Hollywood & Vine

Picture Reviews:

Lunch review.

Food Type: Buffet/Character meal.

Location: Echo Lake to the left of 50’s Prime Time Cafe.

Dining Plan: 1 Table Service

Cost: 

• Disney Jr. Character Breakfast: $32 for adults and $19 for children ages 3-9
• Disney Jr. Character Lunch: $41 for adults and $25 for children age 3-9
• Minnie’s Dinner: $47 and $28 for children ages 3-9

Discounts: 20% Tables in Wonderland.

Menu:

Breakfast (8am – 10:20am: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/hollywood-studios/hollywood-and-vine/menus/breakfast/

Lunch (11am – 2:55pm): https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/hollywood-studios/hollywood-and-vine/menus/lunch/

Dinner (4:15pm – 30 minutes prior to Park close): https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/hollywood-studios/hollywood-and-vine/menus/dinner/

Bar: None. Head to nearby Tune-In Lounge next to 50’s Prime Time Cafe or Min & Bill’s Dockside Diner for craft beer or frozen lemonade with vodka or whiskey.

Setting: The interior looks like a  (very large) 1950s-era ice cream shop with plenty of booths and murals of Hollywood scenes on the walls. For breakfast and lunch, Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First, Jake from Jake and the Never Land Pirates and Handy Manny visit diners table-side and lead kids in song and dance around the restaurant. For dinner, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy appear but do not ordinarily sign autographs.

Advantages:

• Characters are a ton of fun and more animated than most character buffets where they simply walk slowly from table to table. Officially titled “Play n’ Dine,” the kids will have plenty of opportunities to be spontaneous with the characters for breakfast and lunch.
• A wide variety of hot and cold items. Recent additions to dessert include a chocolate fountain, in addition to the lavish soft serve ice cream spread. Lunch/dinner includes upscale items like lobster and shrimp mac ‘n cheese, pork loin, short ribs, and a made-to-order pasta bar. Breakfast is the most consistent meal.

Disadvantages:

• Buffet food is mostly mediocre. Pricing is expensive.
• Extremely loud and echo-y when it’s busy.
• Dinner characters don’t sign autographs. Instead, you’ll receive an autograph card with each character’s signature.

8am Breakfast: I don’t usually recommend the 8am breakfasts. Hollywood Studios lets guests into the Park somewhere between 15 and 30 minutes before regular open. With the usual 9am open, that means people will be streaming into the Park and getting in line for Toy Story Mania, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, and Jedi Training Academy no later than 8:55am. Theoretically an 8am breakfast allows guests to take pictures on Hollywood Boulevard inside the Park with nobody around, but there are usually 30 to 40 people waiting at 8am with the same idea. By the time they clear out closer to 8:20am, you’ll have no more than 20 minutes to eat before people enter the Park. Your options are to try and enjoy your meal, only to find waits are already 60+ minutes at Toy Story Mania and spots are full at Jedi Training Academy, or rush through the breakfast. It’s an early morning, a lot of rushing, and a big bill for a short breakfast or longer lines once you finish.

Tips: Book a breakfast for around 10:15am. You’ll pay the cheaper breakfast pricing, be able to enjoy the better breakfast food, and then sample some of the lunch items that look good once 11am hits. A late lunch scheduled around 2pm is also a good idea. Characters stay through 3:30pm and you’ll be able to enjoy them with fewer people around as more and more people leave, in addition to being able to try some of the dinner foods.

Value: Below average.  $30+ for an Old Country Buffet quality meal is drastically overpriced.  The characters at breakfast and lunch are fun, but only those with young kids that enjoy Disney Jr. will likely recognize them. For one table service credit, you can eat here on the Fantasmic Package and get access to the roped off seating area which makes this a good value on the Dining Plan, especially during busier times when Fantasmic is likely to be full.

Reputation: Hollywood & Vine has one of worst reputations of any restaurant at Disney World. Is it deserved? Not necessarily. The character breakfasts and lunches are a lot of fun with kids interested in playing with the characters, Food options are diverse with plenty to fill any guest up. Dinner is the most expensive and it’s a bummer that the characters don’t sign. Consider it on the Dining Plan with the Fantasmic Dining Package, but skip it otherwise.