Disney's Hollywood Studios has a brand new place to enjoy a drink and some snacks and Only WDWorld was there to check it out!

Disney World has added a number of new bars and lounges over the past couple of years to appeal to the adult crowd that spends their vacation at the "Happiest Place On Earth."

Baseline Tap House at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Located in the former home of The Writer's Stop next to The Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, the Baseline Tap House has a brand new look and feel compared to the previous tenant.  There is a gorgeous outdoor location for guests to bring their snacks and drinks if it gets too crowded inside or they just want to enjoy the Florida weather.

The craft beers, wines, and cocktails all have California roots fitting the backstory of this Tap House set in a former Print Shop.






The inside is somewhat sparse in regard to decorations, but the bar has a really cool looking tap system to deliver the draft craft beers. There is not much indoor seating available.  You must go to the bar to order also since there is not currently any waitstaff besides the bartenders.

Menu

Current California Based Beers on the Menu include:

• Golden Road 329 Lager
• North Coast Scrimshaw Pilsner
• Anchor Meyer Lemon Lager
• Golden Road Hefeweizen
• Green Flash Passion Fruit Kicker Wheat Ale
• Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
• Lagunitas IPA
• Stone Delicious IPA

Hard Cider:

Review of Baseline Tap House

There is a new way to enjoy breakfast at Disney's Hollywood Studios and it is one that Disney World guests have been waiting for:

Breakfast at Sci-Fi-Dine-In Theater

Reservations are now open for a limited breakfast offering beginning November 1 at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater at Disney's Hollywood Studios.  This special breakfast is only around on a test basis until January 23, 2016 for now.

• Puff Pastry filled with Scrambled Eggs, Crab, Asparagus and Gruyère Cheese with Roasted Tomatoes
• Grilled Beef Tenderloin on Baby Spinach, with Bacon and Cheddar Custard on a Roasted Tomato and Cheesy Horseradish potatoes
• Scrambled Eggs, Crispy Bacon, Sausage Links and Breakfast Potatoes
• Macadamia Crusted Brioche French Toast with Mascarpone and Fresh Berries
• The famous Mickey waffle with a side of bacon or sausage. 
• Little ones can order scrambled eggs with sausage, bacon and potatoes; French toast or a mini-Mickey waffle.

New for 2015 at Star Wars Weekends is another Star Wars themed dining experience for fans to check out and this one is geared for the adults in the crowd.  This marks the 3rd different dining experience available for guests of Disney's Hollywood Studios during Star Wars Weekends.

Rebel Hangar: A Star Wars Lounge Experience

Disney Imagineers have done a quick makeover to a section of the Backlot Express quick service dining location that can be found between the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular and Star Tours.





They have taken an area that was supposed to be a studio backlot area with a bunch of excess props left behind and added a Star Wars feel to the area.  There are posters on the walls that encourage folks to join the Imperial Forces and Rebels themed items on the tables.







With just a few items, the transformation gives the area a great Star Wars look.  The above pictures give you a sense of the transformation.

The Star Wars Themed Food

The menu has a selection of small plate items and drinks that are befitting a lounge atmosphere.  The light up X-Wing fighters add to the appeal of the specially named drinks like: Rebel Red, Imperial Blue, Degobah Swamp Juice, & the Tatooine Sunset.





The menu is small, but there is a good variety of small plate offerings.  During our review we tried 4 of the choices: Lightsaber Bites, The Dark Fried, The Sith & The Jedi, and Chips & Sith.

The Chips & Sith was certainly the most visually appealing dish on the menu so we had to try it.  The Darth Maul looking hummus based dip not only looked great, but tasted pretty good also.  The next favorite were the Lightsaber bites which turned out to be an upscale version of corndogs that were cooked perfectly,served hot and went well with the accompanying mustard dipping sauce.  The Dark Fried was a Disney take on Chicken & Waffles that was good, but not exceptional.  The last dish that we tried was the barbecued pulled brisket and barbecued pulled chicken sliders.  Again these were good, but not overly memorable.

Rebel Hangar: The Experience

The experience is the key to the Rebel Hangar.  While we dined we saw Greedo, a Jawa, and from Star Wars Rebels - Ezra & Sabine walking around.  Unfortunately it was not like a character dining experience where they went from table to table and stopping to interact with guests and pose for pictures.  They would oblige if you stopped them as they went by, but they acted more like patrons of the Lounge and milled about.

