Hollywood & Vine at Disney’s Hollywood Studios offers character dining for guests throughout the year. Each season Minnie and her friends get in seasonal attire to celebrate. During the holiday season (November 4th through January 3rd) the dining experience for lunch and dinner becomes Minnie’s Holiday Dine.
On my recent trip I decided to give this special holiday dining experience a try. Prior to the pandemic closures, Hollywood & Vine was a buffet style dining experience. Since the pandemic the experience is now served more family style like. Guests are able to choose from an entrée and dessert list. My reservation was set for around 2:45PM as a late lunch.
I checked in about ten minutes prior using the My Disney Experience app check in option. I got a text roughly five minutes after my reservation time. Upon entering there is a back drop for guests to take a photo with.
Upon being seated I was greeted by my server who was great throughout the whole meal. One thing that I did notice and stayed true throughout my whole meal was the empty tables throughout the restaurant. This reservation was harder to get so clearly they are not filling the whole restaurant at this time. My server then brought me my starters which were dinner rolls and a chopped salad which you could get with ranch or a balsamic dressing. I chose the balsamic. The rolls were fine but nothing to write home about. The salad was also good.
Now as for the entrée you can choose from six different options. I stuck with the holiday theme and chose the Carved Herb-roasted Turkey Breast.
And this is where this meal took a turn. The best part of this plate was the mashed potatoes. The turkey was dry and meh. The stuffing also was not good. I don’t like green beans so those stayed where they were. I was pretty disappointed. If I could order over again I would have done probably the pork or beef tenderloin.
That brings us to dessert which I thought couldn’t be bad. Here you have five choices and again I apparently made the wrong one. I went with the White Chocolate Cheesecake. This was super dry and bland. The guava sauce did not help at all.
Moving onto the highlight of this meal! The characters were definitely highlight and made the meal have some value. Here you can meet Minnie, Mickey, Goofy and Pluto in their holiday best. Minnie and Mickey will come out and around first being introduced with an announcement in the restaurant. Now as of right now you cannot get up and and hug or touch the characters. You can take selfies with the character distanced behind you. Pluto and Goofy will come out a bit later again with an announcement. One thing I did really enjoy was the characters doing a dance number. For Holiday Dine it was “Let it Snow” and Mickey and Minnie jammed out like it was their last dance party ever. It was great seeing them and seeing kids around watch them.
At the end of the meal you are given an autograph card to commemorate your visit. This meal is $55 per adult before tax and gratuity and $36 per child before tax and gratuity.
Now I have to be honest. This meal was not worth the price and the characters while great did not make up for it. If you are looking for character dining then I suggest elsewhere. I won’t be returning until the menu changes at the very least.
Have you been to Hollywood & Vine? What are your thoughts?
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