Don't eat at Hollywood and Vine

[trinaweena]

Those of you who ate there due to the Fantasmic package, would you say that was worth it? We were thinking about doing that for our upcoming trip but our choice probably would have been H&V cause its the cheapest but now i'm not so sure....just didn't know if anyone had any thoughts on if the package was worth it

 

[KatMark]

Those of you who ate there due to the Fantasmic package, would you say that was worth it? We were thinking about doing that for our upcoming trip but our choice probably would have been H&V cause its the cheapest but now i'm not so sure....just didn't know if anyone had any thoughts on if the package was worth it

We do the Fantasmic Package every year--but NOT at H&V (we go to Mama Melrose). I'd skip the package if I had only H&V to choose.

 

[msce2]

Those of you who ate there due to the Fantasmic package, would you say that was worth it? We were thinking about doing that for our upcoming trip but our choice probably would have been H&V cause its the cheapest but now i'm not so sure....just didn't know if anyone had any thoughts on if the package was worth it

Mama Melrose's is actually cheaper for kids (don't know if you have any kids in your party) and for adults and kids the price includes a non-alcoholic beverage. However H&V while slightly cheaper for adults does not include the beverage (according to the allears.net) menu. So the prices are actually closer since you probably have to add another 2.00 for a beverage to H&V's base price. And if so many people say the food and service are terrible I wouldn't waste my money no matter how much cheaper it was.

 

[fireman1]

We have a DNR there for the 22nd of this month. Think we'll skip it now.
How's the Brown Derby? we have one there for the 25th.

 

[Dreamfinder2]

I'm of a mind that the Brown Derby is the best of the TS's in the park. It can be a special place.

We haven't been to H&V since 2005. It was nominal at best. DD's comment? "It wasn't very good, but you could eat all you wanted!"

Honestly, I've never had an "awful" experience at any WDW table service spot. Some are better than others, tho.

 

[Uncle Remus]

We have a DNR there for the 22nd of this month. Think we'll skip it now.
How's the Brown Derby? we have one there for the 25th.

A DNR?

 

[amychester]

we ate there 2 weeks ago and loved it. We both really enjoyed the food, and the service was great. My biggest complaint is that the characters didn't seem to follow a specific route like they do at the Crystal Palace.

My daughter (who is 4) loved it... she wanted to get up every time with the characters and dance, and they were very tolerant of her - she constantly wanted to hug them.

We really took our time and were in there for about 90 minutes, never felt rushed to leave. It's hard for us to eat at a buffett because of all the trips back and forth and having a 4 year old and a 3 month old.

 

[frdeb1999]

Sorry we are in the minority also. We really like H&V and have had good experiences there. The food has always been hot, good tasting and great variety. And the service has always been very good. Can't say the same about some of the other buffets elsewhere on disney property.

 

[Lynn5700]

I agree. I think the place is so blah and boring. Food is so much better else where. We will never eat there again lol.

 

[ScottDW]

I've been there for dinner twice - once in 2005 and 2007. Both times the food was disappointing. (I don't remember what the service was like.) If you are just looking for a meal, try someplace else. If you are going for a character dinner or Fantasmic access, look forward to that but understand that it is not likely going to be a great food.

 

[mom2nji]

We have ADR there for Monday the 16th for a party of 8 for my sons bday.
I am really debating cancelling now, its going to be more than $200. And I am not hearing anything that makes me think its worth it!

 

[septbaby]

We have ADR there for Monday the 16th for a party of 8 for my sons bday.
I am really debating cancelling now, its going to be more than $200. And I am not hearing anything that makes me think its worth it!

The OP is complaining about Dinner you are going for the character meal so Breakfast or Lunch, completely different situations.

We had dinner there, Fantasmic package 2007 and had a good meal and even better service. The food is basic, but more than just edible. If we were doing the package I'd return there. If we just wanted dinner there are other places on our do over list. When we went there were serveral items that we quite good that the OP never mentioned:
- Baked salmon, mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes?
- I skipped the dessert table because we made Orange floats (soft server ice cream with our orange sodas, yum)

This was our last TS meal at WDW. After Narcoossee's, Coral Reef and Boma H&V is going to be very ordinary.

 

[flannaga]

My daughter who will be turning 8 chose Hollywood and Vine for her birthday celebration dinner. I'm not sure what it was that made her pick this restaurant (I expected her to pick a character dining experience) of all of them. I helped her read about all of the restaurants online, and in some of the guidebooks. So I decided to pair it with the F! Dining Package.

She is really excited about this and I'm sure she won't want to change. Besides, we're going during Spring Break (ours is the last week of March) and not sure I could get a ADR for whatever her 2nd choice would be anyway.

I was already a little nervous about the F! part of the package based on the information from people who have been recently...

Guess we'll keep our ADR's and hope for the best.

 

[trinaweena]

I was already a little nervous about the F! part of the package based on the information from people who have been recently...

What have you heard? I've been wondering if the package is worth it but haven't heard too much from people who have done it

 

[JLS]

I agree with this. We have been to Disney numerous times and eaten at nearly every sit down restaurant in WDW. We are pretty easy to please. Hollywood and Vine is one of the only WDW restaurants that I did not enjoy and felt was a ripoff. The only reason we went is because of our 3 year old who loves the Little Einsteins/Playhouse Disney.

The lunch buffet is expensive enough, and we also had to pay the in-season surcharge of $4 per person or something. I think my son's lunch buffet was like $16. Completely ridiculous. But if the food was excellent I would be happy to pay it. The food selections were very poor/boring, nothing looked particularly appetizing and it tasted marginal at best. Nothing was truly disgusting, but it wasn't good either. The desert selection was awful and the ice cream machine kept breaking down.

The character interaction also wasn't great. We waited forever for my son's favorite, June, to come by. She never did and we had to ask a server to have her come over to our side (several others were waiting for her too).

All in all, not an experience I would ever choose to repeat. If your kids have to see Playhouse Disney characters, I would suggest the live experience on stage at the Studios. I would not say avoid this place at all costs if the characters are a must, but just know you will be getting marginal to low quality food at very high prices.

 

[tazdev3225]

I'm another person in the minority. I had serious reservations after reading reports about H&V on here but had the Fantasmic package and kept my reservations. We did have a 15 minute wait for our table but that's not a big deal. The server we had was great and brought drink refills without our asking. The food was plentiful and I thought it was good. The desserts were decent also. I was with my DH and very picky 10 y/o DGS. They both went back for thirds. The restaurant was also clean. The restrooms were a little dirty but it seemed as though they were shared with the restaurant that is attached. My DH has already stated that he wants to eat there again in December.

 

[Binnie]

Perhaps we got lucky, but we had a great time at H&V for Lunch in November. DD LOVED the characters, and our server was great--very attentive. The food was nothing to write home about, but it wasn't bad, either.

 

[Disneydonnam]

We have reservations for the Playhouse Buffet. Does anybody think that is any good?