Tell me about H&V for breakfast/lunch....

[llori7]

We went last year for dinner to get the fantasmic package, but I didn't really care for it. Is lunch or breakfast better? I need one more TS, and my 2 year old loves the Little Einsteins. If we don't go here, can we meet the Little Einsteins anywhere in the park??

Thanks!

 

[java]

The food was eh. to say the best at breakfast. When we went the selections were very very limited- and not terribly hot. But it was scrambled bacon potatoes kind of breakfast and it was fine.

Going here is for the "show" not the food.

 

[jcemom]

Hmm... we really enjoyed breakfast. There weren't a thousand choices but there was plenty for us. We all found more than enough to eat, and it seemed the standard breakfast buffet fare to us -- sausage, bacon, eggs, waffles, muffins, donuts, biscuits and gravy, etc.

The character interaction was great. Our ADR was very close to the end of the breakfast seating and the place was clearing out so DD got lots of attention from the characters, especially Leo.

I have lunch booked for our upcoming trip because they changed the breakfast hours. It used to run until 11:20 but now ends at 10:20 or something like that. We have an 11:15 lunch. I hope we're not disappointed. It seems that they get better breakfast reviews and lunch reviews are much more mixed. I'd rather go for breakfast but the times just don't work so well for us.

 

[eventamy]

We really enjoyed breakfast too! The characters were great, the food was good and there was plenty to choose from (I'm vegetarian and my husband's not). My husband liked it so much he asked if we can go back. We're not only because I've chosen to try some other character meals this time, but we would absolutely do it again! We loved it!

 

[Golden Rose]

We went for breakfast because DS loves the Little Einsteins, too, and it was the worst meal of that trip. Yes, there were many options, but much of the food was cold and several items, particularly the eggs, got that sitting out too long on a buffet texture. We had trouble getting anything to drink from our waitress, and to top it all off, DS (then age 2.5) was terrified of the characters.

Seriously, worst meal of the trip.

 

[jenjersnap]

Breakfast is better than dinner. Basic food. My boys love the characters and the little dancing show the emcees do. It's not a must do but we've gone three times now and it's been fine every time.

 

[Taylor'sMom]

We really enjoyed the food and the character interaction. Our kids are beyond the age for Little Einsteins now, but my friend still wants to go back for the food!

 

[funfam]

The food at lunch was fine. The character interaction was wonderful! JoJo colored with my cousin's daughter and flirted with my 14 year old son! My 2 year old loved the interaction with Leo. All in all, the charaters made this meal one of the best we had on our trip.

 

[MomtoAlexnWilliam]

Terrific Character interaction! We went last week and the kids had a blast here. My husband and I kept telling ourselves that we weren't there for the food -- which was good, not great.

If your little one likes JoJo and Goliath and the little Einsteins it is well worth it!

 

[savvy?71]

I asked about H&V /Play & Dine before our trip (first week of Dec). The majority of posters adamantly did NOT recommend H&V.

We held onto the lunch ADR, kind of waiting to see if we ended up at DHS at the right time. We hadn't had any big lunch meals, and were at DHS all morning. So we got right in at our 11:20 lunch.

It was one of the better meals and character interactions! It certainly beat out Chef Mickey this trip (I was severely disappointed at CM; the entire thing was rushed and the breakfast food was in poor shape).

Maybe because we were first seated for the lunch buffet at HV, the food happened to be top notch, warm, fresh? The selection was wild! So many options (and I don't eat meat, yet there was still plenty). Everything tasted delicious too (we were all raving, and my mom doesn't like ANYTHING )

My husband is 'meh' with buffets but even he was impressed.

High scores for cleanliness, too.

Now, my 2 toddlers aren't so into JoJo, but of course they *swooned* at meeting her and Goliath (who is adorable). The characters spent a remarkable amount of time with the kids (the place wasn't packed, so that might have helped), lots of goofing around and laughs, and hugs.

Of the Little Einsteins, Leo and June (June is my dd3's favorite of that group) were there, and my daughter happened to 'match' June's purple attire and head band, so they were adorable together (my dd also has dark hair and eyes so they made quite a pair). Again, lots of interaction, multiple 'visits'.

I was pleasantly surprised, as the reviews were not at all good. I might have just been lucky and hit it at the right time, but we'd go again based on our experience. Again it was lunch, no Fantasmic show.

 

[Mkrop]

We enjoyed our breakfast at H&V and the kids like the character interaction. We were there when they changed over for lunch so we were allowed to eat from that as well. The lunch servings did not taste good at all!

