Character Dining Disney World Review: Hollywood & Vine Minnie’s Seasonal Dining

Minnie's Seasonal Dining is a character dining located at Hollywood & Vine in Disney World's Hollywood Studios and it's one of the most popular options inside the parks!

The seasonal option will change throughout the year to accommodate the holiday season.

Keep reading for our honest review of this modified character dining experience and what you can expect now at character dining at Disney World!

Minnie's Seasonal Dining at Hollywood & Vine Overview

This was the hardest dining reservation for us to get at Disney World and I felt very fortunate to be able to snag a cancelled reservation time! We ended up with a 2PM time which worked out great since it gave us plenty of time to ride attractions in the morning.

The timing for the meals are:

• Lunch – 11:30 AM to 3:55 PM
• Dinner – 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM

I'm not sure how much this matters since it is a pre-fix menu that did not appear to change with lunch or dinner but this at least gives you an idea of the general time you can book a meal. I highly recommend booking right at the 60 days out mark especially for holidays like Christmas and Halloween since this meal is quite popular.

At this character meal you can expect to see Minnie, Mickey, Pluto, and Goofy all in their seasonal outfits. Since ours was during the Christmas season, we got to see them all in their holiday best including Goofy in a Santa outfit!

The menu is a pre-fix menu with a salad option, entrée, and dessert for adults. For kids they also get to pick a salad, entrée, and dessert in smaller portions. You can see the full menu options for adults and kids on the Disney World website.

Hollywood & Vine Character Dining Review

Hollywood & Vine is an American food style diner in the Echo Lake area in Disney's Hollywood Studios. It is incredibly popular due to the character dining options that change seasonally. Our visit was during the Christmas season so you'll see the decorations and character outfits all matched that seasonal theme.

Hollywood & Vine Character Dining Review

Overall, I felt the food was a good value and big portions for the price we paid. The bread was unlimited, the salad helpings were gigantic, and the meals themselves were filling. I could barely finish my dessert (probably ate too much of that good bread!) which is always a good sign you got sizable portions. I enjoyed the food here but I am also a fan of simplicity. Mac and cheese, salad, and bread? You can't go wrong with such classic choices. For families looking for more adventurous eating, this probably won't be your top choice but for a family of picky eaters (like mine!) it was perfect.

Character Interaction and Restaurant Experience

This dining review took place during 2020 when Walt Disney World was limiting character interactions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The character experience has now returned to normal. 

I was really curious what a modified character dining would look like and it really didn't feel that much different than a usual character dining. It probably helps that my son is now old enough (boo hoo!) to not want character hugs anymore so the timing of his age worked in our favor. So with that in mind, it worked great for us that the characters waved from a distance. I still wanted hugs but you know, I will never grow up. Despite that, we still had a great time and it still felt magical to see the characters up close, even from six feet away.

Overall, I felt that the modified character dining experience was as good as they could make it. I was impressed with the creativity of how the restaurant was arranged and how the characters knew exactly where to stand to get the best pictures. They spent considerable time with each table waving and blowing kisses at the kids while also making sure parents got plenty of photos with various poses. During our meal we also saw them interacting with each other in the restaurant so I felt that we really got a great character experience even if it was different than what we're used to. I would definitely do this again and as always, I'm impressed at Disney's commitment to keeping the magic alive for guests.

Did you enjoy our Hollywood & Vine Character Dining Review? Keep reading for more planning articles!

We hope you enjoyed our Hollywood & Vine Character Dining Review! Be sure to subscribe to our  deals newsletter for all of the latest information on deals and saving tips to help you save money and experience more! Sign up here. Check out our other Disney World articles:

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