Hollywood Studios Archives - Laughing Lindsay

Hollywood Studios Table Service Restaurants Guide

July 8, 2026 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

When planning a Disney World trip, it can be difficult to decide where to eat. So, I thought I would post a Hollywood Studios Table Service Restaurants Guide to help people plan their trips.

Hollywood Studios Table Service

Before we dive into the options, just a reminder that Disney calls sit down restaurants table service. If you are on a Disney Dining Plan with Table Service Credits, then you can use the credits at one of these restaurants. I previously posted a Magic Kingdom Sit Down Restaurants Guide. So, today I am going do to the same thing at Hollywood Studios! Hollywood Studios has some iconic themed restaurants. Most feature some basic comfort food, but they are done well.

The Hollywood Brown Derby

I will start with the restaurant you are most likely to encounter first upon entering the park – The Hollywood Brown Derby. Located in Hollywood Boulevard, it’s technically a Signature Restaurant. That means it will require 2 Table Service Dining Credits to eat here if you are on the Dining Plan. This restaurant is supposed to harken back to the Golden Age of Hollywood with its warm wood paneling. It’s the perfect location for a nicer meal in the park. It’s known for its Famous Cobb Salad and Grapefruit Cake. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to eat here yet. When I do, I will update this post with my review. However, it looks like a nice place to eat if you are looking for somewhere nicer to eat in the park.

Hollywood & Vine

Located in Echo Lake is the park’s character dining buffet – Hollywood & Vine! The best thing about eating here is the rotation of the seasonal theme in the menu and character costumes! I’ve eaten here several times over the years. As I mentioned in my Disney World Character Dining Guide, I hate that they have lost Donald Duck from the rotation of characters here. Nonetheless, it’s a great place to eat to kick-off Jollywood Nights as the characters are wearing Christmas outfits. During Minnie’s Seasonal Dining you can see the characters dressed up for Summer Dine, Halloween Dine, Holiday Dine, Silver Screen Dine, or Springtime Dine! I intend to post my full review of the Holiday Dine closer to the holidays and will link it here when it goes live. This is a 1 Table Service Credit character buffet serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner! It’s a great use of Dining Credit and a fun way to see the characters in different outfits.

50’s Prime Time Cafe

Located beside Hollywood & Vine (and sharing a restroom with it) is 50’s Prime Time Cafe! It is where the blog image used above was taken. Additionally, I posted a full 50’s Prime Time Cafe at Walt Disney World Review to give you a good idea of what to expect here. My mom loved eating here. The 50’s theme was full of nostalgia for her. I loved my peanut butter and jelly milkshake! Overall, it was a good meal of comfort food that everyone can enjoy. It’s 1 Table Service Credit on the Dining Plan and it’s a pretty good use, depending on what you order! Just come hungry! It’s an excellent value when part of the Fantasmic Dining Package when using the Dining Plan.

Roundup Rodeo BBQ

In Toy Story Land, there’s Roundup Rodeo BBQ. This is the newest Table Service restaurant in the park. It’s themed to Toy Story and features family platters of meats and sides. I’ve yet to experience this one, but it seems like a fun time for any family. You would need to order a special beverage here to make good use of the 1 Table Service Credit it uses though.

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater

Lastly, there’s the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater located in Commissary Lane towards the back of the park. I posted a Fantasmic Dining Package Review at Sci-Fi Dine-In a few years back. We weren’t overly impressed with the food here. However, we really enjoyed the set up and watching old sci-fi film clips on the big screen. This is another restaurant where you have to be intentional about what you order to get a good use of the 1 Table Service Credit it requires, unless you get the Fantasmic Dining Package like we did.

Hollywood Studios Table Service Restaurants

Well, there’s the list of the sit down restaurants located in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Which one is your favorite?

Disney Hollywood Studios Resorts Guide

April 15, 2026 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

Today, I am continuing on with my Walt Disney World hotel series with the Hollywood Studios Resorts guide!

