Hollywood and Vine

[HollVoll]

Last year I thought about making reservations at H&V, but ya'll scared me off. If we go again this year, I've thought about it as my little guy loves Little Einsteins.

1. If you didn't like it, why? I can live with typical food, but I don't want nasty. LOL!

2. Is it tight? I loved how open it was at Chef Mickey's, but the Crystal Palace tables were packed tight and it was frustrating.

3. How is the character interaction?

4. Any suggestions as to the best meal of the day?

THANKS so much!

 

[eelkmj01]

We enjoyed lunch the best. Character interaction was very good, the food was tasty. We weren't crammed and had a great time. Didn't enjoy dinner as much. And if you're going after next week, Handy Manny will be there with JoJo and the Einsteins!

 

[PoohsFan1]

We have never been to the character meal there (kids are too old for PHD ) but we had eaten there for dinner once. The food was just not that great, except for my corn chowder that I had....that was awesome. And the Pina Colava that I ordered was not made right, it was more of a slushy rather than the creamy smooth drink that I am used to. There were tables that looked like they had not been cleaned in a while and lots of food on the floor, but I guess that is what you should expect at a buffet , even though other buffets on Disney property are always clean and well kept. We were just not impressed with it at all, especially for the amount of $$ that they wanted for the buffet, if it were cheaper than I would consider returning...maybe.

I do want to add that I am only an opinion, and if you really would like the try it out, especially for the characters, then by all means go for it. Take everything you hear with a grain of salt on these boards. What we didn't like about the food and atmosphere there, you may have a totally different attitude about. Good luck.

 

[lumpy08]

We did the H & V our last trip with the Fantasmic package. It was the only ADR I could get to get into Fantasmic. I kept reading on the boards of all the negative reviews. I had seven people in my group and not one complained about the food. That was my one reservation that I was worried about. It is funny... I always hear how people love Crystal Palace and that was the one meal that they all didn't care for. And the people on the boards always seem to love that one.

 

[bradyloganmom]

We always do the Fantasmic package at H & V. Remember each is entitled to his own opinion, but we have always ENJOYED the food. Remember that there are no characters at dinner.

 

[HollVoll]

We always do the Fantasmic package at H & V. Remember each is entitled to his own opinion, but we have always ENJOYED the food. Remember that there are no characters at dinner.

Thanks! I had missed that info.

 

[Faldred]

H&V for breakfast is fine -- you really have to work hard to screw up breakfast.

If you're sitting by the windows (as we were), you get a lot of light (depending, of course, on the daily weather). It was also (for us), not crowded at all. We had an 8:00 AM non-EMH ADR and at least half the tables were empty the whole time.

The characters are great, and the relatively light crowd means a lot of interaction.

 

[gortman65]

For anyone who has been to H&V for breakfast recently, which characters did you see? We were last there in 2008 and it was Jo-Jo, Goliath, Leo, and June. Am I right in assuming that Handy Manny won't be added to the lineup until May 8 or 9?

Thanks.

 

[maitlynn]

We've only done H&V for dinner and the Fantasmic packge.

One, the food was the least favorite of any i've had at WDW (SC included) there were a few ok items on the buffett but i would not go back.

Two we ended up hating Fantasmic (LOVE the original Fantasmic at D-Land) so we were really bummed.

That being said... If I had a little one that was insnae for the characters there at breakfast, I'd more than likely do it again and let them have that interaction. Like someone said above it's pretty hard to screw up breakfast!

Good luck and have fun.

 

[sdoll]

If your son likes Little Einsteins go for it. We went last year while our boys were in the middle of a serious love of Little Einsteins. It was the hightlight of our trip. My shy son was dancing around and smiling ear to ear. I have to admit even if the food was awful(which it was not) I would have left the happiest, proudest mom just the same. I also would have been willing to go back for a 2nd breakfast if my husband wasn't with us. My boys loved it. My DS4 was in love with June at the time. We have a picture of him kissing her that melts my heart everyday. I have it as my screen saver at work as a reminder of why I work hard everyday. So my advise...Go forget the food which we enjoyed and enjoy watching your kids face light up when the Little Einsteins approach them the first time.

