Peter's rant on Hollywood & Vine was amazing. Best part of the episode by far lol.

You guys should do a list of best queue lines at Disney

Sadly I think that Disney is taking advantage of families for the character interactions with not good, inconsistent food. We had Chef Mickeys reservations for our upcoming trip and decided we'd rather do 1900 Park for dinner and Ohana Breakfast. We are also doing Crystal Palace for dinner, not because we love Winnie, but it's more my memories, I remember eating there as a kid and I loved it. It may stink but that will be on me ;0 Disney knows and banks on guests having amazing, happy family memories and therefore thinks we will forget how bad the food is- but we don't!!!

"It's for people without taste buds." Hilarious. 😹😹😹

I worked at Hollywood and Slime and I agree with you 100%. That restaurant needs so much help. It's outdated and the food is not good. The staff that I worked with was very kind but they even said that for years they've tried to get disney to fix it up and make it more appealing. Disney also does the fantasmic package with HAV so a lot of people go there for that. Talk about needing an update WDWs Fantasmic could use some work as well. They should make it like DLs. This is where disney chooses to be cheap and doesn't care to put the money into it. Such a shame :(

Akershus is my favorite; but then again, I'm in love with the type of food they serve. The appetizer bar could be my entire meal and I'd be satisfied, I always love the cheeses, vegetables, smoked fish, etcetera. For dinner, I order the brassert bif, which is always cooked exactly the way I like it! The vinegarette and arugula make it, truly!! Then the bottomless desserts come in, and I'm just in LOVE with the apple cake and chocolate mousse. Character interactions are also fantastic, I love meeting Belle in her yellow dress, and the past time I went, we even got to see Jasmine!

For those impatient people: Akershus (Epcot) Mickey’s Backyard Barbecue (Fort Wilderness) Crystal Palace (Magic Kingdom) Chef Mickey’s (Contemporary) Hollywood & Vine (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)

Chef Mickey's was absolutely my childhood have several memories and photographs that happened there. One funny experience with my Dad lost in conversation and Goofy mischievously listening with his hand to his chin behind my Dad. So funny!

Totally agree about Hollywood and Vine. None of us liked the food, and we ended up sitting waiting for the characters to rotate around to us.... with an empty table. The CM's kept trying to politely push us out, but we made it clear: We are not leaving until all the characters make our table.

I love Akershus. Character interactions are some of the best. The setting is beautiful, and I love the food. However, some in my party do really dislike the types of food. We often try to get an early lunch seating, as it tends to have leftover breakfast items (ie donuts, etc) that my kids will like

Love the best and worst, one of my favorite things on the channel! I'd love to see more current vs classics too! Keep up the great work!

The story about Pete’s nephews daughter checking to see if Cinderella had glass slippers on was so cute. I wouldn’t have been smart enough to check to see if she really had glass slippers on when I was little, lol

I agree! We went September 2017. Very disorganized, very expensive, terrible food, blah. I did enjoy our conversation with the server from Norway very sweet and the princesses were wonderful.

Pete keeps referring to Chef Mickeys at breakfast but they also serve dinner which maybe is also what people voted on. Back in the day when part of the restaurant was the Pueblo Room, breakfast there was amazing.

Maybe next time you should divide it into 2 categories, Best Character Interactions at a Character Dining Exp. vs Best food at a Character Dining Exp.

Thank you for doing the 2 separate polls. I think that makes the results much more "accurate"

"There is some good stuff on my best list" "Most of it being Universal" Ouch, that has to hurt!

You guys are great! We are totally addicted to your videos. Pete is a hoot and the rest of the crew is great. We look forward to our visit to WDW during the food and wine fest in September.

I was lucky enough to get a reservation at crystal palace before mk opened but I was absolutely thrilled with crystal palace. The food was really good (not boma good but thoroughly enjoyable) especially pooh's breakfast lasagna and eeyore was so precious and memorable and it made my whole morning.

In 1995 we were appalled by our experience at Hollywood and Vine . And its never changed !

I know Tusker House is popular but we had my daughter's birthday there when we were down in December. Our sitting was near the end of the evening and the character interaction was not great (maybe they were tired and just wanted to finish up). The food was great though.

