We’ve done Hollywood & Vine’s Disney Junior Play n’ Dine character breakfast several times since our first trip to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2012. Any time we’ve gone to Hollywood Studios with a toddler, we stopped in at least once to see the characters on our way into the park. We’ve done a few trips with extended family, a few birthday visits. For food, it’s never been my favorite… but for characters that the youngest kids know and love, it’s the best way to see them all.
Arrival, Accessibility and Seating
We arrived right on time for our reservation. I chose to park my rollator outside the restaurant, with a couple of ECVs that were parked at the bottom of the steps. It was first thing in the morning and I was doing okay, so I figured I could make the couple steps up, and from what I remembered, this restaurant was always pretty crowded.
We were seated right away, to the right side of the restaurant near the restrooms. Our table was half booth, half chairs. I chose to sit on the booth side, since the table itself wasn’t bolted to the floor. The chairs were armless, but I get extra hip support from booths.
Ordering and Why I Felt Judged
If we’re being completely honest, this was my least favorite meal we had this trip. I don’t have much to say in the way of negative experiences, when it comes to Disney trips. And I’ll say right off the bat, I didn’t have reaction here. In terms of not getting sick, I was okay. But there weren’t a lot of safe options for me, and to be honest I kind of felt like I was being judged by the chef. When she came out she asked me if I needed food from the back (which yes, with the sheer number of allergies I have and the fact that the vast majority of the buffet has ingredients I can’t eat, I did) and we went through the list of what I couldn’t eat. She asked what I wanted, and I explained, as I usually do, that I typically just eat whatever is safe because I don’t usually have many options. Originally she was just going to get some waffles and fruit, and asked whether I’d want bacon or sausage. When I said I wanted both, and a little bit of the smoked sausage with peppers and onions as well… I don’t know. I guess when you’re my size, someone raising their eyebrows at you and saying “you want ALL that too?” feels a bit judgey/fat-shamey. This was the single instance that I felt like that the whole trip.
Now, I know I don’t need to justify what or how much I eat. But, I wasn’t expecting them to bring an entire platter of meat out. I would have been fine with half the portions of everything I got. I’m a grazer and a slow eater anyway, and I typically only take a couple bites of each thing because food is a sensory issue for me. I have really strong texture aversions, and like a variety of strong flavors. I even told the chef “I only want a little bit” of the meats. And the smoked sausage with peppers and onions was actually an attempt to see if maybe that’s what messed me up at Crystal Palace the night before. And on top of all that… just orange juice, waffles and fruit is a heck of a lot of sugars with very little of the other macronutrients, which I know, from listening to my body, would cause me to feel pretty crummy and tired after about 30-40 minutes. I *have* to balance my carbohydrate intake with protein and fat or I’m not able to stay awake. So that’s where the meat comes in. I tend to shoot for higher protein intake in general, but it’s not something that I obsess over or “track” – I just try to make it a big part of meals and snacks, and I drink OWYN protein shakes to boost my intake. (The No Nut Buttercup is my favorite so far, but I have a few others I want to try!)
The Food
In any case, the food itself was good. The waffles were my favorite – I don’t really have a good waffle mix at home and these were seriously the perfect texture. And everything tastes better when it’s Mickey-shaped. The meats were pretty much what I expected, and fruit is fruit. (The pineapple will always be my favorite fresh fruit offering. I think I asked for more of that than the others stuff.) I know I didn’t finish everything. And the sausage and peppers didn’t seem to set off my allergies here, though it could be that the recipe is slightly different.
Weird/Fun Fact
One interesting thing about this place is something I noticed when I went to the restroom. It was pretty strange, because I walked around the corner and almost right into the (currently closed) 50’s Prime Time Cafe. These restaurants share restrooms, but Prime Time Cafe doesn’t open until 10:45. It was a little eerie seeing it dark and all the TVs off… kind of like entering “The Twilight Zone” (wink wink, nudge nudge).
Changes and Characters since COVID-19
A few things have changed since COVID-19. There used to be a big dance party in the middle of the restaurant every once-in-a-while. They’ve replaced that with having kids dance at their tables. I really hope they bring back the group dancing at some point.
The characters are also different from our last visit here (late 2016). It used to be Jake (from Jake and the Neverland Pirates), Handy Manny, Doc McStuffins, and Sofia the First (who replaced Special Agent Oso after our first couple trips).
The current lineup was Doc McStuffins, Fancy Nancy, Vampirina and Goofy.
On the down side, I miss Jake. Jake and the Neverland Pirates was my favorite Disney Junior show (until Bluey!! IYKYK) I was a big Neverland Pirate Band fan, and they’d do “Roll Up the Map” and have all the kids dance along during that “dance party” I mentioned before. It was really fun.
On the other hand, my kids loved the new characters. Goofy, as already established, is the toddler’s favorite Disney character of all time. The oldest was obsessed with Fancy Nancy and DocMcStuffins when she was little and loved seeing them. And the middle kid, my typically-character-averse child, has a special connection to Vampirina, which came out around Halloween when he was a toddler. He’s got some medical issues, and Vampirina helped get him through a scary hospital trip when the show first came out. He was really happy to see her, and on Day 5 of our trip, he got his first and only character hug of our vacation.
The Bottom Line
The food was okay, and I was able to safely eat it. We come here more for the character experiences for our kids, and it was definitely good on that front. The fact that the tables can move to make room in the booths and the chairs are armless is great for larger guests. However, I wasn’t a big fan of the limited options (something like vegan eggs would have gone a long way here) or how the chef made me feel when I asked for a variety of options. This -may- be our last visit to this restaurant for breakfast, now that each of the kids has gotten to do it at least once. (I don’t think I’ll count dinner out though, we had a fantastic experience here at Minnie’s Holiday Dine several years ago, and I’m definitely interested in doing more of the Seasonal Dining offerings here.)
Access the Mouse 