Other places to meet the Playhouse Disney characters are outside the Playhouse Disney Live Show. They have Leo, June, Annie and Quincy. Handy Manny is also there. I think Jojo and Goliath as well. They rotate so you may have to stop by there if you want to see them all.

 

[jcemom]

savvy?71 -- thank you for the review. I asked DH if he thought I should change our lunch ADR to breakfast and he said no. He felt that we should keep the more convenient time and give lunch a try. I'm happy to hear that you had a good experience. Our ADR is for 11:15 so very close to what you had. I hope we enjoy it as much as you did.

 

[savvy?71]

savvy?71 -- thank you for the review. I asked DH if he thought I should change our lunch ADR to breakfast and he said no. He felt that we should keep the more convenient time and give lunch a try. I'm happy to hear that you had a good experience. Our ADR is for 11:15 so very close to what you had. I hope we enjoy it as much as you did.

I hope you have a great experience, too!

Bad meals bum me out (I am still chapped about the Chef Mickey breakfast!), so I know how that can affect the whole time -- especially when you consider the cost of these places.

I meant to add that the dessert selection was impressive, too. The ice cream station, trays of bite-sized morsels like carrot cake triangles (these were SO good), mousse cups, cheese cake minis, basic cup cakes, mini-pie/pudding cups (with both white and dark chocolate shavings) apple berry crisp and a bread pudding station that was constantly replaced with new batches....and probably a couple things I am forgetting.

We basically were rolled out of there, and we aren't big eaters

 

[colinsdad]

I can't speak to lunch, but my son loved the BF. The character interaction is some of the best at Disney. Is it expensive for what you get? Yup. But to me its worth the $$ to see my son smiling and dancing with the characters.

Food is a typical BF buffett. Cereal, yogurt, fruit, eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, waffles/pancakes, breakfast burritos, and mto omlets. Its really no different from the other buffett bf's.

We've done it the last 3 visits and will continue to do it until DS grows out of it.

 

[jcemom]

I hope you have a great experience, too!

Bad meals bum me out (I am still chapped about the Chef Mickey breakfast!), so I know how that can affect the whole time -- especially when you consider the cost of these places.

I meant to add that the dessert selection was impressive, too. The ice cream station, trays of bite-sized morsels like carrot cake triangles (these were SO good), mousse cups, cheese cake minis, basic cup cakes, mini-pie/pudding cups (with both white and dark chocolate shavings) apple berry crisp and a bread pudding station that was constantly replaced with new batches....and probably a couple things I am forgetting.

We basically were rolled out of there, and we aren't big eaters

We're not big eaters either, and not terribly picky, so the more I think about it the more certain I am we'll be fine with it.

I've only ever had one bad meal at WDW out of many trips -- Chef Mickey's.

It was lunch a couple years ago during free dining, the first meal of our trip, and my DD's birthday. First off we didn't care for the food, just not much to choose from, not replenished, and what we felt were odd items that didn't go together to make a meal. Then to top it off our server was terrible. It was when the tip was still included in the DDP so he still got his 18% despite his bad service, or lack of service I should say. I had ordered a cake for DD and when it came out it wasn't what I ordered and it was more frosting than cake. Plus, our server brought it out while we were eating our salads, plopped it on the table, didn't say Happy Birthday, offer to light candles, or even bring plates or a knife to cut it with. After we finished our meal I went to the dessert buffet to get plates, and used my butter knife to cut and serve the cake. We were almost finished eating it when the server came by to drop off the plates and knife. I asked for a box to pack it up and you'd think I asked him for his firstborn son with the look he gave me. Then we waited nearly forever for him to bring it. And the separate check for the cake already had the 18% gratuity added. I should have complained to the manager but I didn't. We just wanted to move on and enjoy our vacation, which we did.

 

[MJAJmom]

We went to H&V for lunch in april and then breakfast in October. I liked both of them just fine. The character interaction is great here. The 4 characters circulate very quickly around the place. You usually can see them coming around for a second visit. About every 15 minutes, they do a show/dance that the kids can join in on. That makes for more great pictures.

I like making an 8am breakfast ADR inside the park before it opens at 9am. So in the future, we'll do breakfast here instead of lunch, since there are other great dining places for lunch/dinner to try out at DHS.

Near the PH Disney show, there are 2 meet and greet areas. The little einsteins are on one side (Annie/Leo rotate with June/Quincy) and then Handy Manny on the other side rotating with Jojo/Goliath.

DS3 loves Little Einsteins so we did H&V and their meet & greets.