Love what you guys do!! 💚🐭

Chef Mickeys should be a best! I feel it has one of the better buffets with a larger selection than other places. Also, easy to see the FAB 5 here and bypass the waits in the parks. It does provide a certain ambiance as Pete alludes to that really makes you settle into the Disney World Experience.

I like Chef Mickeys for the desert bar. Good stuff.

The best character meal, hands down, is the dinner at the Aulani... it's a full seafood and steak buffet and it's amazing

Loved Pete's rant on Hollywood & Vine. I agree with Craig on Akershus though. We like the food but I can see why if you don't like the cold bar why it is not for you. My kids gobble up smoked salmon so it was worth it to us. Definitely a personal preference thing.

I had been considering Hollywood & Vine for our trip next year because my kids love the Disney Junior characters, but I would rather wait in line to meet them all than endure the food at this restaurant. Thank you for saving me from this experience!

We went to Hollywood and vine in our May trip and we did breakfast and dinner! We actually really liked it and thought the food was good . And the character interaction was great for us

So glad I changed my Fantasmic Dining Package restaurant a few weeks back after watching this haha.

Pete your right! Its everything you said it is and I wasnt sure which character breakfast to do but now you helped me decide. Its great for many reasons. They are wrong.

Honestly I love Pete don't care what others say

I agree with the Hollywood & Vine being low quality high carb entries. The Crystal Palace I feel offers great smoked meats and excellent salmon. Chef Mickey is a icon where else can you dine and view the monorail? I think like Pete stated its personal preference. I no longer have children in my party but still continue to book Character dining for the experience and choices offered at the buffets . The variety of the fruits & salads are good and we usually find a late morning meal or early evening meal takes the place of two counter service meals with more variety.

We have sacrificed for the character meals. The first time we went to Akershus we didn't realize you could order off the menu. We thought the cold buffet was all there was to eat. We felt cheated. Then we found out we could order from the menu. It was good, not our favorite. We are eating at Chrystal Palace again, because all my grandchildren will be with us. A few years ago we sent a pic of us with Piglet. My grandson said, "I want a picture with that cute little piggy." You can find something to satisfy you. I love not having to use a fastpass or wait in line. We have not eaten at Hollywood and Vine. I guess we never will. Thank you for the video. Have a magical day sprinkled with pixie dust.

where do you post these polls? i'd love to participate

I love Pete’s passion

Early squad!!!! I love these videos so much

you guys are great! love all the shows you put together. are you going to be doing reviews of the food and wine festival? or hopefully even a best and worst of the countries?

I agree with Craig and Steve, it is VERY noisy at Chef Mickey's. For anyone with a child (or adult guest) that is autistic or has problem with noise, it is an awful experience. Too much stimuli between being in the atrium that extends up and echoes, no true wall between it and other quick service restaurant, monorail, and just other lobby noises... We do Cape May and Garden Grill to get the Fab 5 plus you get a bonus with Chip n Dale (and at both we get to interact with characters at least 2 times during a meal)

We went in March this year first time in Disney we only did 2 character meals the Crystal Palace and Hollywood and Vine we found both of them really enjoyable it may be because we haven't done the rest but would definitely go back to them.

I figured the showers, and the fence hiding the now filled in pool plus the ticket both at the front gave away that is is river country bathrooms lol

lovely, I'm going to Hollywood and vine because of my kids and the show package. I hope I don't get food poisoning!

I suspect one major reason, if not the major reason, that people do breakfast at Hollywood & Vine is to get early admittance to the line for Jedi Training (before the park opens). I have come close to booking breakfast there for that reason, but not even going to the meal - the Jedi Training is the single "must do" for our trip(s), as each new child (of 4)comes "of age." It is such a shame Disney has that leverage to "force" reservations at H&V...

I think some of the appeal for Akershus is the early access to the park and the close proximity to the Frozen ride. Although I have heard mixed reviews about the food, the character interaction, early admission, and location are the draw for me; maybe others as well?

Pete, "spot on" with everything you said. I agree 100%.

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!

