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REVIEW: Disney Characters (!!!) Are HIDING at an Underrated Hollywood Studios Restaurant


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If you’re looking to add a little star power to your meal at Disney World, there’s one particular restaurant that rolls out the red carpet for a dining experience that’s equal parts whimsical and delicious. From the moment you step inside this glitzy, retro-inspired restaurant, you’re transported into a world where some of your favorite seasonal characters come to life—right at your table. I’ve been dining at Disney World character meals for a decade and for me, this is not just a meal—it’s a performance, a photo op, and a memory in the making all in one.

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Minnie!

We recently stopped by Hollywood and Vine Restaurant at Disney’s Hollywood Studios to see what was cookin’, and now we’re bringing you our FULL review. Is it worth a stop on your next trip to the Most Magical Place on Earth? Find out here!

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Atmosphere

Hollywood & Vine offers a full buffet for all of its meals with an extra helping of FUN thanks to the presence of Disney characters! The best part about this restaurant is that you can visit two or more times in the same year, with completely different themes.

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Seasonal dining

Minnie’s Seasonal Dine has taken over Hollywood & Vine as it changes throughout the year. Not only will the inside theming be notably different, but each of the characters, like Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Mickey, will be sporting different outfits depending on the time of the year you’re visiting. The theme when we visited was Summertime Dine. As soon as you walk into the restaurant, there’s a fun summer background or a photo op.

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Fun photo background

There is plenty of seating inside the restaurant, with tables and chairs.

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Seating

Some booth seats are also available.

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Some booth seating

But enough about the restaurant — what’s on the menu here?!

Menu

As we mentioned briefly before, the main meal here is served as a buffet. Adults dining here for lunch or dinner can expect to pay $63, and children ages 3-9 are priced at $42. Disney World lists a partial menu on its website for everything that’s offered, and we want to point out that some things can change without notice based on availability. Here’s a look at the main menu offerings!

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©Disney

The restaurant also offers a few featured beverages and cocktails…

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©Disney

…wines…

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©Disney

…as well as craft and draft beers.

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©Disney

And now, onto the main event — the food!

Eats

First up, we think the buffet here is fantastic…y’all have been sleeping on the food here. The Tandoori  Spiced Chicken is a favorite, though, if we had to choose. The Mexican corn is INCREDIBLE. It’s like an elote with the mayonnaise, Tajin, and all the spices — it all just comes together beautifully. We could eat an entire bowl of it.

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Tandoori Chicken and Mexican corn

The grilled flank steak is also delicious. It’s well-seasoned and well-cooked. There’s just a lot of preparation that goes into it. You might want to ask what temperature it is, though, if you don’t like rare to medium.

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Grilled flank steak

We also like the whipped sour cream and chive potatoes that had the redskins in it. They’re not quite as creamy and buttery as other mashed potatoes we’ve had, but we like that it’s a different take. The chili aioli salmon is phenomenal, and we would eat it every day if we could. The salmon is cooked so tenderly that it just slides off your fork and peels apart in your mouth so nicely. Then the aioli sauce is just so tasty.

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Whipped Sour Cream and Chive Potatoes and Chili Aoli Salmon

We also tried the vegetable chili. It’s got red beans and chickpeas in it instead of meat, but it’s nice and savory. If you can get past the fact that it doesn’t contain meat, it’s a pretty decent chili.

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Vegetable Chili

We also made sure to try some of the kid-friendly offerings, and there are plenty of things here for picky eaters. The mac and cheese is nice and creamy. The chicken tenders are the same as the regular seasoned chicken tenders. There are mini corn dogs, too, which kids are going to love. You don’t see that on many buffets, so that’s something different for kids to enjoy. Okay, so it’s us, we’re kids, because we love the mini corn dogs. The white rice is nice and sticky. It’s cooked perfectly, so it has a nice bite. The chicken drumstick was also well-cooked. Kids are going to be pleased with this buffet.

