Dinner (sit down) at or near HS

[Frozen2014]

Hi,

I'm really struggling finding a decent table service selection for dinner at our Hollywood Studios day.

The HS restaurants are:
Disney’s

• 50’s Prime Time Café --> seems ok, but not jumping from excitement
• Hollywood & Vine --> seems ok but not great reviews...is it really not great?
• Mama Melrose --> Not thrilled with menu
• Sci-Fi Dine In --> Not interested in style

My kids are picky but eat kids food such as pizza, mac & cheese.
I don't eat meat or chicken, but do eat fish and seafood.
My husband eats most anything.

Any recommendations either at HS or resort close by? We will have a car if it's worth to go out of the park (but not park hopper).

 

[julluvsdisney]

what about cape may at the beach club? its a clam bake dinner buffet with lots of seafood options!

 

[EasternShoreGal]

You missed Hollywood Brpwn Derby or are you on the DDP and looking only at 1 credit restaurants? There are several options a walk or boat ride away at Yacht and Beach Club, Boardwalk and the Swam and Dolphin.

 

[Frozen2014]

Does Cape May have enough for kids? The menu on allears.net only lists 4 items for kids (two of which are veggies that mine wouldn't touch)

 

[Frozen2014]

You missed Hollywood Brpwn Derby or are you on the DDP and looking only at 1 credit restaurants? There are several options a walk or boat ride away at Yacht and Beach Club, Boardwalk and the Swam and Dolphin.

We will be on the middle dining plan and are already using 2 credits for CRT, so want to stick to 1 table credit.

Anything specific that are good at Yacht and Beach Club, Boardwalk or Swan or Dolphin?

 

[DCDisney]

We absolutely LOVE Kouzzina at the Boardwalk. You can ride the boat from DHS to the Boardwalk. It takes about 10 minutes it's also a walkable distance. They have lots of seafood options. Kids can get hot dog, mac and cheese, grilled chicken, etc. It's a nice break from the park and it's nice to walk around the boardwalk area after dinner. They have entertainers (like juggling or magic) and some cute shops. The desserts at Kouzzina were also wonderful and different from the typical desserts we found at other places. We were seated quickly and service was fast. It's nice because it's an open kitchen concept so lots for kids to watch. Tables aren't terribly close together too which is nice with kids.

 

[Gillyrose779]

Take the boat to the Boardwalk or you can just walk- there are at least three TS there- ESPN Zone, A Brewery, Cat Cora's restaurant, etc.. Plus the Boardwalk is just great to check out

 

[mickeynut1]

what about cape may at the beach club? its a clam bake dinner buffet with lots of seafood options!

I second Cape May. We have found the buffet to have plenty of variety, even for picky eaters as well as non-seafood eaters.

 

[ajwolfe]

We usually do a resort for dinner the evening we are in DHS or hop over to Epcot.
We've tried Cape May dinner and were less than thrilled and we are big seafood buffs.

 

[Frozen2014]

Like where?

 

[Frozen2014]

We usually do a resort for dinner the evening we are in DHS

Like where?

 

[shanejoseph]

"""""Cape May"""""

 

[wilma-bride]

How about Beaches and Cream @ Beach Club? You can get the boat there from Hollywood Studios (or drive there and park if you will have the car).

 

[ajwolfe]

Like where?

We actually did the Cape May one time - which I already posted we didn't care for.

Whispering Canyon one time - which we really liked. It was one of my husband's favorite meals.

T-Rex's at Downtown Disney.

 

[Karbase8]

The kids would probably like 50's Prime time and they do have seafood options and meat and potatoes for your spouse. I have never been to the Boardwalk area as we tend to run out of time but I have heard pretty good things overall for Cape May and Beaches and Cream. There is also ESPN zone over there too. Hollywood and Vine, does offer choices, it was just ok for me and my son did like it but it's not as good as the other buffets on property but it wasn't that bad but not the greatest either.

 

[EasternShoreGal]

We will be on the middle dining plan and are already using 2 credits for CRT, so want to stick to 1 table credit. Anything specific that are good at Yacht and Beach Club, Boardwalk or Swan or Dolphin?

