resort along the way. When we've hopped between Epcot/HS, it was quicker to walk, but the walk is not short (pretty sure over 1 mile).

 

[Mikie]

We did the F! Package at H&V because I tried for Mama Melrose and couldn't get it. I didn't have nearLy the horrible experience of the PP, but it was nothing to write home about. I would never just choose that restaurant on its own merit again, but I did enjoy the F! package enough that I'd eat there again if I couldn't get MM. So. . . I'd shoot for MM but would still take H&V over nothing (I am helped in this decision by having the dining plan, which shields you from the sticker shock of Disney's buffet meals).

We headed for the show about 30 min early and were very surprised at the HUGE mass of people flowing in. Once we were finally funneled through to the Dining Pkg line/area, we got great seats and no standing around in line, but the overall flood of people entering was no fun.