On your way out, make sure to get a shot in front of the gorgeous stained glass window.
Since it opened six year’s ago (!!) Be Our Guest, or BOG for those in the know, has been the reservation to beat at Disney’s the Magic Kingdom. It is almost impossible to get a walk up table at any meal, and still a nail biter if you’re making Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs) at the 180 day out marker.
The B Family has tried and failed for YEARS to set foot inside the Beast’s Castle. For our 2017 trip, I checked reservations every single day for three months. Let me repeat that, for those in the back. Every. Single. Day. For three months, I’m on the computer checking every meal on every day of our visit, constantly refreshing, and wishing on every star I see. The 2017 trip was a last minute trip, so we didn’t have the 180 day ADR window. It was more like the 90 day window.
For those unfamiliar with the Advance Dining Reservations, it is a great perk of staying onsite and booking for vacation early. You can begin making dining reservations 180 days before the first day of your trip for the entirety of your vacation. Even with the 180 day period, Be Our Guest can be a hard reservation to get. The food is reported to be among the best of all the restaurants at WDW, the decor is and theming is amazing, and it’s the only consistent place where you can meet the Beast.
There’s also gray stuff. And it is delicious. No need to double check with the dishes.
Would you believe me if I told you that we managed to score a reservation the NIGHT BEFORE we left for vacation? Well, it’s true! We were finally going to dine at the Master’s table! I was 100% more excited than the rest of my family, and literally spent the entire flight to Orlando, exclaiming to no one in general, “I just can’t believe we got a reservation at Be Our Guest. I just can’t believe it.”
With that kind of hype, and the sky high expectations, BoG had a lot to live up to. And it was better than I could have hoped for.
Who: Be Our Guest
What: Quick Service for Breakfast and Lunch/ Table service for Dinner
Where: The Magic Kingdom, nestled next to Enchanted Tales with Belle, behind the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
How: Cash, Credit, and the Dining Plan accepted.
When: Open daily, Breakfast 8:30-10:30, Lunch 11-2:30, Dinner 4-9:30.
Disney says: “Prepare to be pampered as the dining room presents…your dinner! Savor the old-world charm and impeachable table service of the Beast’s enchanted domain. Begin your fairy tale feast with a cheese plate, steamed mussels, or FrenchOnion Soup. Then treat yourself to Pan-seared Chicken Breast or perhaps shrimp and scallops with lobster sauce. Have room for more bliss? Dive into a Strawberry Cream Cheese or Triple Chocolate Cupcake. Reservations are strongly recommended.
B Family Says: “Beast makes good Mac & Cheese.”-The Little B Mermaid, age 4. “Good cake stuff”-The Sweet B Apple, age 2. “This is definitely one of the best meals I’ve ever had in a castle. Maybe the best.”-Mr.B., castle and food critic, “Did you see my cup lights up? My cup lights up!”-Kristen B, adult
Part of the fun of eating at Be Our Guest is the experience of dining in the Beast’s castle. After you check in for your reservation, you wait in the small stone courtyard for your guide to dinner. Each dining party is guided to their table by a cast member holding a very life like Lumiere! Our guide even let our four year old hold Lumiere, which was a brave and courageous thing to do. Following the candlelight through the stone castle put us right int the mood of the movie. It’s a fun way to start the night.
There are three seating options at Be Our Guest: the Castle Gallery, which features a beautiful statue of Belle and the Beast and other assorted art, the West Wing, complete with the Beast’s enchanted rose and torn curtains, and the Ballroom, which looks just like the ballroom from the movie.
We had dinner in the Ballroom, which we loved. I had read the West Wing was quieter and a little more intimate, but featured lightning. I was worried about the scare factor for the Sweet Apple. The Ballroom was large, and noisy, but it was a good kind of noisy. Families enjoying each other, couples savoring a romantic meal. Every so often, music would play hat announced the Beast. His greeting area is separate from the dining rooms. He meets for bit, goes back into the other parts of the castle to fix his mane and grab a quick drink, then he comes back. They announce him each time, and he walks through the Ballroom to get to his special greeting room. Sitting in the ballroom, it felt like we got a mini Beast parade every thirty minutes or so, and the Sweet Apple was into it.
A ballroom, and a silly blogger.