I definitely remember eating at Akershus when I went to Disney World at Epcot for my 12th birthday four years ago. I went with my dad, stepmom, aunt, uncle, and younger cousins. I've had a great experience there. This, and Crystal Palace are the only ones I disagree with. The others I've never eaten there.

Hollywood & Vine is great for the Disney junior lunch. The characters are great and it's the only meal with them. The food was good too

the problem with good queue lines is that no one moves in the good queue lines. I love the Winnie the Pooh ride but I hate going through the stand by line because the line never moves because kids a buzzing bees or playing with honey. Now Haunted Mansion is a different story.

What Pete said about Hollywood and Vine is 100% correct.... FOOD WAS HORRID but my kids had a great time....

I've had both breakfast and lunch at Crystal Palace and both were fantastic for both food and Characters! Crystal Palace is one of my favs!

Ok.. time to change my Hollywood and vine ressies. Thanks guys! I don't want my family eating slop.

Love your videos

I loved the kjottkake at Akershus and the gjetist and smoked salmon among other things on the cold buffet. It's only for people with adventurous palates or who grew up with Norwegian foods. Don't count it out!

Having never been to Disney World, I can't judge, but Akershus looks like a cool place. My only complaint is that for a Disney Princess themed Character Dining located in the Norway Pavilion, I can easily see so many customers being disappointed that A&E never showed up. Come to think of it, I don't think that they exist at ANY Character Dining location, Walt Disney World or elsewhere.

Poor old Polish lady.

Agreed! Hollywood & Vine is all around the pits! But... The food at Chef Mickey's is horrid too! The location and character interaction at Chef Mickey is what saves it.

We loved H&V!!! We ate breakfast and it was way better than I was expecting. The food was good, service was good, and character interaction was good. We did have better food at other locations but no way would I rate it that low!

I'd do Backyard BBQ just to go in River Country's bathrooms again. I have many happy memories at that water park, and it makes me sad to see all of it abandoned.

You are completely correct on the top pick! We went there for our kids for Disney Junior...they didn't eat hardly anything. They had some mix like macaroni and seafood. What 3 and 7 year old eats that!?!. AND some of the Characters really sucked. It was too expensive for what we got.

I've eaten at Hollywood and Vine twice, before and after characters to get the fantasmic fast pass and I didn't find the food too bad actually. Yes it was way overpriced.

Thank you Pete. Chef Mickey's charm is its location. This location is very nostalgic. I love Craig and Steve, but they are dead wrong on this account.

I agree with the list except Crystal Palace is a must do for me first morning in the Magic Kingdom. I love the Pooh characters and find some of the best interaction there with them. Chef Mickeys grew too popular too fast for its own good, Disney responded by doubling the prices, lowering the quality of food and expanding the seating to rake in more bucks while making the character interaction a frustrating experience for everyone from the characters themselves to the guests and the wait staff. No one working there is happy there and it shows. Hollywood and Vine is so bad that I forgot it even existed.

I've gone to Hollywood and Vine for the past few years for lunch, and while I won't argue it's better than any of the other character dining experiences I definitely wouldn't rank it the worst Food tastes aside I've actually had fun experiences with the characters there Since its shunned so much (and don't have to stop at half as many tables as, say, Chef Mickey's) they're looking for fun and every time I've gone the Disney Junior characters all interact with us more than most other character dining experiences After we explain we have no idea who they are they stick around and just kinda mess with us and then come back around a few more times It creates a narrative of sorts thats almost a bond between us I'd be sad but not completely heartbroken to see it go

I've done Hollywood and Vine once and the food was amazing. That being said I'm GF and they made me two fresh portions of GF lobster mac and cheese.

I got horrendous food poisoning from Hollywood and "slime" when I was 6 and each time I have passed it since I have felt sick.....

I still really like the Akershus and the character experiences you get there. But I get it....I really like fish and the cold bar while some others probably don't get into it. It's like when my friends want to go to the German Pavillion to eat and to me that's not a great meal.

Hollywood and vine is the only place you can get Disney Junior Characters as far I know. So I took my kiddo last year and was very disappointed not only with the food but with the servers. The restaurant was actual almost empty. He was happy though so mission accomplished.

