For me, one of the best things about a Disney World vacation is the delicious food I can anticipate eating. There are some restaurants and snack items that just taste better when you’re visiting the magic. It helps that some of the items are Mickey-shaped, which almost always makes things taste better.
Since we are in the midst of V.I.Passholder Summer Days, when Annual Passholders can save up to 40% at participating table service restaurants, I decided to cross a restaurant off my bucket list. It’s a good thing that character dining is one of Erin’s new favorite pastimes, as I felt it was time to experience another character meal. She was more than happy to ride shotgun in my Skyliner gondola as we made our way to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The final destination: Minnie’s Summertime Dine at Hollywood & Vine.
Minnie’s Dine
For those who are not familiar with Hollywood & Vine, the restaurant is a buffet that also happens to be home to a character dining experience. Hosted by Minnie Mouse, there is a seasonal dining experience that changes with the calendar. There are four different experiences here:
- Silver Screen Dine: a glitzy, Hollywood-inspired soiree
- Summertime Dine: a beach-inspired bash
- Halloween Dine: a delightfully spooky event
- Holiday Dine: a dinner party full of holiday cheer
Each version features a change of scenery as Minnie & friends appear in outfits made just for the event. Generally, you’ll find Mickey Mouse, Pluto, and Goofy alongside Minnie. They all come dressed to impress!
We Almost Canceled
Since the MouseHouseNews.net team practices what we preach, you know we had a dining reservation. That’s the key piece of information here. Our reservation was at 6:30 PM, and we checked in at 6:12 PM using the MyDisneyExperience app. We then sat on a bench outside of the restaurant.
During the time we were waiting, dining parties were steadily being called to be sat. 6:30 came and went without any push alert to the app or verbal notifications of the table being ready. When 6:45 arrived, Erin went to the host stand to find out how much longer things would be. She was told that, despite checking in on the app and receiving a text acknowledging that we had been checked in, they had no record of us checking in. After showing them the text message acknowledgement, they apologized and told us they manually checked us in. It should be just a few minutes.
We continued to wait and now it was 7:10 PM and we had been sitting for an hour. I suggested that we cancel and go elsewhere, because my experiences tell me that these things are indicative of a bigger issue behind the scenes. Erin once again visited the host stand. Apparently, they were showing that we had been inside for about 20 minutes despite nobody coming to get us. Our table was ready, but had been empty all this time. They offered to sit us immediately, and Erin was eager to accept their offer. Although I was more reluctant, I wasn’t going to leave her alone, so I went along with it.
Simply put, I was not impressed at this point.
Atmosphere
Hollywood & Vine is a casual eatery with classic diner tables and booths. The lighting is bright and the dining room is spacious. There is a large buffet that handles crowds very efficiently. I had no problems getting to the food, and I did not feel like others were in my personal space either at the buffet or at my table. It can get a little loud inside, with little to no soft coverings. I think we all would expect this, however, given the type of dining spot we were visiting.
The Menu
Hollywood & Dine offers a mix of food that you would commonly see in an American diet. You won’t find anything out of the ordinary here. During our dinner, the following items were among the offerings:
- Salad (and dressings/toppings)
- Melon (cantaloupe and honeydew)
- Macaroni Salad
- Whipped potatoes with sour cream and chives
- Sweet chili baked salmon
- Spiced BBQ chicken
- Peel and eat shrimp
- Pork fried rice
- Chicken stew with spinach
- Cornbread pudding
- Sautéed garlic green beans
- Crispy tofu with vegetables
- Shepherd’s pie
- Cheesy cauliflower
- Buttered corn on the cob
- Macaroni & cheese with shrimp and bacon
- Meatballs
- Smoked ham (carving station)
- Grilled flank steak (carving station)
- Peach cobbler
- Strawberry tres leches cake
- Chocolate chip cookies
- Chocolate tart
- Berry cheesecake
- Strawberry-Lemon cupcake
- Ice cream (soft-serve machine)
The options available may change from time to time, but these were all offered at the buffet when Erin and I visited. Again, the buffet was not busy at all and there was enough space to maneuver without feeling cramped or feeling like you were holding up a giant line behind you.
The Taste
Admittedly, I personally was not expecting too much. I have the opinion that character dining seems to put more emphasis on the character interactions and less emphasis on the food. Having said that, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the food at other character dining (Breakfast à la Art and Story Book Dining specifically). Although the food here is not that adventurous, it was pretty good overall.
Main Course
The winner for me was the sweet chili baked salmon. It was just a tiny bit overcooked, but the flavor was really good. I also enjoyed the grilled flank steak, which surprised me a bit. Don’t get me wrong, I love steak, but I eat my steak well done. I am generally hesitant about getting steak from a carving station, because it is usually not to my desired cook temp. My slice was not well done, but it was a win because it didn’t flood my plate with blood. I consider that a win. Erin liked the steak as well, but cautions that you not go crazy with the chimichurri. Her other favorites include the sautéed garlic green beans, and the whipped potatoes with sour cream and chives. For her, it’s all about the flavor.