Hollywood Studios Resorts

Previously, I published a Magic Kingdom Resorts Guide as well as an Epcot Resorts Guide. Today, I wanted to highlight the hotels closest to the other theme park on the Skyliner – Hollywood Studios! There is a good bit of overlap with the Epcot resorts due to the Skyliner. In fact, 1/2 of these hotels are also on the Epcot list. I’m going by Disney World’s website for grouping and they put a couple of hotels in both theme park locations. So, I’m going to cover them in both posts!

Art of Animation

First up, we have Art of Animation. I most recently stayed here in December 2025 with my mom. I posted a Disney World Little Mermaid Rooms Review covering the standard rooms in the Little Mermaid section of the resort. However, there are family suites in the rest of the resort. I’ve not had the pleasure of staying in one of those rooms yet. Nonetheless, you can read my overall resort review here.

This resort is great for fans of specific Disney/Pixar movies (Little Mermaid, Cars, Finding Nemo, or Lion King). I love that it’s on the Skyliner too. It’s a fun theme that immerses you in the Disney bubble. It’s considered a value, but is priced higher thanks to the theme/popularity and suites.

Caribbean Beach Resort

Next up, is Caribbean Beach Resort. I posted a complete Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort Review a few years ago. It’s a sprawling moderate resort on the Skyliner. It has fun, beachy vibes. My biggest complaint about this resort is its size. There’s multiple bus stops here. However, I did enjoy Sebastian’s Bistro the one time I ate there.

Pop Century

The other value resort on the Skyliner, is Pop Century! I’ve stayed here multiple times. It has fun retro vibes and is the most affordable resort on the Skyliner. You can read my entire Disney’s Pop Century Resort Review to get a better idea of what it’s like to stay here. I think it’s ideal for adults visiting Disney on a budget or for people on a budget who want access to the Skyliner.

Riviera Resort

Lastly, there’s the Riviera Resort. As I stated in the Epcot Resorts post, this is a fancy DVC/Deluxe resort. As such, I haven’t stayed here. However, I have visited a few times and really enjoyed the character breakfast at Topolino’s Terrace. I also appreciate its compact layout.

Disney Hollywood Studios Resorts

Those are the four resorts that Disney considers to be HS resorts. So, which one is your favorite to stay at? Do you like staying on the Skyliner?

50’s Prime Time Cafe at Walt Disney World Review

February 25, 2026 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

Back in December, my mom and I ate at 50’s Prime Time Cafe in Hollywood Studios for the first time! So, I thought I would share how that experience went.

50’s Prime Time Cafe

50’s Prime Time Cafe is a highly themed table service restaurant located in Hollywood Studios theme park at Walt Disney World. It harkens back to the 1950’s with kitschy decor and most tables having a black and white television! It’s supposed to resemble eating in a mom’s kitchen with tasty comfort food on the menu!

The Ambiance

My mom absolutely loved the theme here! She was born in the 60’s, but remembered some of the decor being in her mom’s kitchen. She couldn’t wait to take photos to share with a co-worker and her older mom since they had some of the decor as well.

It’s also fun that the televisions feature short clips from tv shows that were airing in the 1950’s. In fact, Walt Disney himself even makes an appearance from Disneyland (as seen in my blog post image above)! Again, my mom loved watching the clips of old shows and spotting famous actors.

Adding to the experience of eating here are the cast members. They treat you like family here. In fact, they will joke along with you and poke fun of things. For example, I got up to use the restroom and our waitress told me, “I didn’t excuse you,” followed by “wash your hands and use soap” when I responded that I had to use the restroom. It was fun to watch the cast members interact with other tables as well. There’s definitely lots of entertainment to be had at this restaurant.

