Hollywood & Vine Restaurant in Hollywood Studios

First off, I should apologize to my readers for my hiatus from this blog.  I continue to frequent the Disney parks and would also like to start adding other Orlando attractions to this blog as well.  I recently went to Sea World and will do a write up on my dining experiences there as well.  I also had the opportunity to go to Blizzard Beach for the first time last week, and although I couldn’t find much healthy to eat other than a quick service chicken sandwich with apple slices, I know I burned sufficient calories that day for sure!  

Ms. Madeline was detained by some unidentified character at Hollywood & Vine on suspicion of  chocolate ice cream over-consumption.

Today I would like to give my report on Hollywood & Vine Restaurant in Hollywood Studios. This Art Deco-designed “Cafeteria to the Stars” is a casual family buffet where diners can meet Disney Junior Friends.  The Disney Junior Friends are available for breakfast and lunch only, and while dinner is served there the characters are absent for this meal.

Let me start with the food first.  What I like about this restaurant is the wide variety of salads.  They are so good you don’t need any dressing at all on them.  The salads include an orange & watercress salad, Caesar salad, tomato & buffalo mozzarella salad with basil oil, mixed seasonal greens, crispy Asian chicken salad and tuna salad.  My tip for the healthiest salad is to skip the Caesar salad as it is drenched in a high fat content dressing.  Instead, make a bed of lettuce with mixed seasonal greens salad.  Then, add one of the healthier salads on top of if such as the crispy Asian chicken salad, but skip the dressing totally! 

Additionally, the following items are available:

A selection of appetizers - carved ham, turkey and salami, assorted cheeses, fresh seasonal fruit and soups

Entree selections - Pastrami Rubbed Porkloin, Beer Braised Boneless Beef Short Ribs, Maple & Grain Mustard Salmon, Citrus Marinated Baked Chicken, Chipotle Orange BBQ Chicken, House Made Sandwiches, Lobster & Shrimp Mac n’ Cheese, BBQ Meatballs, Slow Cooked Ale Braised Beef, Multigrain Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce and Create-Your-Own Pasta Bar (with with rotini, campanelle, vegetables, pesto, marinara, and probably like chicken, sausage, and shrimp)

A selection of side dishes - sweet plantains, garlic mashed potatoes, bean cassoulet, sauteed green beans, creamed corn spoon bread, and rice & whole grain medley. 

The children's buffet section includes:
Chicken nuggets, broccoli, macaroni & cheese, baked chicken and buttered corn. 

Desserts also vary, and may include:
Rice Krispie treats, apple cobbler, berry cobbler, cheesecake, carrot cake, red velvet cake, mascarpone, Chocolate Mousse cake, chocolate dipped fruit, key lime tarts, coconut macaroons, banana cream puffs, 7-layer bar, strawberry shortcake, assorted Cookies, brownies and an ice cream sundae bar

But we’re all skipping desert, right?

If you want to add some lean meat to your salad I suggest just getting the chicken or tuna salad.  Carved ham or turkey can be okay, but be sure to remove the fat from you meat and limit your portion size to about the size of a deck of cards or iphone.  At the Wellspring Camps we teach kids to relate serving sizes to common objects such as these.  You can also make a sandwich here, but for the price of your meal that would be one expensive sandwich.  Now don’t say I told you this but with the chaos of the dancing and characters in the restaurant if you wanted to make a turkey or chicken sandwich (hold the cheese and mayo) you could probably make it to go and put it in your backpack. (Legal disclaimer: ask staff at the restaurant if this is allowed first). At about $35 for a plate of salad and maybe a bowl of soup I think it’s okay to make a sandwich to go if allowed.  

Let’s discuss atmosphere next.  While the buffet in general was pretty good, and in fact better than I expected, the atmosphere was a little less than I expected.  I am probably a little biased here because I was totally and completely unfamiliar with any of the characters walking around.  So in some respects I just didn’t get it.  The characters include Neverland Pirate Jake, Handy Manny, Agent Oso and June from “Little Einsteins". Approximately every 30 minutes, characters, along with other Disney Junior performers, present a high-energy show that encourages kids to join in and dance.

If you have really young kids, like age 6 and under, it might be just the thing for you.  If you have kids 8 and up, they might say the restaurant is “babyish” which is exactly what my kids said.  My kids are certainly not too young for the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area, but they refused to get up and dance / interact with any of the characters during the meal.  It was along the same lines as the Playhouse Disney attraction at the same park as it the restaurant is geared for the same age.

I will add more Hollywood Studios restaurant reviews in the coming months.  At a high level, this restaurant is excellent for weight controllers in that you can really pick and choose and you get to see what you eat before you put it on your plate.  You can make the perfect low calorie salad, or pick your soup or best slice of lean meat.  Or, if you’re like me, you will try a bit of everything except for the desserts.  I usually try to fill up on a fruit plate first then try the tastier items.  

One the bad side the atmosphere is really for the youngest Disney fans.  If you are traveling with someone 6 or under in your group, then I’d say this is a must visit restaurant.  If you have a party consisting of older participants and a limited number of days, you might want to opt for the Sci-Fi Drive In, the Brown Derby, or the 50’s Prime Time Café.   

By the way, if you visit Hollywood Studios in the summertime you just might run into me or campers from Wellspring Florida!  You can spot us as the people writing down everything we eat!