I have two reservations for our Hollywood Studios day, both around 5:00. We will only be at HS for one day. We have the dining plan. Kids are 10, 8, 6 and 4.
My original plan was H&V with the Fantasmic package.
–Pros: convenience/time-savings. Also obviously a benefit if we do see Fantasmic.
–Cons: I watched Fantasmic online and am thinking that my sensitive younger kids might find it too scary.
–Our priority is the Star Wars fireworks show. Not sure how hard it is to rush from one show to the next.
–food not great at H&V??
Other plan was to do Cape May.
–Pros: Could be a nice break to leave for a bit. Kids might enjoy taking the boat over. Everyone in the family loves seafood! We could get back and find a good spot for Star Wars fireworks with less stress.
–Cons: takes a lot longer. Have to decide for sure to skip Fantasmic.
We are doing other character meals (CRT, Tusker House, Bon Voyage, 1900 Park Fare) so I don’t care about the theming for this dinner.
I for one, is a Big Cape May’s fan! Why? Because I and my wife LOVE crab legs. Where we are from they are very spendy and always sitting in water which leaches out the flavor. At Cape May’s they are steamed in big steamers and never sitting in water. They bring them out in trays piled high and you take all you can eat. The cold shrimp are huge and delisous. There is also calm chowder, corn on the cob and much more. It is a buffet. I am unsure how much your kids would like it but they are a lot of choice. My vote is for Cape May’s most definitely. Want a fun time for you and your kids? Head over to Wilderness Lodge for Hoop De Do Review. You must pre-book but you won’t be disappointed. It is a great time.
I would skip H&V and do Mama Melrose for the package. Now, one thing that would change is if I had kids and they were set on meeting those characters. The food is not very good. But the character interaction is a lot of fun.
depends on what characters your looking for. The Crystal Place has the Three little pigs, Pooh Bear and such. Chief Micky’s has Mickey and Minnie mouse as well a Pluto and Donald Duck. Norway has the Princesses.
We ate at H&V last June and thought the food was fine everything we ate was good and seemed very fresh. You are going to other character meals so skipping this would not be a loss. If everyone is a seafood lover then CM might be a good choice (I would double check the menu to be sure the kids will eat there first.)
I’m aware that at different places there are different characters and also aware that at different places there is different food. The food can very in how good it is greatly and H&V has been one of the worst when it comes to Character meals (this based on many reviews online and what the readers of The Unofficial Guide To Walt Disney World say. H&V has, as a rule, not great reviews concerning the food, but the character interaction is good. I’ve been to many of them, had some very good food and others bad food. Had some great character interactions and other they were there and we got pictures and gone. It just depends. We did CRT and Akershus for breakfasts on the same trip. Both were fun, both were good. If had to pick again which to do, Akershus was much much better for the food and the character interaction. This was on our honeymoon. We did others in our past 2 trips, (Engagement trip December 17 - 26, 2016 and Honeymoon December 19 - 31, 1017) Some are much better than the others. Yes, what characters are there can play a big part, however, that still doesn’t take away from the fact that you are also there for a meal and the meal should be good for the money that you pay.
I would say that the very best we had was at O’hana, as it was very good food and the interaction with the staff and characters and even handlers was amazing. All I share is from my views and experiences and what I have read of others.