The Food

Seeing as this is mom’s kitchen in the 1950’s, they serve up basic comfort food. Since we were on the dining plan, I selected a yummy peanut butter and jelly milkshake for my drink. It was heavy on the peanut butter and had very little jelly flavor to it. However, as a peanut butter fiend, I was in hog heaven. It was so good! My mom got a strawberry milkshake and she thought it was really good too! I highly recommend the milkshakes here.

For my entree, I went with Aunt Liz’s Golden Fried Chicken! It was juicy and tasty! It truly hit the spot. My mom got Cousin Megan’s Traditional Meatloaf and was really happy with it. It had flavor without being too spicy (my mom can’t handle any spice). Both portions were huge though. This isn’t the place to come for a small bite to eat. Both of us received roasted garlic mashed potatoes and corn for our sides. Both of which were pretty good.

We were pretty full by this point, but the dining plan comes with a dessert. So, continuing with the peanut butter theme, I got Dad’s Favorite Chocolate-Peanut Butter Layered Cake a la Mode! It was a rich, dense cake. It was a little dry though. So, the ice cream did a great job of adding some needed moisture to the dish. I would say the cake leans more towards chocolate than peanut butter, but it was still yummy to me! My mom got the Traditional Warm Apple Crisp. This dessert was a little disappointing, to be honest. It was like they dumped a can of sliced apples in a bowl and put some oats on top. It wasn’t bad, it just paled in comparison to my cake. Although, I bet it would have been improved with some ice cream on top.

Fantasmic Dining Package

While dining here, we booked a Fantasmic Dining Package. At $60/each, it’s a good use of a table service dining credit. My mom had never seen Fantasmic. So, we appreciated knowing that we would get good seats to the show. We got to sit pretty much dead center of the stadium and got a great view of everything. It was similar to the Fantasmic Dining Package Review at Sci-Fi Dine-In in that we got the same reserved area to sit in. However, I much preferred the food here at 50’s Prime Time Cafe. I highly recommend a Fantasmic Dining Package if you are seeing the show for the first time just to get a good view of the show. Although, if you are early enough, a dining package certainly isn’t necessary to get a good view.

Is 50’s Prime Time Cafe worth it?

I think the 50’s Prime Time Cafe Fantasmic Dining Package is a great use of a table service dining credit. However, it’s probably a little less “worth it” for a regular dining credit without the package. My meal would have been $47.25 otherwise, which is a little low if you are trying to get the biggest bang for your buck on the dining plan. My mom’s would have been $43.75. Out of pocket, that’s pricey. Although, if we had been paying out of pocket, we wouldn’t have ordered so much food. Overall, it’s a fun environment with comfort food that everyone can enjoy.

So, have you ever eaten here?

Solo Disney Jollywood Nights Guide

November 12, 2025 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

Last year, I was lucky enough to do a Solo Disney Jollywood Nights event! So, I thought I would share what it was like and offer some advice for anyone considering doing the same.

Solo Disney Jollywood Nights

Just in case you forgot, Jollywood Nights is a separately ticketed add-on event held after the regular park hours at Hollywood Studios. New in 2023, it’s a jazzy holiday themed party. It’s target audience leans more adults than children (versus Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party held at Magic Kingdom). Lots of people enjoy dressing up for this event. Thus far, I have worn a sparkly shirt of some sort with plain bottoms to match the weather. However, there isn’t a dress code.

What I Did

Having previously attended the Christmas Event in 2023, I knew what to expect at this party. I think that helped immensely as I knew I didn’t want to waste party time on the Nightmare Before Christmas Sing Along. However, I also knew that I wanted to see the show with the Muppets and the Jingle Bell! Jingle Bam! Fireworks Show again. I also fit in the Glisten ice skating show since it was new and it’s near the location of the fireworks.

Aside from the three shows, I mainly spent my time running around and meeting rare characters! I loved meeting The Mandalorian and Grogu! I wouldn’t make my mom wait in line for that, but it felt cool to see them. I also met Mickey and Minnie together as well as Donald and Daisy together dressed up in their special outfits for the party. Additionally, I met Scrooge McDuck, Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers, and Max Goof as Powerline.