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Kid’s plate!

Okay, let’s talk about the most important thing: DESSERT. The apple cobbler tasted more like a strudel to us because of its consistency. It’s got some dried oatmeal on top, though, for the cobbler part. But it still has a great cinnamon apple flavor. However, the oatmeal on top didn’t do it for us — we like a traditional doughy cobbler.

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Apple cobbler

Y’all…the seasonal bread pudding was like HEAVEN. It has a nice icing, and the bread pudding is warm and moist. It also held together really well. The flavors just melded beautifully.

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Seasonal bread pudding

The chocolate cupcake was okay. It had a lot of buttercream frosting on top, and that’s mostly the flavor you’re going to get. The strawberry tres leches surprised us, though. We were expecting a plain white cake in a milk concoction, but this was like a real cheesecake with the milk at the bottom — and that was SO good. The strawberries were freeze-dried and added a nice punch of flavor (although we think raspberry would’ve been even better). It’s nice and fruity with that creamy milkiness. Just YUM, y’all.

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Chocolate Cupcake and Strawberry Tres Leches

The warm chocolate chip cookie was a gooey and chewy chocolate chip cookie. It wasn’t special, but we still liked it.

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Warm Chocolate Chip Cookie

Overall, we thought this was a great selection of desserts. You can also create your own ice cream sundae with soft-serve and various sauces and toppings.

Drinks

To drink, we picked up the Celebrity Margarita for $16.50. It’s made with Jose Cuervo Tradicional Tequila, Cointreau Liqueur, Lime Juice, and Sweet-and-Sour. The server recommended it, but it tasted like store-bought margarita mix with liquor. It would have been better with a little sour syrup or lemon juice added.

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Celebrity Margarita

We’ll be honest. We just don’t think this drink is worth the price.

Characters

Of course, the biggest reason to visit Hollywood & Vine is to see the characters! And you’ll see quite a few here. Even better? They’re wearing their special summer outfits to fit with the seasonal theme. Minnie looks stunning in her pretty yellow dress.

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Minnie

Mickey is giving us total beach vibes with his t-shirt and shorts.

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Mickey

Goofy is kicking it casual in his denim shorts.

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And of course, we can’t forget about Pluto!

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Pluto

You’ll also get a fun little postcard signed by all the characters.

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Signed postcard

This makes for a nice keepsake to take home with you.

Nosh or Not

This Disney World restaurant is a must-visit if…

  • You’re looking for a buffet. This is one of the good buffets in Disney World with a variety of eats.
  • You’ve got kids or picky eaters in your group. The kids’ offerings here are sure to satisfy the pickiest of eaters.
  • You want to meet characters. If you want to meet characters, this is the best place to do it. You get guaranteed meet and greets with Mickey, Minnie, and their friends.

You should skip this Disney World spot if…

  • You’re on a budget. At $63 per adult and $42 per child, this dining experience could get very pricey if you have a large group.
  • You don’t care about meeting characters. If you just want a meal without anything extra, this is probably not the spot for you.
  • You want a quick bite or a small meal. This is a table service restaurant, meaning it will take a little longer to get your food and eat. If you want quick service or a smaller meal, you’ll want to go somewhere else.

Overall

It’s our opinion that Hollywood & Vine is often underrated, especially for the quality of food you get at the buffet. Of course, it’s also one of the best ways to meet characters. The seasonal aspect also means that you can have a different meal depending on the time of year you dine here, so it offers some variety. Plus, it’s all-you-care-to-enjoy, which means you can eat to your heart’s content…just remember to bring your appetite!

In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for more restaurant updates from Disney World and beyond. Make sure you stay tuned to the Disney Food Blog for the latest Disney news and more!

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Have you eaten at this Disney World restaurant before? Tell us in the comments!

The post REVIEW: Disney Characters (!!!) Are HIDING at an Underrated Hollywood Studios Restaurant first appeared on the disney food blog.

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