Garden Grove or Hollywood & Vine Character Dinner

[DizMagic]

We are heading back to the world in September for my 40th BDAY!! I was wanting to have a character meal (with the classics) on my actual bday. Can you guys weigh in on whether you liked Garden Grove or Hollywood & Vine better. We should be there for the Minnie's Halloween at H&V. There will be 3 adults, no children. We've tried all the other character meals before, so I really just wanted to try one of these. Looking for good food and good character interaction - I understand both are buffet meals, so the food won't be superior, but is one historically better than the other?

 

[cartydog]

We did the Garden Grove for lunch in January. It was great. The food was all you can eat family style rather than a buffet. The food was really good. And there were hardly any people eating when we were there, so the characters came around at least 3 or 4 times.
We've only done Hollywood and Vine once several years ago, and it was meh.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We are heading back to the world in September for my 40th BDAY!! I was wanting to have a character meal (with the classics) on my actual bday. Can you guys weigh in on whether you liked Garden Grove or Hollywood & Vine better. We should be there for the Minnie's Halloween at H&V. There will be 3 adults, no children. We've tried all the other character meals before, so I really just wanted to try one of these. Looking for good food and good character interaction - I understand both are buffet meals, so the food won't be superior, but is one historically better than the other?

We did the Garden Grove for lunch in January. It was great. The food was all you can eat family style rather than a buffet. The food was really good. And there were hardly any people eating when we were there, so the characters came around at least 3 or 4 times.
We've only done Hollywood and Vine once several years ago, and it was meh.

Is the question about Garden Grove at the Swan (which is a buffet) or Garden Grill in EP (which is AYCTE)?

Garden Grove at the Swan has better food, but they only have Pluto and Goofy at dinner. It is a much more subdued experience than H&V. If you are looking for better food, I would go here.

H&V is super chaotic and the food is mediocre, but the characters will be super cute in their costumes. If you want more character interactions and can deal with mediocre food, I would go here.

Garden Grill is super cute and, as PP mentioned, is AYCTE. The food isn't great, but Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale are awesome. It's also a little more subdued than H&V. Of the three, this would probably be my first choice.

 

[JerseyJanice]

If you're considering the Garden Grove in the Swan, go on Friday or Saturday night for their Seafood Sensation buffet. The crab legs there are excellent. Big and meaty. If you have AAA, you can get a 20% discount bringing the price for an adult before tax and tip to under $30.

I'm not sure what the pricing is at the Garden Grill in Epcot or H&V in Hollywood Studios or if any discounts are available, but the price at the Garden Grove is probably less. Last I checked, H&V was $50ish a head.

 

[DizMagic]

To clarify, yes - I was comparing Garden Grove in Swan to H&V. I have done the Garden Grill before, and it was lovely.

 

[cartydog]

My bad, I thought it was the one in EPCOT.

 

[Lynne M]

Moving this to the Restaurants board.

 

[kmv]

I have never done the Garden Grove dinner but I have had H&V dinner twice. Both times I can say were the worst meals I've had at Disney. Food was disgusting and the place was dirty. We only went the second time bc of the Star Wars dinner but I will never spend another meal in that place.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

We went H&V in October. We wanted to see the characters in Halloween costumes and got reserved seating for Fantasmic. The service was good and the characters were really cute. We have been to WDW numerous times and have been to most character meals. The Halloween costume photo ops was the draw for us.... luckily. The food was the worst we have probably ever had at WDW. It was not inedible, but we paid close to $200 for a meal that was mediocre, at best.

I might consider doing it again if we could get another season of costumes AND free dining, otherwise, it is not a place we would return.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I have never done the Garden Grove dinner but I have had H&V dinner twice. Both times I can say were the worst meals I've had at Disney. Food was disgusting and the place was dirty. We only went the second time bc of the Star Wars dinner but I will never spend another meal in that place.

This is exactly what happened to us. Our last meal there was for the Jedi Mickey dinner during the last Star Wars weekend event. It was AWFUL!