Hollywood & Vine Lunch- yay or nay?

[mjasw263]

My kids LOVE Sofia and Doc McStuffins. I think Hollywood & Vine would be a great place for character dining (Lunch) - but I've been reading mixed reviews. A lot of people say that Sofia and Doc don't show up and the kids (and parents!) are left very disappointed.
I'm torn - if they show up, it'll make our trip! But if they don't, well I'll have just wasted a Table Service

On a side note - how's the food there?

 

[UncleMike101]

My kids LOVE Sofia and Doc McStuffins. I think Hollywood & Vine would be a great place for character dining (Lunch) - but I've been reading mixed reviews. A lot of people say that Sofia and Doc don't show up and the kids (and parents!) are left very disappointed.
I'm torn - if they show up, it'll make our trip! But if they don't, well I'll have just wasted a Table Service

On a side note - how's the food there?

We did the Fantasmic lunch there last May.
The characters were all over the place and stopped at our table at least twice each. (Made the Granddaughter happy)
The food, IMO, was pretty typical buffet fare.
They had an "Oriental" salad with chicken that I liked well enough to have three portions.

 

[Shellyb84]

It was the worst character meal we had. The food and the service was not good However, if those are the characters your kids really love, I would do it anyway to make them happy!

 

[gmccreary]

The character interactions are usually great here! Do not go for the food, but if your kids love these characters, it should be a good time. The food isn't bad and there are plenty of options so that nobody should leave hungry.

 

[mjasw263]

Thanks for your honesty about the food - a bit disappointing to hear that the food isn't the best. Have you ever heard of or read that the characters didn't show up? My brother visited in Aug 2014 and Aug 2015. He said that in '14 only Handy Manny came. And in '15 no one showed up at all. After googling "characters didn't show up holly and vine" it's common thing. Just torn whether to do it, or not.
We could just do the Meet/Greet Animation Courtyard and watch the Disney Junior show, then be done with it, I guess.

 

[disneemama]

Grandkids always love it here, lots of character interaction. Music, dancing and photo ops. Food is typical buffet fare. I don't think its bad at all just nothing to write home about. It can be difficult at times to get the kids to sit down and eat, just takes some work def a fun place for kids.