It unfortunately doesn't surprise me that Hollywood and Vine (never been there myself) would not make Disney prioritize an improvement to the food. Tony's has sucked forever and they put it in a prime spot in the MK! In fact, I think Tony's is the worst restaurant at WDW.

Part of the reason Hollywood & Vine is popular is because they offer dining packages for Fantasmic. I wish 50's Prime Time or Sifi Dine In were part of the Dining Package instead of the horrible Hollywood & Vine

I love the food at Akershus. In March I went to a ton of character meals. The service at Akershus was the best in any of the restaurants I ate at the 10 days I was there. Agree the food sucks at Crystal Palace. The food is really awful at Chef Mickey's! Worst breakfast I've had in a long time. Totally noisy and crowded. Hated it. Food is so much better for breakfast at 1900 Park Fair is much better. Thanks for the info about Hollywood & Vine. Going to Disney at Christmas and was thinking about doing Minnie's Holiday Dine. Planning to do all things Christmas, so thought this would be a holiday thing. I hated Tusker House. The character interaction was very poor. Lighting so bad all my pic were blurry and the food sucked.

I like Pete, I thinks he's straight up, I like his personality. He's not a cast member so you won't see butterflies hovering around him or molasses dripping from his mouth. I watch this play list mainly for him. Nothing against the other guys.

Chef Mickey traffic makes staying in the main tower at the Contemporary a pain!

Aw, I loved Crystal Palace! Granted, it was my first character dining experience at WDW (I had previously done all of the Disneyland ones) and my group and I LOVE Winnie the Pooh, but it was such a fun and pleasant experience! I love the location (we were able to see Festival of Fantasy from our table) and the restaurant itself is gorgeous on the inside! The food wasn't anything to rave about, but it was yummy and what I expect from a typical Disney character buffet, so no complaints. And I don't know if this has anything to do with us being there in January or the time of day we ate, but it was the most calm Disney character dining experience I've ever had. It was mostly quiet and the ambiance was calm. Other dining experiences, even ones I love like Tusker House or Goofy's Kitchen are just so noisy, hectic, and bustling with kids and cast members, and just people and noise everywhere. But we had such a nice and calm little lunch with some lovely character interactions placed perfectly by the glass-paneled wall and I honestly couldn't have asked for a better first meal at WDW.

Nailed it with Hollywood and Vine. Back in the day, and I'm talking many, many years ago, the food there was pretty good. Definitely not the case for the last 10 years at least. Thanks for sharing.

Talk about a bunch of drama queens. Hollywood and Vine is fine. The character interaction is great, the food is above average for a buffet and the VIP seating for Fantasmic is great. Everything has value, add it all up and you get your moneys worth.

I think Akershus is the only one I wouldn't put on here, but it's impossible for me to go without doing a few character dining experiences. For my latest trip, it was harder to get a reservation at Akershus than Cinderella's Royal Table. It is a fraction of the cost of CRT with a good number of princesses and okay food. Not great, but okay. My Ariel was a little off the last time I went but the other Character interactions have been great.

We actually had a good breakfast at Hollywood and vine recently. The food was good and our daughter loved Disney junior friends. We got lucky.

we always do crystal palace for the characters and it is good if you like simple food, not anything over the top

We all got food poisoning at Hollywood and Vine about 6 years ago it completely ruined the rest of our vacation when we complained we were told it was an animal kingdom flu that was going around we will with another family that went maybe two hours after we did and they also got sick

Pete said that two of them wouldn't be on his list--I'm curious what two he WOULD have listed to replace them.

I totally agree with Norway.

I dunno, I like Akershus, but I do love that type of fish so I guess that's the difference. It's not for everyone, I'll give it that.

Have you guys tried the new Bon Voyage breakfast with Ariel Eric and Flynn and Rapunzel over at Boardwalk yet? That food. Oh my gosh. SO SO SO GOOD. You need to check it out! And I'm obsessed with Eric and Ariel so that was also a plus!!!!!

Chef Mickeys breakfast is incredible!

