By Sleepy Diva
Since Be Our Guest opened at Magic Kingdom in 2012 it has been one of the most difficult dining reservations to snag. It is recommended to book a reservation for this restaurant 180 days out. I however never seem to have a trip planned that far in advance. My trips don’t usually get booked until a little before the 60 day mark which makes it more difficult to score that coveted dining reservation. Despite this fact, with constant checking of reservations, I have managed to score both lunch and dinner reservations for my past three trips. So, if you come up empty-handed at first, keep checking back! Soarin’ Diva also give tips on How to Score That Hard to Get Reservation here.
Lunch at Be Our Guest is a quick service meal. If you are participating in the Disney Dining Plan, it takes one quick service credit. When you are 30 days out from your lunch dining reservation, you can order your meal beforehand through My Disney Experience and pay when you arrive at the restaurant. Doing this saves you from waiting in the long line to order at the kiosks when you arrive. You can check out the lunch menu for Be Our Guest here.
It is important to note that you do not get to meet the Beast during lunch, he only greets guests at dinner so do not go into lunch expecting to meet him or you will be disappointed.
Entrance into the castle
When you arrive at the restaurant, you will check in with one of the cast members to the left of the bridge. If you ordered beforehand, they will give you a rose (basically looks like a pager) and instruct you to stay to the left across the bridge, enter the castle, and proceed to the cast member inside to pay for your meal (or use your dining plan credits). If you still need to order, you will stay to the right when crossing the bridge. You will be given a menu to browse and then will place your order at one of the kiosks when you enter the Beast’s castle.
During lunch you can choose which of the three rooms you wish to dine: the Ballroom, the West Wing, or the Rose Gallery.
The first room you enter is the Ballroom, adorned with beautiful chandeliers and a ceiling painted with many cherubs*. Through the windows in the back, you can watch the snow falling outside. *Fun Fact- The cherubs on the ceiling are actually based on the Imagineers who worked on the restaurant.
Snow falling outside the windows; Cherubs painted on the ceiling modeled after the Imagineers
To the right of the Ballroom is the Gallery. You will find paintings hanging on the walls and in the center of the room is a giant music box with Belle and Beast dancing on top*. *Another Fun Fact- Belle’s father Maurice designed this music box and you can see his model for it in his workshop in Enchanted Tales with Belle. When looking at the magic mirror, it can be found on a shelf in the top left hand corner.
Music Box designed by Maurice; the model found in his workshop in Enchanted Tales with Belle
To the left of the Ballroom you will find the West Wing. This room is the smallest of the three dining rooms and it is very dark. Here you will find the enchanted rose and the magic mirror. On the wall you will see the painting of the Prince before he became the beast. While dining in the room you will hear the sounds of thunder and see flashes of lightning. If you watch the Prince’s picture closely, you will see him turn into the Beast. Many people come in this room to take pictures of the rose, so don’t sit next to it unless you don’t mind people crowding your table while you eat.
The West Wing
Once you pick your spot to eat, a server will magically find you with your food! You will serve your own drinks from one of the drink stations found throughout the castle.
Croque Monsieur
This trip, my husband and I chose to eat in the West Wing. I don’t usually like places with dim lighting when I am eating, but I enjoy dining in the West Wing and watching the rose. I chose the Croque Monsieur (grilled ham and cheese) which is served with french fries (pomme frites). The first time we dined at Be Our Guest I had the Croque Monsieur and didn’t care for it too much, it had seemed really thin with not much meat on it but I decided to give it another try. This time it was very good. There was a lot of ham on it, and it was a really good portion size; I wasn’t able to finish it so my husband helped me with that! It is served on a multigrain bread which is something to consider if you don’t like seeds in your bread. The ratio of meat, cheese, and béchamel sauce was perfect. The fries are typical of all the fries you will find in Walt Disney World, nothing special.
My husband went with his go to meal at Be Our Guest which is the Coq Au Vin (Braised Pork) which is slow cooked with mushrooms, onions, carrots, and bacon and then served with mashed potatoes and green beans. The meat was very tender and flavorful (according to him anyway, I didn’t get a bite in before he devoured it). I love green beans and managed to steal one of those, they were very good, nice and crisp and not limp. My husband always really enjoys the Braised Pork (he practically licked his bowl clean), but I do feel like the portion size of the meat is a little small given the price, $16.99.
Masters Cupcake
For dessert we both decided on the Master’s Cupcake: a chocolate cupcake topped with the “Grey Stuff” and chocolate pearls. I think half the popularity with Be Our Guest is due to people wanting to try the Grey Stuff; it’s delicious, just ask the dishes. The Grey Stuff is basically a cookies and cream mousse. I always order the Master’s Cupcake since Be Our Guest is the only place to get the Grey Stuff, however I actually think I prefer the Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcake: a vanilla cupcake with a strawberry mousse filling and cream cheese icing. I feel like it has more flavor compared to the Master’s Cupcake. If there are two of you, I suggest getting one of each and sharing.
We did not order it this trip, but on the menu there is French Onion Soup for an appetizer. I love French Onion Soup, but at Be Our Guest they use a vegetable broth (making it a vegetarian option) instead of beef broth. I find the soup to not be very flavorful so we decided to skip it this time.
I have heard people say that Be Our Guest is hit or miss or they find it overrated. Everyone’s experience will differ based on their own particular tastes, but I have never had a bad experience dining here whether it be for lunch or dinner. Compared to other quick service options in Magic Kingdom, I would always choose Be Our Guest even though it is a little more pricy than the other restaurants. If you get the chance, I would definitely suggest dining here. Don’t know whether to try it out for breakfast, lunch, or dinner? Check out Darlin Diva’s post to help you decide.
When you have finished your meal, feel free to browse the different rooms and take pictures, just remember to be courteous to the people who are still enjoying their meals.
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