So if you are on DDP, Swan and Dolphin restaurants are out. They don't take DDP. Your I credit options are ESPN (bar food), the Big River Grille (brew pub), Kpuzzina by Cat Cora (Mediteranean flare). These are all on the Boardwalk. Cape May Cafe Buffett (not one of my favorites...not a fan of buffets in general and particularly not seafood since it gets overlooked and dried out too quickly), Beaches and Cream (very limited food items- basically burgers and dogs but definitely fun-it's more of an ice cream parlor) and Captains Grille. These are at the Y&B.

Your best real table service restaurant experience will probably be at Kouzzina if you like the menu. The menus on MDE are kind of limited but if you check out allears.net they have relatively complete menus with pricing. You can use that as your guide.

Hope this helped!

 

[Frozen2014]

The kids would probably like 50's Prime time and they do have seafood options and meat and potatoes for your spouse. I have never been to the Boardwalk area as we tend to run out of time but I have heard pretty good things overall for Cape May and Beaches and Cream. There is also ESPN zone over there too. Hollywood and Vine, does offer choices, it was just ok for me and my son did like it but it's not as good as the other buffets on property but it wasn't that bad but not the greatest either.

Well, at least you're not saying H&V is bad.

Can 50s Prime Time make changes to their items? Their only fish entry has bacon on it according to online menu...which doesn't work for someone who doesn't eat meat.

And does Cape May have enough for kids?

 

[leebee]

Here are our experiences:

Beaches & Cream: We used to go here when it was more of a soda shop with a grill. It had a limited menu (burgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese, soup) but was tasty and fun. Now they have expanded their menu and take ADRs, which you WILL need if you want to get in and out of B&C in a timely manner; it's popular and small.

H&V: The only time we went there, the food was mediocre and the place was a mess. Food all over the place, on the buffet line, on the floors, etc. Too many kids, too much "everyday" food. Won't go back.

50s Prime Time: This is a favorite of ours. They have the best fried chicken I've ever had. I know it seems lame- all this great food at WDW, and I go to 50s for fried chicken! Also love their pot roast and meatloaf. We haven't had any of the more interesting dishes, but based on the quality and consistency of what we have eaten there, I bet they'd be good. I am sure they can leave the bacon off your fish.

At DHS, we have also been happy with Mama Melrose. It's Italian, but a step up from Macaroni Grill and a BIG step up from Olive Garden (and we like both MG and OG).

Cape May Buffet: We went because DH and I love seafood, but couldn't stay. The fishy smell was too much for DD so we left, and honestly, I'm glad we did. As a PP said, it's too easy to leave seafood on a line too long, and it gets all dry and icky pretty quickly.

Kouzzina: We love Kouzzina. Mediterranean food is different but not scarily so, the tables are pretty private, it's a nice atmosphere, open kitchen is entertaining, and the food is pretty much top notch!

ESPN Club: Basic "pub" style stuff. If you have a Ground Round near you, you'll know what to expect.

Big River Grill Brewery: We haven't been there, but friends say the food is good, nicely prepared, and it's not packed in the dining room as are so many other Disney restaurants.

I really encourage you to go to allears.net and check out the menus.

 

[Frozen2014]

Ugh...doesn't seem like too many good options.

I took a look at Kouzzina, and there is only one possible option for myself, but I don't like it when they just say 'whole fish'. What does that mean? I prefer salmon or seafood to fishy fish.

50s Prime Time does have a salmon option and mac & cheese or hotdog option for our kids.

We do like dinner buffets as they have lots of options for our different diets, but not if it's dirty.

Cape May...sounds good to me and my hustand would like too, but I think the smell would disgust our kids.

Beaches and Cream is limited options for me (i.e. grilled cheese).

Don't really want a pub with kids.

Hmmm...would it be worth it for us to drive to a further resort such as Contemporary or Grand Floridian? If we did this, then we wouldn't return to HS afterwards.

 

[wilma-bride]

ESPN is not a pub. It's actually a sports bar so has lots of TV screens showing various sporting events (they even have TVs in the bathrooms). Kids are perfectly welome there - in fact, they're welcome everywhere at Disney except Victoria & Alberts @ Grand Floridian.

How about Captain's Grille? I couldn't see that anybody had suggested that already.

I have to say, I don't like the smell at Cape May at all. In fact, when we stay at the Beach Club, I often avoid the lobby in the evenings as the smell tends to drift through.

To be honest, if you are now thinking you wouldn't return to DHS after dinner if you went further afield then the 'World' is pretty much your oyster. I would choose somewhere at DTD - loads of fab TS places