The food was good, if not great, but we enjoyed the creative names and attempt to make them related to Star Wars.  The best result was certainly the Darth Maul looking Chis and Sith.

The props that had been included in this area looked great and helped make the area fun for the Star Wars Weekends guests.

The fact that the waitstaff did not push the food and drinks overly hard was great.  By that I mean that several tables got one round of drinks and maybe one appetizer for the table to split and that was it.  They were there see the Lounge and to enjoy the atmosphere.  In that respect the Rebel Hangar delivered.

All in all if you went in looking for a fun, Star Wars themed extra thing to include as part of your Star Wars Weekend then this is definitely something worth checking out.  If you are expecting some of the best culinary options that Disney World has to offer then this isn't for you.

Although they do take walk-ins, reservations are strongly recommended

The Hollywood Brown Derby could not have found a more fitting setting than within Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios Theme Park.  With the original Hollywood landmark now gone (closing in 1985), this Disney recreation helps evoke the golden age of Hollywood during the fine dining experience.

The Hollywood Brown Derby

As the only Signature restaurant located within Disney's Hollywood Studios, The Hollywood Brown Derby not only provides excellent food & drink options, it also seeks to closely imitate the feel and look of the original that was located at the corner of Hollywood and Vine and frequented by the elite of Hollywood.


The picture above depicts the original, which does look pretty similar to the Disney version.


Inside the restaurant you will find the caricatures and pictures that the Brown Derby was known for.  The "Great Wall Of Hollywood" as it was referred to had an impressive collection of drawings and caricatures of the leading men and ladies of Hollywood dating back to the silent era when the original opened in 1929.




You quickly take note of the rich wood used throughout along with the multitude of pictures adorning the walls.  There is certainly a lot to take in.  There is certainly an air of elegance when you dine here.

Lunch at The Hollywood Brown Derby

We chose lunch for our visit of this fine establishment with a goal of sampling a couple of the signature dishes that the Brown Derby is known for.

The Lunch Menu

Appetizers:

• Brentwood Sweet Corn Bisque
• Artisanal Cheeses
• Blue Lump Crab Spring Rolls
• Andouille-Crusted Prawn
• Local Greens tossed in a Champagne Vinaigrette

Each meal is served with fresh baked rolls and an amazing butter.


We started our meal by sharing an appetizer and we chose the Blue Lump Crab Spring Rolls.  They are described as: Snow Crab Claw, and an Asian Slaw with spicy Miso Aïoli for $13.

This choice was amazing.  Our only regret is that we had to share.  It had plenty of lump crab meat and plenty of flavor.


For our entrees we each chose the Famous Cobb Salad that the Hollywood Brown Derby is known for.  This may not be the most adventurous item to try on the menu, but it makes a perfect lunch and it is hard to visit the Brown Derby without trying it.  It is named after Robert Cobb who became President of the restaurant and created the dish in 1934.

The Cobb Salads were assembled and tossed table side which added to the experience.  The Cobb Salad is described in the menu as:  Finely Chopped Greens, Turkey Breast, Bacon, Egg, Tomatoes, Crumbled Blue Cheese, Avocado, Chives, and Cobb Dressing.

This light meal is perfect for the hot Florida days.  The flavors of the chopped salad mesh well together and made for a great meal.


For dessert we had to try another Brown Derby famous dish: The Grapefruit Cake.  This multi-layered creation of cake, cream cheese frosting and grapefruit was made when famous gossip columnist Louella Parsons complained to Robert Cobb that all of this desserts were too fattening and she wanted something healthier.  Cobb told the Chef "to put grapefruit on something because everyone knows it's slimming."

The result is a very tasty desert that seems to be lighter, even if it is probably a long way of being healthy for you.

Review Summary

The Hollywood Brown Derby is a great place to eat, but it is very expensive.  Lunch can be had very reasonably (by Disney World standards), but Dinner entrees range at $30+ apiece.

There is an excellent wine list, beers, and signature cocktails available for those who would like to make a social experience out of the meal as is intended at the Brown Derby.

The food was excellent and the service that we enjoyed ranked among the best we have ever seen.

We would certainly recommend The Hollywood Brown Derby if you are looking for an upscale dining experience while at Disney's Hollywood Studios.  The great foo and super service along with the authentic feel of Hollywood made this a wonderful meal.

The restaurant accepts the Disney Dining Plan, but as a Signature restaurant it requires 2 Tables service credits per person.  It also accepts the Tables In Wonderland Discount of 20% off the entire bill including alcoholic beverages.

