My fellow readers and Disney fans, I really wanted to like Be Our Guest Restaurant in the Magic Kingdom at Disney World. I really, really wanted to. It has so much promise. It has so much going for it. Beast even makes an appearance and that’s pretty cool in itself. However the overall experience really left something to be desired.
To be fair: it looks really great!
Forsooth! What is that way up in the mountain? Why, it’s the Beast’s castle made to look further away thanks to forced perspective!
Above the entrance is this lovely piece showing some of the story of Beauty and the Beast. The artistic touches in the foyer of Be Our Guest are really quite phenomenal!
In case the article picture is too small, here’s a better-sized picture of the stained glass window inside Beast’s Castle. A photo does not do this window justice. It’s beautiful and it’s huge!
It has three themed dining rooms!
Be Our Guest Restaurant is divided into three rooms: The Grand Hall, The Gallery, and The West Wing. Unfortunately because of how crowded and hectic it was inside, I was unable to take any photos of The Grand Hall, which is the largest of the dining rooms.
The Gallery is the area to the right of the Grand Hall. It features artwork along the walls, and this beautiful rotating centerpiece in the middle of the room of Belle and the Beast dancing. The room is lined with banquettes along the walls and around the centerpiece.
The West Wing is the room to the left of the Grand Hall. It has two unique features specific to this room themed after Beast’s room. First is this ripped painting which occasionally changes when lightning crashes, just like in the movie!
The second unique feature is the iconic enchanted rose, which periodically loses a rose petal. It’s more breathtaking in person, I promise. I apologize for not being able to provide a better picture, but this room is rather dim.
How dim is it?
It’s so dim, this was the best photo of the Beast that I was able to take. In fact, this room is so dim, Beast only took a few steps into this room to wave to all of us fans. And this is his room! He’s about my height, but he couldn’t see me trying to flirt BECAUSE IT WAS SO DARK IN HERE!
We have to spill some tea first.
Before the pandemic, Be Our Guest was a la carte for breakfast and lunch, and then a prix fixe dinner. Disney eventually caught on that breakfast guests weren’t coming here for the food, but to be closer to Seven Dwarves Mine Train when the park officially opened. They would order the cheapest menu items they could, then scurry off to Seven Dwarves when the park officially opened to be first in line to ride before the wait time skyrockets.
As a result, Be Our Guest wasn’t making the profits it should have, and quality began to suffer. In an effort to make the restaurant more profitable, Disney discontinued breakfast, and changed lunch to the same prix fixe menu and price as dinner. This is why we can’t have nice things.
Let’s get to the food already.
As stated earlier, I was seated in The West Wing, which is the darkest of the three dining rooms. You’ll need a flashlight to view the menu, or to even scan a QR code on your phone to pull up the menu. It’s ridiculous.
The prix fixe price includes an appetizer, main entrée, and a dessert. I think this was a tomato based soup, but I don’t remember much about it. What I remember was much I hated this plate, though! It’s a huge plate and in the center is enough for a cup of soup. Who needs a plate this large? Nobody. This is not elegance, this is 80s excessive.
For the main course, I chose the filet mignon because I want to get my money’s worth. Looking at this picture, I’m sure you’re noticing a trend here: big plate, small food. While the flavor of the steak was okay, the portion size is not very big. Same for the accompaniments. Fancy mashed potatoes, a few green beans, and whatever that other thing is. There’s more plate than food, and this is a problem.
Desserts are usually good though, right?
Dessert is the mandatory Dessert Trio (unless you opt for the plant-based option). While the three offerings of the trio haven’t changed too much, the presentation has. You are still given a macaron and a chocolate truffle, which are decent. However, instead of the iconic Grey Stuff served in a white chocolate mold of Chip, it is now served as a tart.
I guess changing the Grey Stuff presentation is a blessing in disguise. When I dined here, it was served in a mold of Chip. My server told me the mold is white chocolate and is edible, so naturally I ate it. Now that I have time to reflect on this, Chip was a character in the movie. I ate a character in the movie. On top of that, when the curse is broken, all of the animated objects turn back into the humans they once were. So if you really think about it: I ate a little kid! I’m calling my therapist after I finish writing this article.
But before I do that, can we all take a moment to appreciate this detail? The character Chip in the movie has a chip in his tea cup, and the mold of Chip has a chip in the tea cup! The attention to detail here is really something!
The hits keep comin’.
Here’s the most offensive part of the meal: the price for adults for this large plate, small portion lunch (or dinner) is $67! For kids 3-9 it’s $39. To put this into perspective, I paid about the same price for Hoop-De-Doo Musical Revue, which also has a prix fixe menu, and had more than enough to eat.
I do not understand why reservations at Be Our Guest are difficult to get. This restaurant is not good, and unfortunately it has been consistently not good since it reopened after the pandemic. The price for not only the portion size but also the quality of food is borderline offensive. Your vacation dollars could be better utilized at a number of other Magic Kingdom restaurants instead of dining here.
My only recommendation for Be Our Guest would be if you, or a person you care for very dearly, is a huge Beauty and the Beast fan. There is enough art and movie references to please even a casual fan. Looking around the three rooms of the restaurant is a feast for the eyes, and any die-hard fan will want to see the enchanted rose in the West Wing.
Remember to bring a flashlight if you go.
Disney Rover 