I know that I will be in the total minority here, but we did H&V when we did the FDP during Spring Break 2007. We had a 4:10 ADR. F! was at 7:00 PM.
We were among the early attendees to the buffet. There was virtually no one checking in at that time. The restaurant was fairly empty when we got there. The food was fresh. DH and I LOVED the corn spoonbread? I think it was called. We had also eaten at CP this same trip, and the food quality was similar. The choice of desserts at H&V was the greatest of the buffets we tried on that trip also. Our server was very nice and put our sodas into to go cups for us.
As we left, the waiting area was filled with people. The restaurant had filled up and was much louder. After reading a few others that had a good experience like us, I find that the common factor seems to be to be among the earlier ADRs of the evening.
The earlier ADR was very nice. There was time to ride the FP we had gotten before dinner. And walk around and do a couple of other things before sitting again for the show.
Especially with a group of people, I would opt for the buffet. Sometimes, a larger group gets the short end of the stick in a table service situation, taking longer. The buffet wouldn't have the same effect for a larger grouper.