Amazing Experience at Hollywood & Vine Restaurant at Disney World

The Walt Disney World theme parks reopened in July after a 4-month closure due to COVID-19. When the theme parks reopened, many changes were made to the guests experience. One of these changes was that most character dining would not be offered, with a couple of exceptions. The exceptions would be a modified character dining experience that was at first available only at two restaurants (Garden Grill and Topolino’s Terrace). Finally, in early September we received the news that another modified character dining option would be added at Hollywood & Vine! Since the reopening aligned perfectly with our trip, we knew we had to plan a visit. Shortly after the restaurant reopened on September 25, we got to experience it! In this post, we’ll be sharing all about the changes and our amazing experience at Hollywood & Vine at Disney World!

Food

Changes to the Menu

For the restaurant’s reopening, many changes were implemented with the menu. Before the closure, Hollywood & Vine was a buffet. Now, guests get a salad served family-style and then choose an entrée and dessert option from the menu. Of course, with switching from a buffet, the menu had to be adjusted and new items added. Overall, we absolutely loved the new menu! While the price is higher for less food (compared to a buffet) we all felt the food was higher quality and we all left full. Click here to see the full menu on Disney’s website. Here are all menu items we tried:

Family Style Salad and Bread

To start off, a family-style serving of salad is brought to the table, along with bread. The Farmhouse Tossed Salad Bowl comes with a homemade smokehouse ranch dressing. The salad consists of mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, and our favorite part: cornbread croutons. We are not big salad fans, but this salad was great! The ranch had a great little spicy kick to it and we really loved the cornbread croutons. They also had an alternative salad option for vegan guests (or anyone who wants it). The Plant-based Chopped Salad consists of all the same ingredients, except it has focaccia croutons and a plant-based ranch dressing. Here is a photo of the Farmhouse Tossed Salad Bowl:

Entrée

The selection of entrées were all so enticing, we found it difficult to choose! There are 6 options to choose from, including one plant-based option. The three selections we tried were:

Garlic and Cracked Black Pepper Prime Rib of Beef
Seared Fresh Salmon with Grain Mustard Beurre Blanc
Macaroni and Cheese with Shrimp

Each of these were amazing! We were pleasantly surprised by the Prime Rib, which came with a tasty side of sour cream whipped potatoes. While a bit fatty, overall it was delicious. Even the fried brussels sprouts were good!

The salmon was perfectly cooked and tasted absolutely amazing. It was tender and flaky, exactly how I like it! I was worried the grain mustard beurre blanc would have too much mustard flavor, since I’m not a mustard fan. I didn’t find it too strong, though, and the sauce was a great addition. This entrée came with crushed fingerling potatoes and broccolini.

The shrimp macaroni and cheese was perfectly cheesy and delicious! With cavatappi pasta and a four cheese sauce, not to mention the bacon, breadcrumbs and of course, the shrimp, this entrée was so filling.

Desserts

The dessert experience at Hollywood & Vine was very unique. From just reading the menu, we thought we were choosing from a good selection of typical pie slices. However, the ‘pie’ on the menu are actually a deconstructed version of pie. Rather than a traditional crust, the elements of each dessert were stacked. They were still pretty good, they just weren’t quite what we were expecting!

Amongst our table, we tried the apple blueberry, cherry lemon, chocolate s’mores and banana cream pies. The chocolate s’mores was the favorite, if you like rich chocolatey desserts than this one is for you! The apple blueberry and banana cream were both good as well. We weren’t as a big a fan of the cherry lemon option, though. While the desserts were pretty good, the star of this meal is definitely the entrées!

Character Experience at Hollywood & Vine

Hollywood & Vine is one of the few restaurants in Disney World where you can dine with characters right now. While still a character dining experience, the format has changed for the reopening to accommodate physical distancing. The characters no longer come up to your table, so there are no hugs or signing autographs. Instead, characters wander throughout the restaurant, stopping to take (distanced) pictures, wave and say hi to guests at each table. Every half hour or so, a song plays and the characters dance around the room. With less guests in the restaurant, we got to see the characters a lot as they all came around multiple times.

Minnie, Mickey, Pluto and Goofy were all present at the restaurant. Since this is Halloween-themed, it’s only fitting that the characters are in costume! Minnie was dressed as a witch, Goofy as a Cowboy, Mickey as a Vampire and Pluto wearing a Halloween collar. The costumes were all cute, except Pluto didn’t really seem to put a lot of effort into his costume, in our opinion. Overall, while it was different from a pre-COVID character dining, the experience at Hollywood & Vine was still really fun and we had plenty of opportunities to see the characters!

Safety Precautions

Like the rest of Disney World, changes have been implemented for the health and safety of guests and Cast Members. The primary changes are the character experience and the removal of the buffet. Since we’ve already talked about those, here are some of the other changes that have taken place!

Check In

First, rather than checking in at a podium, guests now check in via the My Disney Experience app. Once they are within 20 minutes of their reservation time and near the restaurant, you can click check-in on your reservation screen from outside. The hosts will call your name when it is your turn to be seated.

Menus

Next, they are no longer providing paper menus on the table. A piece of paper on the table includes a QR code for guests to scan on their cell phone. The QR code pulls up the menu, removing the need for a paper version!

Social Distancing, Masks and More

Lastly, all of the tables inside the restaurant are socially distanced and of course, masks are required. You can remove your mask while seated, but any time you get up from the table (such as arriving, leaving or using the restroom), masks are required. Servers were wearing a face shield in addition to their mask. Finally, plexiglass has also been added in certain spots to create a physical barrier between guests and Cast Members.

Conclusion: Our Amazing Experience at Hollywood & Vine

Overall, this is a dining experience we definitely recommend! While it is a bit pricey ($55 per adult and $36 per child), the experience was great value. The character experience was lively and fun, and the food far exceeded our expectations. If you’re planning a trip to Disney World, Hollywood & Vine should definitely be added to your list!

Fairytale Wonders