I even saw Muppet Vision 3D one last time. I also took a stroll around the area just to take it all in before they change the area over to Monsters Inc.

Tips

Take your time – I really enjoy sitting down at these parties to people watch. Plus, lots of people get dressed up for this event. It’s neat to see what everyone is wearing.
Set your own pace – I ran around the park to see lots of characters and some shows. However, that’s the beauty of going by yourself. You can go fast or slow.
Have an idea of things you’d like to experience – If you know which shows you want to see and their schedule, you can work things around them.
Don’t be nervous to meet characters – I meet characters by myself often. It’s no big deal. Just don’t hold up the line by taking too many photos.
Leave whenever you want – I actually left the party a little early. I had managed to do just about everything I wanted to, so I left a little early.

Should you do a Solo Disney Jollywood Nights?

I really enjoyed myself last year. I have no regrets. However, I could see where a more outgoing person would want to share the night with someone. I think it’s totally fine to attend events and travel by yourself. I also understand that it may not be for everyone. You know yourself. Do what feels right. This event is ideal for someone who likes meeting rare characters in a more snazzy, grown up setting. It’s also ideal for people who love the holidays.

The Best Things in Hollywood Studios

July 23, 2025 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

It’s finally time for the last of my best of series at Walt Disney World – The Best Things in Hollywood Studios!

The Best Things in Hollywood Studios

I previously covered my favorite things in Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Epcot. Today, I’m discussing the last remaining theme park at Walt Disney World – Hollywood Studios! Hollywood Studios is supposed to be Disney’s attempt to take you into the movies. However, one could argue it’s kind of drifted away from the concept in recent years. Nonetheless, it’s become the go-to park for your Toy Story or Star Wars fix (among other things). It’s also a good theme park to grab some basic comfort food. So, here’s what I consider the best things in this park.

The Best Ride

I think the best ride here has to be Rise of the Resistance. It’s so immersive and technologically advanced that it’s hard not to be impressed. My mom is not a Star Wars fan. Yet, she really enjoyed this ride at Jollywood Nights in 2023. We also enjoy Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway here. I also like Slinkydog Dash here. So, I think there’s a ride that suits everyone in this park.

Best Table Service Restaurant

I have to admit, I’m a little lacking in restaurant experience in this park. Prior to Covid, I enjoyed Minnie’s Seasonal Dining at Hollywood & Vine several times. I love that the theme and character outfits change out seasonally. It’s a great way to celebrate the various seasons in this park that doesn’t decorate for anything besides Christmas. However, it’s a buffet and can be pretty pricey. On a future trip I want to try Roundup Rodeo BBQ or 50’s Prime Time Cafe.

I also enjoyed the Fantasmic Dining Package at Sci-Fi Dine-In. Sidenote: I highly recommend you make time in your schedule to see Fantasmic! It’s a great nighttime show!

Best Quick Service Restaurant

I think there’s a couple of good quick service restaurants in this park. My favorite is probably Woody’s Lunchbox or Ronto Roasters. I enjoy getting a kids meal at Woody’s since it’s a smaller portion size and comes with fruit. Ronto Roasters is good for breakfast or lunch with its unique offerings.

The Best Snack

This park has a couple of good snack options as well. Nothing groundbreaking, but pretty good. For instance, there’s the Num Num Cookie. It’s essentially a huge chocolate chunk cookie/bar. I haven’t had one in years, but it was good when I had it way back in 2020. You can currently find it at Neighborhood Bakery or Market in Pixar Plaza. I also enjoy trying the seasonal lunchbox treats at Woody’s Lunch Box. Some are better than others, but they are still fun to try.

What are the best things in Hollywood Studios?

These are some of my favorite things in Hollywood Studios. What are some of yours?