New this year at Disney's Star Wars Weekends is a special character dining event called Jedi Mickey's Star Wars Dine at Hollywood & Vine that occurs each evening from May 4 through June 15th, 2014.

This special dining event combines Disney Characters dressed in their favorite Star Wars costumes and special Star Wars themed food set to delight any Star Wars fan.

Hollywood & Vine Changes For Star Wars Weekends

Jedi Mickey's Star Wars Dine at Hollywood & Vine

Reservations were required and hard to come by for this new addition to Star Wars Weekend for 2014.  Like many other Star Wars fans we were excited to see our favorite Disney Characters: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, & Chip 'n Dale dressed as classic Star Wars characters.  By making this a Disney World Character Dinner it meant that you can see, greet, and take pictures with all of them in one dinner instead of waiting in lines multiple hours to meet each of them individually.

Try the Stormtrooper Shrimp and Cocktail Sauce!

The buffet menu at Hollywood & Vine was also adjusted to make it different from the normal meals and put a Star Wars flair to all of the dishes.  The biggest difference would be noticed at the Dessert Table.

Chip at Jedi Mickey's Star Wars Dine at Hollywood & Vine

Star Wars Character Dining Review

The dinner starts out by checking in outside the restaurant and waiting in line for the opportunity to take a group picture with Chip 'n Dale in their Ewok costumes.  They had Disney Photopass photographers that took the complementary group photo and gave each family a special collectible Disney Photopass card.  They would also take pictures on your personal camera as well.

We then were ushered outside and again had to wait until our table was ready.  Fortunately they were running close to on time and this secondary wait was less than 5 minutes and we were shown to our table.

The inside of the restaurant only saw minor changes from its normal decor with the addition of a few Star Wars related banners around the columns and they handed out special 2-sided paper that could be rolled into "light sabers" supporting either the Dark Side or the Rebel Alliance.

Like most Disney World Character meals the roaming characters (Mickey, Donald, Minnie, and Goofy) were spread out in the restaurant and made their way from table to table.  Each family had to decide how close the next character was and then proceed to the buffet area to get food and then bring it back tot he table.

The Food!

The entire buffet had foods renamed to make them appear more Star Wars friendly.  Some our of favorite names were: Kit Fisto's Green Tipped Mussels, Jar Jar's Gungan Style Potato Salad,  Luke's Chipotle Citrus Barbecue Chicken Thighwalkers, Lando's Lobster and Shrimp Macaroni & Cheese, Salacious Crumb's Crusted Pork, Qui-Gon's Quinoa, Skywalker Ranch Chicken, & Naboo Bean Cassoulet.

Overall, the food was good, but not great.  It was very typical of the buffets at Disney World.  They were much better than a buffet you would find outside of Disney World, but they were not as good as many of the restaurants in Disney World that offered menu service.

The items that we enjoyed the most were:

• Palpatine's Pasta Station, which had a make to order Pasta Chef custom make each dish.
• Kessel Run Roasted Strip Loin from the Jedi Council Carving Station.

The Desserts!

Minnie Mouse as Princess Le

The Disney Characters!

Donald Duck as a Star Wars Stormtrooper

Donald Duck as a Stormtrooper makes for a wonderful picture.  The white of the Stormtrooper outfit works well with Donald's colors.  Not intimidating in the least, everyone wants to pose with Donald Duck for pictures.

Jedi Mickey at Star Wars Weekends

Mickey Mouse has no problem looking the part of a Jedi.  He certainly bridges the gap between classic Disney characters and Star Wars by simply donning a Jedi Robe.  If only it was that easy for all of us to pull off the convincing Jedi look so easily.


Goofy may not ever be serious, but he uses his height well to portrait Darth Vader.  Although it may be hard to think of Goofy representing the dark side of the force, he certainly makes a family friendly character to grab a picture with.

Summary of Jedi Mickey's Star Wars Dine at Hollywood & Vine

The meal did not come cheap.  It was $55.99 adults and $33.99 kids 3-9, or two table service credits for those on the Disney Dining Plan. The event does not accept Tables in Wonderland; however, Disney Visa Cardholder discount of 10% off was honored.

For Star Wars fans this certainly was a worthwhile event.  You most definitely have to value the Disney/Star Wars character interactions or you most certainly did not get your money's worth.  As mentioned earlier the food was good, but not great.  The value to this meal comes with the special Star Wars theming and seeing your favorite Disney Characters in Star Wars costumes and getting to interact, get autographs, and take pictures.