Dining at Hollywood Studios at Disney World
There are two types of Disney Hollywood Studios dining options (and indeed, throughout all the Disney World parks!).
Quick Service restaurants are counter-service or cafeteria-type eateries. Guests either order a snack over the counter, or go through a cafeteria line picking up food they like, pay for it, and then find some place to sit.
As the name implies, at table-service restaurants, you and your family can sit down and relax and wait staff come to take your order. (Buffets are included in table-service restaurants, since a member of the wait-staff comes to take your drink order.)
It’s important to make reservations well in advance for some of the table-service restaurants, and to leave yourself enough time to dine and then get to one of the evening shows such as Fantasmic! or Star Wars, A Galactic Spectacular.
Also bear in mind that table-service restaurants will typically have a higher price range than Quick Service eateries.*
Table-Service Restaurants
Table service restaurants in Disney’s Hollywood Studios include the Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge, the Tune-In Lounge, (which serves food form the 50’s Prime Time Café.) and Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano.
Our top four choices for table-service restaurants are:
The 50’s Prime Time Café
(off Cypress Drive, south of the Sci Fi Dine-In Theater)
As the name implies, step into this café’ and you step back in time to the 1950s, with in-character wait-staff to take your order and serve you delicious comfort food such as meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, lasagna and fried chicken. If you grew up watching reruns of Leave it to Beaver – or want to watch some reruns of Leave it to Beaver and Topper and other b&w 50’s fare, you’ll love this place!
The Sci Fi Dine-in Theater Restaurant
(off Commissary Lane, north of 50s Prime Time Diner)
Another 50s-era type restaurant, for which you’ll really need reservations. (As with any of the wait-staff restaurants, you can make reservations up to 180 days in advance at the Disney website). Guests get to sit in car-shaped booths and watch clips from classic sci-fi movies. (There are also a few tables, but for the real experience, you need to be in a car!)
Entrees include sandwiches such as a salmon BLT or Reuben, or house-smoked St. Louis-style pork ribs. There are also vegetarian options. For dessert, be sure to try their out-of-this-world Turtle cheesecake. Wines and beers are also available.
Hollywood & Vine
(off Prospect Avenue in Echo Park, east of the 50s Sci Fi Dine-in Theater)
Just like dining at the table-service restaurants, the 50’s Prime Time Café and the Sci Fi Dine-In Theater, it’s a good idea to make reservations if you want breakfast, lunch or dinner at Hollywood and Vine. What makes Hollywood and Vine special is that you also get to meet Disney Jr. characters such as Jake from Jake and the Pirates during the breakfast and lunch buffets.
Seasonally, Minnie Mouse hosts dinners with her friends Mickie, Donald, Daisy and Goofy. These dinner packages have an extra cost.
The Hollywood Brown Derby
(Hollywood Boulevard, north of Echo Lake)
For a fine dining experience, the Hollywood Brown Derby can’t be beat. This restaurant is an authentic replica of the original Brown Derby restaurant on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, which was had the distinctive dome-shape of a derby hat! Their signature dishes are pork tenderloin, seasonal grouper, and the Cobb salad (named after Bill Cobb, owner of the original Brown Derby restaurant).
Quick Service Eateries
For quick snacks and cafeteria type foods, there are quite a few eateries including Anaheim Produce, which offers fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as Mickey pretzels; KRNR the Rock Station for hot dogs, soft serve ice cream and frozen lemonade; and PizzeRizzo for counter service pizza, meatball subs or antipasto salads. This eatery is located in the Muppet Courtyard, and is run by Rizzo from the Muppet show.
ABC Commissary
(Commissary Lane)
For lunch and dinner, check out the ABC Commissary on Commissary Lane, a quick service cafeteria where you dine in a replica of a commissary in a Hollywood backlot studio. Watch movie trailers on one of the many TVs while you scarf down a chicken club sandwich or lemon pepper salmon or sirloin steak.
Hollywood Scoops
(Sunset Boulevard)
Sugar and fat-free ice creams are available at Hollywood Scoops, but you can also get fantastic hand dipped ice creams and sundaes, as well as home-made ice cream cookie sandwiches.
*Note
Restaurants throughout Disney World can be divided into two groups – those owned and operated by Disney World and those owned and operated by third-party vendors. Regardless of who owns and operates the restaurants, they can close at any time, either permanently or to be remodeled and given a new name.
The information in this article is current at the time of writing (January 2017) and will be updated periodically.