 

[dato63]

We had breakfast here in 2008. The place was pretty empty. Was rather nice.

The food was fine. My Dh was tickled that had things other buffets didn't - like chorizo. The character interaction was great. They came up for pics/autographs - and they led the kids in a parade. A CM came out and sang songs with the kids - like the hot dog song from the Mickey Mouse show.

LIke others have said, even if the food had been bad we would have been fine with it - the joy on our DDs faces when they got to meet JoJo and June would have been worth it. But there was nothing wrong at all with the breakfast.

 

[suerob]

We LOVE H&V for lunch. It is a bit chaotic but it's a must do for our family. Even the older kids love going there. We love the fun atmosphere, the food, and of course, the characters!

 

[fairyprincess1]

My son loves PHD & we ate here last spring for breakfast - regular breakfast buffet but seeing the little Einsteins was great - I am happy the Handy Manny is coming since my DS5 loves him, so we are booked to return in June... I think the tables here are adequately spaced (more so than at Ohana where you are pratically sitting with your neighbor). So if your kids are into PHD - then go for it.

 

[jdisnut]

If you're son likes the characters, definitely go to Hollywood & Vine. The food isn't great, and the place is chaotic, but seeing your son interact with his favorite characters will make all of that irrelevant. In this situation, don't consider reviews. You will forget what you ate that day, but you will always remember the other moments surrounding the meal.

 

[tiredsigh]

A CM came out and sang songs with the kids - like the hot dog song from the Mickey Mouse show.

LIke others have said, even if the food had been bad we would have been fine with it - the joy on our DDs faces when they got to meet JoJo and June would have been worth it. But there was nothing wrong at all with the breakfast.

I don't really look forward to the food here, but we are doing lunch next week for the reason you mentioned. My almost 3 year old loves PHD If someone comes out singing the hot dog song... my little guy will be

 

[ROEDISNEY]

I did the same thing but not this year I will try it and see for myself. Everybody is different and there are so many different opinions on here. Will be there on Sep 7th.

 

[Melanie230]

I am so happy to see this thread. We are going to the H&V because we want the Fantasmic package. The only ressie they had left on the day we needed was 3:35 in the afternoon. I have heard the food isn't great...but we will just have to make our own decision!

 

[Simba22]

We actually made a dinner ressie at H & V for our upcoming trip in October at the recommendation of my brother in law. He worked at H & V as part of the College Program and he loved it. When he came back to CT after the 6 month program was over, he was appalled at how restaurants here are run in comparison to H & V. He never had the chance to work in other restaurants while he was in WDW, but he said H & V actually has some pretty decent food. Based on the opinions of other DISers, I'm still really nervous about this one, but I'm willing to give it a try.

 

[tamis]

We had a great time at H&V last year. The characters made it around a couple of times to see my kids (not overly busy that day) and they had the kids get up and dance with cast members and characters. All 3 of my boys had a great time. We had ADR's around 10:15 (breakfast time), and while we were there they started the switch-over to lunch so we got a nice variety of food.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

We've eaten here for breakfast several times and each time was great. The characters are so adorable and sweet here too! My youngest DD was 5 when we went the 1st time and she was just bouncing with excitement over it all. Even though they didn't know Jojo and Goliath well, it was still fun for them. Of course the Little Einsteins were charming, fun and very sweet.

As far as the restaurant goes, I like the decor. It has a subtle, cool art deco feel. We didn't feel cramped at all, the tables are not on top of each other here. The food is delicious and my DH went wild over the corned beef hash stuff. Plenty of variety and we left with very full stomachs! If your little one is into Little Einsteins at all, this place is perfect. It's a more laid back breakfast buffet and we now do this one every time we go.