When I was young, I LOVED to read, loved it so much my parents had to ground me from books, so I wouldn’t read. Seriously. That was almost as bad as when they took away my bed because I wouldn’t clean my room. My childhood was strange. So it’s probably no surprise that out of all of the princesses, Belle was one of my favorites. I can just imagine her sitting near the fountain reading one of these great young adult books or maybe a classic. My love for Beauty and the Beast was cemented when my dad surprised me when I was about 12 and took me to my very first real live musical – Beauty and the Beast at Kennedy Center. I was in awe. And I still have the sweatshirt in a box of keep forever somewhere stuff. Disney has done some incredible things with Beauty and the Beast in the past few years with the addition of the Be Our Guest restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. If you’ve never been, it’s a must-do next time you’re there. Get your reservation as early as possible because they book up fast. And if you can’t get one, try again 24 hours before the day you want to visit and you might get lucky. We picked up a reservation for our trip to Disney World 24 hours before and while it was a late night dinner (like 9PM), it was still an amazing experience. If you’ve already been to Be Our Guest, try one of the other Disney character dining meals I talk about in this post! I’ve now eaten at Be Our Guest a handful of times and while the experience has slightly changed over the years, the atmosphere and high-quality food remain the same! And the castle remains just as beautiful as ever!
Be Our Guest Check-In
Show up before your reservation. The castle itself has a lot to explore inside and outside from a gorgeous stained glass window (like in the movie) to stone statues, lights, and armored knights. My son was so mad that we had to go inside immediately and ended up going back outside after we ordered because he wanted to hang out. You’ll check in outside or online using the My Disney Experience app and once checked in, you’ll hang out in the waiting area (full of things to look at) with other guests who are waiting. The most recent time we were only waiting for 2-3 minutes but a lot of the waiting time depends on how early you check in! If you check in too early, you’ll likely be waiting longer unless they can find a table ready before then!
Best Be Our Guest Tables
There are three different rooms to sit in – the rose gallery, the ballroom, and the west wing. You can request a room but know that it might mean waiting longer. The ballroom is the iconic ballroom straight out of the movie with gorgeous chandeliers, enchanted ceilings, and snow falling outside. This is the most popular choice and honestly where I’d sit given the choice. The rose gallery is the room to the right side of the ballroom and features a dancing statue of Belle and Beast in the middle with portraits from the movie aligning the walls. It’s a little boring honestly and if you have a choice, I’d skip the rose gallery. It’s a lot more like just dining in a regular restaurant with pretty art and you’re paying for an experience, so you want an experience. Pretty sure I need to add that dancing figurine to my list of the best Beauty and the Beast gifts! The last room is the west wing and it’s on the left side of the ballroom. It’s darker, dimmer, and a little scarier. But its also quite the experience with the enchanted rose hanging onto its precious petals on one side, a slashed picture of the Beast on the wall, and just the darkness adds to the experience. If you have young kids, I’d skip the West Wing but otherwise, I think it’s an okay second choice.
Be Our Guest Restaurant Food
The Be Our Guest menu is a pre-fixe menu whether you’re an adult or a child and whether you eat for lunch or dinner. A meal comes with your choice of an appetizer and entree plus a dessert trio or their plant-based dessert option (skip it). Between the four of us eating the last time, we tried a number of the food items and were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food – which is good because the meal is super pricey, especially considering you’re not actually interacting with the Beast any longer. Here’s what we ordered during our visit!
Lobster Bisque – my mom said this was smooth, creamy, and delicious. She finished it all, which means it was good!Assorted meats and artisanal cheese selection – this was decent, nothing super special or elaborate, just a regular meat and cheese plate. I wish they’d combined the kids cheese and fruit plate with the meats for a little added sweetness to the salty!Sea scallops – my dad said these were really well done, nicely seasoned, and his favorite of the three entrees!Filet mignon – my mom’s favorite of the three, she said they were well cooked and tender. Poulet Rouge Chicken – I got this without the bread pudding and added mashed potatoes instead. The chicken was a bit dry without the sauce (my no onion thing) but it was good when eaten with the mashed potatoes and green beans. I will say though that the mashed potatoes at Space 220 blew these out of the water! Chicken tenders – while not on the menu, my son was able to get chicken tenders and they were better than the typical chicken tenders and probably the best ones I’ve had in a while!
Be Our Guest Desserts
I’m a little disappointed that they’ve gone away from having you be able to select your dessert from a dessert cart and instead gone to giving everyone the same dessert trio with just small bites of each. It’s a fun idea but for someone who really liked the previous desserts, I like having a selection! That being said, the desserts were a nice way to end the meal. The lemon jam macaron was good for a macaron. The white chocolate chip cup was a cute addition and of course I always like some good grey stuff (get a copycat grey stuff recipe here). They even gave me some extra grey stuff as a little birthday surprise, which was fun! Although I didn’t really need more grey stuff, still good intentioned! The dark chocolate truffle was good but the Grand Marnier filling was pretty strong, especially for someone who doesn’t drink. And lastly, we tried the plant-based vanilla cake with lemon curd. Don’t do it – it’s just not good. It was dry and pretty flavorless, even for a plant-based option. The kids dessert on the other hand was a fun one. It came with a similar chocolate chip cup but instead of having it filled with grey stuff, the grey stuff was on the side and they were given food coloring “paint” to paint their cup. My son loved it even though his chocolate hating self didn’t actually eat it!
Drinks
The meal also comes with a regular soda or you can upgrade to a speciality drink like this pomegranate limeade. It normally comes in a speciality cut (something like the one below) for $19, but they were out of cups when I went. This cup is back from years ago, like 2015. I love me a good homemade limeade the pomegranate limeade at Disneyland is one of the best things to eat at Disneyland… but this one wasn’t worth the extra cost.
Be Our Guest Tips
Just a couple of additional tips if you’re planning to eat at Be Our Guest anytime soon!
Bring a mask. Masks are required anywhere in the restaurant unless you are actually sitting at your tabe. That includes if you’re waiting for your table, walking around to explore the ballroom, or really anywhere else. Check for last minute reservations. People tend to cancel the day before, so I always recommend checking last minute to get reservations at places you couldn’t get into before. We scored a reservation the day before we went this past visit! Check in on the My Disney Experience app. This will save you from having to stand in line and who doesn’t want to avoid standing in yet another line at Disney World!Talk to the cast members about allergies and food preferences. Disney is great about customizing meals, especially ones like this, for people with special dietary restrictions. Look at the menus before you go (full menu can be found here). If there aren’t things you like on the menu or that your kids will eat, I say skip the experience. While it’s cool and beautiful inside, it’s not worth the high price if you’re not actually going to eat the food. Try the grey stuff at Gaston’s Tavern. If that’s the only reason you’re coming here, get the grey stuff cupcake just around the corner from Be Our Guest instead. One of the best Disney World snacks there is!
Okay and can we just talk about how cute my oldest was when he was a toddler? I can’t believe it’s been six years since the first time we ate at Be Our Guest!
More Disney World Planning Tips
Want help planning out the rest of your Disney World tips? These can help!
Disney packing list – a printable packing list that includes everything you could ever imagine bringing to Disney World (and a list of what not to bring!). Disney after hours – the guide to what Disney After Hours events are happening this year! Epcot food and wine festival – everything you need to know about this year’s events and food offerings! Top Disney World restaurants – out of all of the restaurants there are at Disney World, these are the best!Renting a car at Disney World – should you or should you not? This post can help!