You may have heard about the light up rose tumbler that was being offered at Be Our Guest. These came out before our trip, and sold out quickly. So imagine my surprise when our server informed us they were back in stock. I was like, “Yes please!” And she was like “What would you like in it?” And I was like, “I don’t care, just gimme them roses!” I settled on my favorite soda, Ginger-Ale, and Mr. B would occasionally shake his head and say, “The world’s most expensive Ginger Ale.” But it counted as part of my souvenir allowance and almost a year later I still use it all the time. I regret nothing!
Enchanted Ginger Ale.
The rumors were true about the food. Delicious. You start with a basic bread course, nothing too fancy. For a starter we got the Marseilles Style Mussels and they were delectable. The adults ate the mussels and the littles loved dipping the crostini in the savory broth. Speaking of littles, these B girls must have had 10 different Mac & Cheeses. They seemed pretty happy with their choice across the board. Other kid options include Grill Cheese and Turkey Noodle Soup, Meatloaf, and Grilled Steak.
Marseilles Style Mussels, and one hungry dude ready for his appetizer.
Mr. B. chose the Grilled Strip Steak with Garlic Herb Butter and Pomme Frites. If you’ve had lunch at BoG, you’ll notice many of the options come with “pomme frites”. But when they get to your table, they’re the same French fries you can get anywhere on Disney property. But these dinner pomme frites? They were LEGIT. I definitely stole one or two.
I got the Sautéed Shrimp and Scallops with lobster, mushroom, and seasonal vegetables in a creamy lobster sauce. And oh my gosh, ya’ll. My favorite Disney seafood place is the Flying Fish on the Boardwalk, a signature dining experience that gets rave reviews. And dare I say, this meal was better? The scallops were tender, the shrimp were huge, the creamy sauce was so, so creamy.
After dinner, we were stuffed, but c’mon. You know we weren’t leaving without that Grey Stuff. We all split one, which was good after our delicious meals. We couldn’t have handled our own desserts.
The Grey Stuff really is delicious.
We paid out of pocket for this meal, as we took the room discount promo over Free Dining. If you were doing the dining plan, each person on the plan gets an entree, drink, and dessert. Had we been on the dining plan, we definitely would have skipped the Mussels to save more room for dessert. If you’re still full, a trick we like to do is share one dessert and take the other ones back to the room. Desserts hold up just fine in those in room fridges, and make for a delicious sweet breakfast or a nice after pool snack. If you’ve got one child on the dining plan and a little, the portions are definitely big enough for them to share.
Our evening was almost complete except for one thing…meet the Beast! The Beast’s dedicated meet and greet has the same luxurious feel as the rest of the castle. But the colors are dark, so if you’re taking pictures on your own phone, make sure the flash is on! There is also a Photo Pass Photographer who will scan your magic band. The Beast was a fun character interaction, Even though he’s got so much fur and such a large costume, he is very expressive with his body movements. The Little Mermaid refused to shake his hand because he was “too hairy” and he pretended to be sad. So the Sweet Apple gave him a pat and said, “S’okay, Beastie.”
Just a Beast and a few Beauties.
Overall, I’d have to say the experience was well worth the effort to snag the reservation. People use the word “magical” to describe Disney all the time, but that really is how it felt to eat at Be Our Guest. The atmosphere was so rich, it felt like walking into your favorite movie. The food was so good, it was easy to imagine we were eating at a real French bistro.
Believe the hype. Check out Be Our Guest.
Kristen B. is wife to the best Prince around, mama to the spunkiest little princesses, and lover of all things Disney. She started her savings journey three years ago and is now dedicated to making her family’s wishes come true one coupon at a time. She is so excited to take her love of saving to the next level and share her journey with you! Click here to catch up on Kristen’s Savings and join in on your own savings adventure!
My youngest was 17, when we dined at BOG, and it was indeed magical. The challenge for us, is that my daughter is violently allergic to dairy. We asked our hostess if they had a menu with dietary restrictions (always demoralizing), and she did one better.
She came back with a gentleman in white, who introduced himself to my daughter as her personal chef. Clearly in no hurry, he sat down next to her and said “Forget about the menu, tell me what you like. I even have non-dairy ice cream that you will just love.”
My daughter was no longer a server’s headache, but an honored guest. Together, they came up with a plan that worked to perfection. He also came by frequently to check on her. I still tear up a little thinking about it.
That is AMAZING! I love hearing stories like this. Disney truly does excel at taking magic to the next level. What a special experience for your daughter, and you! Thanks for sharing it with us on the blog. :)