I have been to Hollywood and Vine 3 times in 3 different Fall seasons. The food is not great but it's ok. It's a buffet so you won't go away hungry. It is not cheap but all of Disney is not cheap. The reason you go is for the Fav Five characters (in the fall with Halloween costumes) and with a special limited reservation you get a VIP seat pass (for no extra charge. Bonus!) to see Fantasmic, the end of night live action water show and fireworks. These VIP passes are also available with special reservations at the Brown Derby and Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano but without the characters. The VIP passes get first entrance to the amphitheater but this line will shut down if you arrive late, passes or not. You will get a seat. Bottom line, if you don't want better seating for Fantasmic or don't want to see the show at all and not seeing the Fav Five characters, you can miss Hollywood and Vine. If you want better seats and characters it is worth it for the extras.

I agree with Craig about Chef Mickey. As a mother who has been taking her two kids (now 14 and 19) to WDW every other year since 2004, we've never eaten at Chef Mickey due to the location, noise, and hype. Even my kids, as small children, have never shown interest in that dining experience! Pete, just because you had one great moment a decade ago doesn't make it "wrong" for everyone else to dislike. Please get off your high horse.

Crystal palace is great for character interactions but horrible for food, not to mention waiting over an hour past your reservation time.

I agree with Hollywood and Vine, we went last December for breakfast because the Disney Junior characters were a must with my kids but I could have made a better breakfast at home. It was cold and bland. The characters were the only reason it was worth going and when we go back to Disney we definitely will not be going to Hollywood. We've met the characters so there is no reason to go back

I can not believe the Cape May Cafe is not on the list. I have had nothing but bad food and bad cast member interactions at this restaurant.

Good Show Guys as Always I heard you guys make a Reference to River Country.. u guys should do a Show on River Country I find that Topic Very Interesting!!! I was on a River country kick for awhile and watched tones of Videos and Blogs about the Place and would love to hear your take on it!!!! Just a thought!!!!

I actually like the food at Hollywood and Vine! Buffet style, ice cream machine...I always over eat there!

I liked Chef Mickey's. And a few reasons why. First, when arriving from Toronto, Canada, we arrive around mid-day on Saturday. and it's around 3pm once we get to the hotel. I like booking Chef Mickey's for around 6pm because it allows us to do the monorail rides, and a character experience, without using one of our park passes. Like an "appetizer" of characters and Disney experience for the kid without going in a park. Then the next day we tackle one of the parks and start our Disney experience. Tusker sounds great, but it's in the Animal Kingdom park, so we'd have to use one of our park passes for essentially a half a day, assuming it was the first thing we did onsite. I think I'll be repeating this experience with my son in 2019.

Could you do an updated top 5 or Best/ Worst Restaurants and character meals, please? Also, if you do an update for the character meals please mention if one meal, (breakfast, lunch, dinner) is better than another. There has been so many new restaurants and character meals, I'm not sure if these are still Best/ Worst. Thank you.

I agree with the guys chefs Mickey is in a bad location but peat is right it’s the memories that take you back to restaurants

Chef Mickey's Brunch is great. I think you get the best of both breakfast and Dinner!

There's sort of a level of status I think when it comes to these. Your first trip may only have one or two. You might only be able to do one breakfast and one dinner. So by word of mouth and availability is why I think some folks go with the more "over rated" ones in that list. Personally the Crystal Palace's food was a few steps above cafeteria grade. But the Pooh character interactions we're fun. So it might not make the top five for myself, but it might be on the bubble. For Chef Mickey's when I was a kid I was pretty envious coming in on the monorail and seeing the folks eating in there! I thought you had to be in a different tax bracket to eat there haha! It just looks so marvelous and I will agree with Pete that it's in a great location. Now, it might not be the best place for a eat and greet. But it just add's to the overall charm of it (I still have not eaten there yet!).

i like when they said how it stacked on the best list. i'd like to see how they compare. I can see if a #2 best is a #4 worst, i'd be ok with them saying #2 best is also on the worst, and leave that (if best show is released before the worst.)

Craig. I usually don't agree with your choice in sports teams. But gotta love the Bayern München support.

You dont have to sneak into River Country. A large part of it is totally legal to walk through. Not fenced off or anything.

Food at Crystal Palace sucks for lunch- that's the reason