REVIEW: This Disney World Buffet May Surprise You, But It’s Totally Worth It!

Dining with characters is one of our favorite ways to enjoy a meal at Disney World — and this restaurant is serving up some of the BEST characters you could ask for!

We recently stopped by Hollywood & Vine Restaurant at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and are bringing you our FULL review!

Background

This restaurant is set up to emulate a 1940s-style cafeteria with an art deco motif. Hollywood & Vine is a character buffet for each of its meals.

This restaurant typically cycles through multiple themed events per year, such as Halloween and Christmas, as well as a Springtime Dine. Currently, you can experience Disney Junior Play n’ Dine for breakfast through October 11th, but it’ll be replaced with Minnie’s Seasonal Dining starting October 12th.

Here’s what you need to know about this spot!

Atmosphere

For the past several years, breakfast at Hollywood & Vine Restaurant has featured popular Disney Jr. characters to meet you at your table as you’re dining, but again, that will be changing on October 12th.

Now, just like at lunch and dinner here, you’ll spot Minnie, Mickey, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy for celebrations centered on seasonal “deliciousness.” The mouse-with-the-mostest hosts sensational nights that mix unique music and decor with menu items commemorating winter holidays, the verdant bounty of spring, sizzling summer fun, or Halloween chills ‘n’ thrills!

But enough about that, what are we eating?!

Food & Drinks

This is a buffet-style meal, meaning that it’s an all-you-can-eat restaurant with the classic American dining offerings. You’ll enjoy everything on the menu served around the stations  for $63. We made multiple different plates, starting with some of our personal favorites. 

We grabbed the Tandoori Chicken, which was phenomenal, and the Flank Steak, which was beautifully cooked and seasoned. There are multiple pieces of steak that were cooked at different temperatures, so you can also choose a piece that fits your preference.

The Mashed Potatoes with red skins weren’t as creamy as others we’ve had, but were still great. The Chili Aioli Salmon also really surprised us with how much we loved it — it was so tender it practically fell off our fork and peeled apart in our mouth.

The Mexican Corn was so good that we could have eaten an entire bowl of it and still wanted more. We also enjoyed the Vegetable Chili, though it does have less of a savory flavor than normal since you’re missing the meat in the dish.

We also grabbed a plate of some more kid-centered options, but anyone can grab these from the buffet! This is all more generic, but we were still impressed by the quality. The Mac and Cheese was nice and creamy, and the Chicken Tenders were seasoned well.

The Mini Corn Dogs were a nice, fun addition that kiddos will love (and we love them too), and the White Rice was perfectly cooked. The Chicken Drumstick was also very well-cooked, which was a pleasant surprise!

Then it was time for dessert! The Apple Cobbler tastes more like a struesel to us and we would have liked, especially with that lingering oatmeal flavor, but it was still good. However, the Bread Pudding was INCREDIBLE! It had a fantastic flavor and was perfectly moist.

The Strawberry Tres Leches really surprised us because we were expecting white cake, but it was a REAL tres leches cake with milk at the bottom that was wonderful. The strawberry pieces were freeze-dried and really added a great flavor. As for the Cupcake, it was pretty generic with a little too much frosting for us. The Chocolate Chip Cookie was gooey, just the way we like it, but it wasn’t anything to really write home about.

To drink, we also grabbed the Celebrity Margarita for $16.50, as our server recommended it. This really just tasted like a store-bought margarita served on the rocks.

It was weak and pretty boring, so we really don’t think we’ll be getting it again. While the food here may be pretty great, the drink left much to be desired.

Magic or Tragic?

This Disney World restaurant is a must-visit if…

• You’re looking for a great buffet meal
• You want a character meal with good food that won’t let you down
• You’ve got picky eaters in your group

You should skip this Disney World spot if…

• You’re not a big fan of character meals and don’t want to pay extra for them
• You don’t like buffets
• You want some more unique options on the menu

Overall, we don’t know why this place gets so much hate! Prepare to be pleasantly surprised! We think the food is seriously underrated and is a great character meal option for those who want to meet some classic Disney characters at a buffet that won’t disappoint them. Consider us impressed, and we didn’t think we’d walk out feeling that way about this meal!

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

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