Is Hollywood and Vine really THAT bad?

[ForEver2016]

We were thinking about doing Minnie’s Seasonal Dine (for dinner) during Halloween season. We will be here for a short-ish trip and it would be great to knock out the fab 4 during a meal, and based on our schedule this may be the only option. We will be celebrating my son’s 3rd birthday while there and part of the excitement for him is MNSSHP and I think it would be fun to add some more Halloween-ish fun to the trip (especially since I don’t think we’ll have time to meet Mickey during our MNSSHP). But - I’ve heard terrible things about this restaurant. What are your thoughts about the quality of food here for the seasonal dine dinners?

 

[KJTex]

It was 5 plus years ago the last time I went there. Food was not good in my opinion. But my kids liked the food just fine and they really liked the characters (it was Little Einsteins back then). They were happy so I was happy. I would do it again if it meant they got to meet characters they wanted to see.

 

[SillySallySews]

I’ve always enjoyed this restaurant. It’s certainly not anything gourmet, but what they have, in my experience, has always been fresh, delicious, and well prepared. I like that there are lots of things offered here that my kids will eat without me having to explain what it is. If this restaurant has one fault I think it’s that some of the tables are a little too close together. I know it’s not the specific meal you are going for, but I think breakfast here is the best. The characters have always been great!

 

[Dakota731]

We tried a ton of character meals last year and we thought this was one of the better ones.

 

[mco65]

Buffet style. So, at least in my case, you can always find something you like.. but it was not something i think 'boy, we have to eat here again.'

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

It's not bad at all. The food isn't 5 star quality, but we found it to be hot, fresh, and plentiful. The characters are the real star of the show. If you are looking for a decent meal and really fun character interaction, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend H&V!

 

[Schneewittchen37]

It's a buffet, and no worse than what you would get at Chef Mickey's or the Crystal Palace. And yes, there were characters to entertain the kids.

I'm not wildly enthusiastic about the food at any of them but Hollywood & Vine had some okay cold seafood options during our last visit and the AC was cold. Everybody found something they were willing to eat and the salad bar is varied as well.

And like every other buffet dessert I've seen, the desserts look beautiful but taste like cardboard. DH like to say they're built for transport, not taste. Also, they never wilt in the heat. Imagine biting into Crisco/flour paste....

 

[sullyfam]

Given your situation and the fact that you will have a 3 year old with you, it sounds like a good fit. No, the food isn't anything spectacular, but it's standard Disney buffet so the expectations should be tempered a bit regardless. Have fun!

 

[MomOTwins]

It was 5 plus years ago the last time I went there. Food was not good in my opinion. But my kids liked the food just fine and they really liked the characters (it was Little Einsteins back then). They were happy so I was happy. I would do it again if it meant they got to meet characters they wanted to see.

It has had a completely different dinner for about two years. The characters are different--now mickey minnie goofy donald and daisy--and the new food menu is really very good. We've eaten there 5 or 6 times since the menu change and my husband and I always remark on how interesting and tasty the seasonal dishes are.

 

[Vickie1016]

We tried lunch two weeks ago. There was a good variety to please each of us (myself, DH & DD13) as well as the other family we were traveling with. The food was hot, nice selection of cold salads (which was refreshing on such a HOT park day). The restaurant was not busy at all & the characters came over many times to visit with the girls. The CM was very nice, cleared plates quickly. The desserts were ok, nothing memorable.

During past trips, we had breakfast here & that is good as well.

 

[MarkinNM]

Have it booked for 8AM on our SWGE day, yes Aug 29th and was hoping breakfast is just that, simple stuff.....any recent experances on the breakfast?

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

We’ve eaten there every trip for the last 5 trips and this past June it was not good. Even my husband said it had declined and he’s oblivious to that type of thing.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Didn't care for the food. The kids food was better and that's pretty much what I ate.
ETA: I would think breakfast was much better. We did lunch as that was when the characters were there.

 

[KenHutch]

In in order from good to bad. Character interaction was great. Food meh to bad depending on what you got. I cannot comment more because I can eat none of the pork dishes and there were a lot. Wait staff, the single worst in WDW. Trip #1 and the guy cleaning tables left a cart of dirty dishes beside us for an hour even after we asked that it be moved. Well we gave it another try. Trip #3 we waited on a waitress to take our drink orders. Fifteen minutes later no waitress so everyone but me went to get their food. Another 15 minutes she finally shows up sees the kids eating and says "so you need drinks?". Glad we got them because for the next hour she is no where to be found. When we were getting ready to leave she show up with the bill and reminds me that while the 18% was mandatory I could tip more. I really believe that if you cant work any other restaurant successfully they send you here.

 

[Missyrose]

Have it booked for 8AM on our SWGE day, yes Aug 29th and was hoping breakfast is just that, simple stuff.....any recent experances on the breakfast?

Even Disney can't screw up breakfast

 

[MarkinNM]

Even Disney can't screw up breakfast

HA one can only hope!!!

 

[Duck143]

We've had breakfast here a few times and have always enjoyed it.

 

[MomOTwins]

Have it booked for 8AM on our SWGE day, yes Aug 29th and was hoping breakfast is just that, simple stuff.....any recent experances on the breakfast?

Yep--it is a pretty standard Disney breakfast buffet. Breakfast has the Disney Jr characters (Lunch/Dinner are Mickey and crew). I will note that if you there for SWGE, the park opens at 6am on August 29, so an 8am breakfast would either cut into your SWGE time if you get there at 6am, or else mean you are likely going to be on a waitlist for SWGE if you don't go there until after your breakfast.

 

[MarkinNM]

Yep--it is a pretty standard Disney breakfast buffet. Breakfast has the Disney Jr characters (Lunch/Dinner are Mickey and crew). I will note that if you there for SWGE, the park opens at 6am on August 29, so an 8am breakfast would either cut into your SWGE time if you get there at 6am, or else mean you are likely going to be on a waitlist for SWGE if you don't go there until after your breakfast.

That is our plan, get there early and if it does indeed dig into our SWGE time then bam, wont go.....but was hoping to at least get into some kind of virtual queue then take in HS until a time pops up and this was planned before SWGE was scheduled to open!

 

[Lisa F]

I went in 2016 for the christmas one and character interaction was stellar, food was decent. Typical buffet but tasty and fresh with some stuff better than others. Would do it again if I wanted the characters.