Some of the items I felt were mediocre include the peel and eat shrimp, the whipped potatoes with sour cream and chives, and the macaroni & cheese with shrimp and bacon. The shrimp was extremely difficult to peel for some reason (the shells weren’t scored well). The whipped potatoes weren’t objectionable, they just weren’t that memorable for me either. I probably held the macaroni & cheese to too high of standards… I’m sure it was because of the bacon. Unfortunately, I was looking for the bacon and couldn’t really taste any. Bummer.
The pork fried rice, unfortunately, was a complete miss. I was expecting the flavor of Chinese restaurant fried rice. Oddly, it had a hot spicy flavor to it. Both Erin and I thought that was a little odd. Erin also did not care for the sweet chili baked salmon. The sweet chili sauce was far too overpowering for her.
Dessert
There isn’t a huge selection of desserts at Hollywood & Vine, but everyone should like at least something there. I had a few of the options: the berry cheesecake, strawberry tres leches cake, and chocolate tart. Erin also got some peach cobbler as it was brought out. That was her favorite desert out of everything. It probably helps that it was piping hot and fresh when she got it! My favorite dessert was the chocolate tart. It was simple and chocolaty (rich, dark chocolate flavor). Erin enjoyed that too.
We disagree on the strawberry tres leches cake. She enjoyed it; I didn’t really. Don’t get me wrong, the flavor was good. They were able to infuse strawberry flavor all throughout. I am just not a fan of cake that is sopping wet. It’s a textural thing. We do, however, agree on the berry cheesecake. It was a bit weird in my opinion, especially the lack of graham cracker crust.
Our main regret is not getting ice cream. Therefore, we can’t review that. By the time we were done with our initial desserts, we were mostly full and it was getting late. Maybe if we were seated half hour earlier…
The Characters
When you come to a Minnie’s Dine event at Hollywood & Vine, you can obviously expect to see Minnie Mouse. However, you can also see Mickey, Pluto, and Goofy! Depending on the season, these characters will dance, meet, and greet you while wearing seasonally appropriate outfits.
Since we visited during Minnie’s Summertime Dine, all of the characters were wearing casual outfits inspired by the summer. You can expect Halloween costumes during Minnie’s Halloween Dine. During Minnie’s Holiday Dine, you’ll see them in their fanciest holiday attire. Expect to see them in their Hollywood finest while dining at Minnie’s Silver Screen Dine.
All of these characters will come visit you at your table during your meal. They are on a rotating schedule, however, so it may take a while before all characters come to meet you. You will want to keep this in mind before trying to squeeze this meal between other obligations such as Lightning Lanes and other appointments. In addition to the characters going from table to table, they also have dance parties!
There is a character handler standing by that will make sure you got a chance to meet all of the characters, and you can always speak with them if you need to get going and haven’t met everyone.
The Cost
Hollywood & Vine has breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Minnie’s Dine is offered during every meal and, like other character dining locations, breakfast is the cheapest meal. As of publication of this article, the pricing is as follows:
- Breakfast: $49 + tax per adult ($33 + tax per child age 3 – 9)
- Lunch: $64 + tax per adult ($44 + tax per child age 3 – 9)
- Dinner: $64 + tax per adult ($44 + tax per child age 3 – 9)
Don’t forget to ask for any applicable discounts such as Passholder or DVC discounts.
The Verdict
Admittedly, this excursion did not start out on the right foot. I was a bit annoyed about it and ready to make other plans. The only reason I am able to bring you a detailed review of Hollywood & Dine now is because Erin is more patient than I am. As she says, mistakes happen. However, I know that if we can have this experience, so could you. So it is my duty to report exactly what happened.
Having said that, once we got past the initial “confusion”, we had a good time. Hollywood & Vine puts on a good show with Summertime Dine, and the food wasn’t too bad either. Please understand that, for this price, you’re not getting a gourmet meal. The food is fine, but that’s not why you’re going to Hollywood & Vine. You’re going for the character experience, and this place delivers.
Furthermore, this restaurant will not land on a list of romantic restaurants for a date. However, it could make for a fun date for Disney Adults.
You don’t have to wait in a long line in the heat to meet four of the main Disney characters. On top of that, you’ll find them dressed in outfits you won’t see anywhere else! Assign whatever price you want to that experience. If you would pay $5 to conveniently meet each of these four characters, then $29 for a table service breakfast, you’ve just justified dining here for breakfast. It’s an even better value if you have a money-saving deal like we had.
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