Is Hollywood & Vine really that bad??

[Hopefully]

Yes, it is that bad, and my expectations were low.
The hot food was not hot, the cold things were not cold, and the food was nasty.
Our waitress was rude and we sat amisdt dirty, unbussed tables.
The Ladies Room was disgusting.
This is one of only two restaurants in all of WDW that we will NOT return to.

 

[StacyMarie]

YUCK! We will never eat there again!

 

[plutosgirl]

I've always been afraid to try this also because of the reviews...would hate to waste a meal on something we really didn't care for.

We always have fun at Prime Time and the shakes are GREAT!

 

[Brit_Jude]

We ate both the breakfast to get early entry to the park and dinner for the Fantansmic package on our trip in July. We did not have a problem with the food and our servers were great both times. The servers were responsive and great with refiling the drinks and getting our bar orders for the adults at dinner etc.

I would not call the food outstanding but for a buffet it was good. For breakfast we had 8 people and for dinner 12 and for our large group with picky eeaters and age ranges from 7 to 70 they all found foods on the buffet that they liked and kept going back up for more.

Now for a fun atmosphere I would go for 50's primtime but I don't find the food there outstanding either, good but not outstanding and it can be slow. Espcially waiting to get your table even with an ADR and it eats into my park time.

 

[Brit_Jude]

Yes, it is that bad, and my expectations were low.
The hot food was not hot, the cold things were not cold, and the food was nasty.
Our waitress was rude and we sat amisdt dirty, unbussed tables.
The Ladies Room was disgusting.
This is one of only two restaurants in all of WDW that we will NOT return to.

The ladies room is shared with 50's Primtime Diner so it can get busy in there and is probably too small to accomdate both restaurants.

 

[Ava]

I've done the Fantasmic package at H&V a few times, last time being in 2006, and always thought it was fine. Everyone in my party found something they liked to eat, and I didn't find the service or cleanliness of the restaurant to be any better/worse than any other buffet in WDW. It's not the greatest meal ever, but it's decent & the reserved seating at Fantasmic makes it worth it to me.

 

[doclegler]

We have done H&V a few times now and really HATED it last time. The buffet food was awful! My kids didn't even like the KIDS food b/c it was cold and dried out. The main buffet had cold cuts (NOT a buffet food imho!) and really gross mashed potatoes.
We would do the reservation for our youngest and for the Fantasmic pkg, but it just isn't worth it anymore. Besides, the seats for Fantasmic are definitely NOT ideal and it would be much more worthwhile to grab quick service food and wait it out in a GOOD seat.
Sorry, nothing good to say about H&V from here. Even the characters stunk last year! (but I know they've changed now).

 

[momtotaryn]

A lot of restaurants are like that. Everyone has their own opinions on the food and the experience. The best thing is to try it for yourself.

We've never done dinner at H&V but we've done the breakfast and loved it.

I'd hate to use our DDP credits or spend $$$ on a restaurant that has such negative comments from so many people. Why take the chance? If people said the food was "OK" or "I didn't like it", then maybe...but hate or never go back again?

 

[50sgirl12]

We went there last summer and the food was really good. Not your typical buffet food either. And their daquiri and long island were REALLY strong.

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

There is no way we would ever eat at H&V again, the food was disgusting, the service was non existant and the restaurant was a mess.

I completely agree! Maybe we would try it again now that they have changed the characters, but I will not expect a fantastic meal. Our last time there was a disaster.

 

[nancycg56]

We'll NEVER go back ~ plenty of other places to eat

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I was worried the first time I ate there after reading so many bad reviews and it was fine. The service was great, and the food was comparable to places like Chef Mickey's or Crystal Palace.

 

[speakupjc]

We would suggest either the Mama Melrose or Hollywood Brown Derby package. We did not care for Hollywood and Vine.

 

[WinchesterVol]

We ate at H&V last Tuesday for the Fantasmic! Dinner Package - never again! The food was horrendous, the place was a mess and the service was non-existent! The place wasn't even that busy - there were lots of empty tables. My DH had to stand up and lean across the drink prep area to get the attention of our waitress to get a refill. We had to tip 18% because we were a party of 10 and our part came out to be around $20. We are good tippers and I believe giving extra when the service is good, but I don't agree in having to tip 18% when the service is lousy! We had great service at the other restaurants but just not here. To top it off, we didn't get seats to Fantasmic!, we had to stand in the back which was the only reason I booked the package.

 

[KatMark]

Let's put it this way. I HATE McDonald's. But I would eat at McDonald's for a month straight before I would EVER eat at H&V (or WCC) again at Disney.

 

[neodymm]

Wow, there are some strong feelings about H&V. We've eaten there many times for bkfst and lunch for the Play N Dine atmosphere. It is a typical buffet, some things are good, some are ok, some things I left on my plate. But, we've never had bad service there, we've actually been surprised with "extras" to celebrate special occasions that they've noticed from our buttons we were wearing. I think you can't compare this to any of the better Disney dining options, but if you expect a buffet type experience, you won't be disappointed. I actually think the service is better here than at Crystal Palace or Chef Mickey's.

DD has outgrown the interest in the Play N Dine atmosphere, so I doubt we will be back there. But, we didn't dread it for the several years that we had to eat there.

But, dinner in HS should be at Hollywood Brown Derby, IMO.

Keep in mind that if you read through this forum you will find fans and avoiders for every restaurant. Sometimes you just have to decide for yourself. But, if you go in with the expectation that it will be horrible, then it probably will be!

Good Luck and I hope you get to enjoy Fantasmic!!

 

[DisneyFamily123]

I'd say it depends on what you're looking for. We had dinner at H&V in 2008 and lunch in 2009. Was the food great? No. Did we find some good things on the buffet to eat? Sure. I'd say it's about the quality of your chain buffet restaurant like Golden Corral which costs about $10-15 per person. H&V is about twice that. The only reason we returned for lunch in 2009 was for the characters (breakfast and lunch only). On the other hand, being a buffet, you could make it a quick meal if you are in a hurrry.

We had fantasmic package dinner dinner at Mama Melrose in 2009. Not the best in the world, but pretty good. On our next trip, we are doing Brown Derby (fantasmic package again) even though it's 2 DDP credits, just to try something new.

I have not been to 50s Prime Time yet, but based on the review, I'm really looking forward to it. If I was only eating one table service in Hollywood Studios, I think I'd eat here for lunch.... get counter service for dinner... and eat it while in the regular line for Fantasmic.

 

[2cdnprincesses]

We had lunch there in June, and the food and service were both fine. The girls (3 and 5) had soooo much fun with Jojo, Handy Manny, Leo and June that we're definitely going to have lunch there again for our next Disney trip.

 

[temom]

Food Is a hands down bad . The chefs were fantastic with support for DS With special diet. The servers were poor and generally disinterested and the food was bland at best/No imagination.

For the chaos and noise level you are better off going to Pizza Planet

We will not return to H&V

 

[jlm]

We do it for the Fantasmic pkg...it's not fabulous....but it's not terrible. It's a buffet~which has some good stuff and some you can pass on.
The service is not all that great from our past experience....but we are doing it again this trip for the package.
Jen