Hollywood & Vine Character Lunch?

[chunky_azz]

Ok I have read plenty of bad reviews on this place, i'd like to hear opinions about lunch, surely there was someone out there who liked it, also does anyone have pics or could you direct me in the right place for pics. We are mainly eating here for Handy Manny but i'd like to think there is something we would enjoy.

 

[brendaziz]

I've done it twice. Lunch is FAR better than dinner. It's really not all bad. But it's def not amazing cuisine. There's a decent assortment and my kids had enough to eat. the characters were great and it was good enough to go back. I wouldn't run screaming from it but sorry, no pics to share.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

Dinner in 2008.... it was OK.... not really nice.... nothing special... a very low quality buffet... Went for the character lunch in 2009, only went back for the characters. Still very low quality food... This was like an all you can eat chain buffet but much more limited selection, very limited. The characters? You can see Little Einstein characters in the park. We didn't have a miserable lunch... we ate, interacted with the characters, DS liked the music, service was good. It's just the food was so boring and there are characters everywhere in Hollywood studios.

Honestly, there are better places to spend your money. We thought some of the food at SciFi was not great... but we enjoyed the movies and the car tables and the burgers, fries, and onion rings were pretty good! Mama Melrose was good but nothing exciting. We are looking forward to 50s Prime Time - this seems to be the place to go....

I wouldn't do breakfast at H&V either because, I think it's very important to do as much as you can in the morning at Hollywood Studios before the crowds roll in.

 

[Michigan_Minnie]

We did the breakfast here and it was great.

 

[Cafeen]

Did lunch here last Sept (so, pre-Handy Manny) and it was ok. It wasn't horrible but it wasn't great either. Selection was enough for us, but noticably smaller than other buffets we did (CP dinner, CM breakfast, 1900PF breakfast). Characters were good, even if the little one didn't know JoJo or Goliath .

 

[missycj96]

We were there in April. I was surprised at how good it was. We booked a lunch for our last day and we were on the dining plan. It was not too crowded. There was loads of character interaction and the CM played with the kids throughout a good part of the meal. I also liked the food - there was a beef short ribs that I thought tasted a lot like the pot roast at prime time. I was surprised that the food was so tasty as I, too had heard bad reviews so I avoided it previously. It turned out to be one of our most enjoyable meals.

The lunch is definately best for families with small children (we took DD4) as it was a great overall experience. One thing - the characters are dated. I know they just added Handy Manny. But still, DD4 doesn't know JoJo and the Einsteins are certainly not the most popular now. I can't understand why it is a big deal to update the characters there.

I would definately do this again - especially with a young child on the dining plan.

 

[Eliza'sMom]

We did the breakfast here and it was great.

I am so glad to read this! We just booked an 8:05 breakfast for our fall trip. I am not that big on buffets in general and was hesitant after reading all the bad reviews, though most are not for breakfast. But DD LOVES Little Einsteins and meeting Handy Manny and Annie and Leo was about the highlight of our last trip. We figured she'll only be this little once, so even mediocre food will be worth it if we get to watch her have the time of her life at breakfast.

 

[jdisnut]

You acknowledged in the original post that you booked a meal at Hollywood & Vine exclusively for the characters. I think you have the right attitude. The quality of the food is virtually irrelevant in your situation. Your children won't care about what they're eating simply because Handy Manny is walking around the room. And no matter how lackluster the food may be, seeing your kids' faces while they are interacting with their favorite character make everything worthwhile.

The food at Hollywood & Vine is mediocre, but it doesn't matter. That's not why you're going. If you are looking for a nice meal, there are plenty of restaurants on Disney property offering that experience. Hollywood & Vine provides something different, and that's an opportunity to make memories more powerful than the average lunch.

 

[jenb1023]

H&V food is good at lunch - not great but not terrible. BUT, the character interaction is worth every penny for the little ones that love those characters!