If you click on the links in this post, we may earn money from the companies mentioned in this post, at no extra cost to you. You can read the full disclaimer here.
I just enjoyed a meal at Minnie’s Summertime Dine, and I couldn’t wait to tell you guys about it!
For those of you who are unfamiliar, this is a seasonal event at Hollywood and Vine, a restaurant at Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
Hollywood and Vine has multiple seasonal character dining experiences throughout the year. We have reviewed other seasonal experiences, like:
- Minnie’s Springtime Dine
- Minnie’s Halloween Dine
- Minnie’s Holiday Dine
But this is the first year we’ve attended Minnie’s Summertime Dine!
In this review, I want to tell you what I liked about the experience…and what I didn’t like about the experience. I’ll discuss the following aspects of Minnie’s Summertime Dine:
- The character experience
- The menu
- The food
I also want to give you some tips at the end that will make your visit there even better.
But before I begin, remember, this is Green Vacation Deals. And I want to give a you a few tips on how to save money on your next visit to Walt Disney World:
Okay, now I’m back! Let’s get to Minnie’s Summertime Dine!
Character Experience
Minnie’s Summertime Dine gives you the chance to meet with four different popular Disney characters: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy & Pluto. They are dressed in their summertime outfits.
Now, I visited in June. And during June, there was a passholder deal for the meal. So our server told us that it was making the restaurant busier than usual.
But that passholder deal is over. So hopefully, it will not be quite as crowded as it was when we we there.
But as it was, our server told us that after a character came, it would be about 75 minutes until they came back around. That was a far cry from other Hollywood and Vine character dining experiences we’ve had, when it would be around twenty minutes between characters.
This gave me a bit of stress during my meal, because I worried about missing the characters. Our server told us that if we saw a character at a certain place in the restaurant, that meant they were coming over to our table soon. So whenever we saw a character there, we felt we had to stay and wait so we wouldn’t miss the character. Which took a bit away from the buffet aspect.
But as it turned out, I do think the characters came a bit more than she implied. We were able to have multiple interactions with the characters. And they weren’t rushing us out of the restaurant.
I will say my meal was at 12:40 PM. I prefer going around that time so that that way, I can eat a really small breakfast and get my appetite up for the meal because they give you a lot of food. But I wont’ have to wait too long for my meal.
But I’ve done this meal later (after 1:30 PM), and had better character interactions. So if the character interactions are your favorite part of this meal, I would say schedule an offtime like that if you want the best character interactions.
As for the character interactions, most of them we had we were great. Mickey did really rush through the pictures at the beginning of the lunch. It’s like he quickly posed and moved on, like he was a sitcom character who had booked two events at the same time and was just trying to get through as quickly as possible. That was a bit disappointing. But Goofy, Pluto, and Minnie were great, especially Goofy. And when Mickey came by later, we had a better experience (which was, of course, later in the day).
Minnie’s Summertime Dine Menu
Minnie’s Summertime Dine is a true buffet in that there is a ton of food and you can get all that you can eat. You can go back for seconds, thirds, etc.
You really do get your money’s worth when it comes to food at this buffet. Here are some of the food included in Minnie’s Summertime Dine:
- Carving Stations
- Flank Steak with Chimmichurri Sauce
- Smoked Ham with German Mustard
- Sweet Chili Aioli Salmon
- Shepherd’s Pie (Contains Alcohol)
- Tandoori Spiced Chicken
- Meatballs
- Macaroni and Cheese with Shrimp & Bacon
- Roasted Mushroom-Farro Risotto
- Crispy Tofu with Vegetables
- Whipped Sour Cream and Chive Potatoes
- Roasted Potatoes with Olive Oil
- Mexican Corn
- Cheesy Cauliflower
- Potato Salad
- Caramelized Brussels Sprouts
- Fried Rice
- Sauteed Garlic Green Beans
- Vegetable Chili
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Spicy Watermelon Salad with Cotija
- Cucumber Salad
- Beet Salad
- Pasta Salad
- A salad bar with ingredients like:
- Ceasar Salad
- Spring Mixed Greens
- Shredded Carrots
- Diced Cucumbers
- Endamame
- Radish
- Red Onions
- Shredded Cheddar
- Ranch Dressing
- Balsamic Dressing
- Croutons
They also have a kid’s menu that really anyone can get food from:
- Allergy-Friendly Penne Pasta & Marinara Sauce
- Chicken Nuggets
- Mini Corn Dogs
- Baked Chicken
- Macaroni and Cheese
- White Rice
- Potato Barrels
- Broccoli and Carrots
There are also desserts available:
- Strawberry Tres Leches
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Apple Cobbler
- Seasonal Bread Pudding
- Blueberry Streusel Bar
- Chocolate Lover’s Cupcake
- Pineapple Tart
- Chess Pie
- Ice Cream
- Choice of chocolate, vanilla, or chocolate/vanilla swirl
Minnie’s Summertime Dine Food Review
Now, as I mentioned, I have done this character experience before in different versions (Minnie’s Holiday Dine, Minnie’s Halloween Dine, and Minnie’s Springtime Dine). And the menu is very similar. It’s just a bit different based on the time of the year.
Personally, I did not like the menu quite as much this time. The salmon had different seasoning we did not care for as much (and that had been a favorite of our’s). Our favorite dessert was gone, the Mississippi Mud.
But there were some great menu items. Since I just mentioned a dessert, let me start with the dessert. My family loved virtually all the desserts we tried.
There was a Strawberry Tres Leches cake in the place of Mississippi Mud that was really delicious. The chocolate chip cookies were a favorite of my family’s. Really, all the desserts were great. I also really liked the seasonal bread pudding and the chocolate lover’s cupcake.
We were a bit more torn on the pineapple tart and chess pie, with some liking and some not liking these desserts.
One of my family’s favorite menu items was the Macaroni and Cheese with Shrimp & Bacon. All of the ingredients blended perfectly together, but the shrimp was the real star here. The shrimp was so delicious.
A new addition to the menu that I thought was great was the Spicy Watermelon Salad with Cotija. It was a perfect addition to a summertime menu, and the watermelon blended really well with Cotija. I had never had the two together, but now I want to have it together more!
A favorite of my family’s from past character dines that was back at Minnie’s Summertime Dine was the Whipped Sour Cream and Chive Potatoes. I always love it, and it was great as usual.
All the kid’s food was great: the Potato Barrels, White Rice, Baked Chicken, etc.
The Smoked Ham from the carving station was great! We were more mixed on the
A few foods we didn’t care for as much? The Beet Salad was a bit hard and the Shepherd’s Pie was not as good as we had hoped.
Family Photo
Another neat feature of this event is that it gives you a great backdrop for a family photo at the beginning of your meal.
Minnie’s Summertime Dine Tips
- The way the restuarant is set up, there are two identical buffet lines that meet in the middle. If you go get to get your food and there is a long line, go the opposite side of the buffet line and get food from that line. We’ve avoided lines that way.
- Visiting this buffet experience at an offtime means less lines and often more interactions with characters, so consider booking a time such as 2:30 PM (as long as you don’t get too hangry waiting for lunch!)
- The children’s food is really good, so don’t hesitate even as an adult to get food from the kids’ section!
- The chimichurri sauce is near the flank steak but not beside it, so if you want the two together, make sure you keep looking for the sauce. The same is true for the smoked ham and German mustard.
- This meal is expensive, but you can pay for it using Disney gift cards. You can earn free Disney gift cards through Swagbucks; find out how to get Swagbucks here.