Be Our Guest Dining Review- Is the Beauty & The Beast Themed Castle Worth the Price?

Be Our Guest is a themed restaurant experience set in the Beast's Castle from Beauty & the Beast in Disney's Magic Kingdom. This is one of the most popular dining locations at Disney World with a price tag to match. The only character you will meet is the Beast during your meal but this might make it worth it alone for some guests since this is a rare character to find!

We recently dined at Be Our Guest in November 2020 and have our honest review to help you decide if this popular, yet pricey, experience is worth it. Keep reading for our Be Our Guest review!

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Be Our Guest Review- Experience Overview 

This can be one of the trickiest dining reservations to get at Disney World so make sure that you book your reservation right as your window opens up. We did see some cancellations about a week prior to our trip here and there so you might have good luck picking up a cancelled time if you don't get your first choice.

The theme of Be Our Guest is that you are dining in the Beast's Castle from the popular Beauty & the Beast movie. The interior of this restaurant is absolutely beautiful and Disney got everything right when it came down to the detail for each dining room.

There are three different rooms to be seated in:

• The Grand Ballroom – Go for baroque in this magnificent ballroom with its high, domed ceiling, chandeliers and snow-laced Gothic arches.
• The West Wing – Dine in the Beast’s mysterious West Wing study—if you dare—and perhaps you’ll even spy his enchanted rose.
• The Castle Gallery – Get swept up in the romance of Belle’s private library, and inspired by the larger-than-life figures of Belle and Beast dancing.

Since we picked a late dining reservation, 7:50PM on a night where Magic Kingdom closed at 8PM, we were one of the last guests in the restaurant. We were able to get tons of pictures of each dining space quite easily and the restaurant wasn't quite as crowded as we dined. The hours we had to choose from during our stay were:

• Lunch – 12:00 PM to 2:55 PM
• Dinner – 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM

If you are visiting Disney World during limited operating hours, I highly recommend booking a dining reservation this late. You will also get the park to yourself on the way out with great opportunities to take plenty of pictures.

You can expect to see the Beast during your visit but because of COVID-19 modifications, you no longer get a picture with him when you enter but he will walk around and greet guests as they eat.

The menu here is themed as French/American dining and it comes with a pre-fix menu. You will pick your appetizer, entrée, and dessert from the available selections. Keep in mind that Disney is absolutely fantastic about allergies or accommodating vegans/vegetarians- don't hesitate to ask a cast member for other options if you need them. You can find the full menu for adults and kids on the Walt Disney World website.

The cost for an adult meal was $62 per person and for a kids meal was $37 per person. You should also factor in a tip! I always tip well when we visit but even more so now. Our waitress was fantastic and plus she was also outfitted in a mask and face shield which reminded me of the personal risk these cast members take everyday in the Disney World resort to do their jobs. Please tip your cast members! If you want a specialty or alcoholic drink, that will cost extra.

Be Our Guest Review- Our Dining Experience and Atmosphere

Be Our Guest is a high end themed dining experience with French/American food that takes place inside the Beast's Castle from Beauty & the Beast. The theming of this restaurant is the biggest draw for guests as it's one of two (Cinderella's Royal Table being the other) options at Magic Kingdom where you eat inside a castle. It's also more affordable (although still pricey!) than Cinderella's Castle. This meal can get expensive especially if you decide to opt for wine (which I did!) including the tip. By the time we were done, it was about $160 for one adult, one child, plus tip and drinks. 

Since this experience is currently modified, you won't get a picture with Beast when you enter but he will be occasionally wandering around the dining rooms greeting guests. During our visit we only saw him once so I am not sure if that's what you can expect or if it's just because we dined at park closing. He came through so quickly that I didn't get a chance to snap a good picture of him so that was a bit disappointing. My son was able to see him clearly and since he's not worried about pictures, he was happy just being able to wave and smile at him.

Due to COVID safety procedures you must keep your mask on until you sit down at your table and put it back on if you get up to walk around. It's definitely acceptable to get up from your table to check out the other dining rooms- we saw plenty of guests doing it during our meal and it was perfectly fine.

Overall, the theming of this restaurant was amazing and we loved everything about it. I'm a big Beauty & the Beast fan! As a 90s kid, that's major nostalgia for me as it was one of my favorite Disney movies growing up so I was tearing up from the moment we entered. My son, while not as much of a fan, loved it all too although he would have preferred to be in the West Wing while I was happy in the Grand Ballroom. You can request a specific area but keep in mind, depending on availability, you may have to wait longer to be accommodated.

My son was perfectly happy with his meal. And really, it's easy to please kids when you have mac and cheese on the list. That's usually what he eats everywhere at Disney so that worked out just fine. I loved my French Onion soup and the Dessert Trio. The bread was fresh, warm, and the butter was soft- all wins in that category.

I did not care for my entrée, the only vegetarian option on the menu, which was the Roasted Corn and Spinach Tortellini. It's more of a tortellini in a broth which is a very different take on that dish than many might be used to. The waitress did warn me when I ordered but since I don't eat meat, I figured I'd try it and see how it went. Now keep in mind: just because I didn't like it doesn't mean it's not good or freshly prepared. It looked immaculate and I am sure people with more adventurous palettes would have enjoyed it.

But what I love is that amazing Disney customer service, I didn't plan on asking for anything else and was content just munching out on dessert and bread. Our waitress immediately noticed I didn't eat it and insisted on getting me something else. She said I could have anything I wanted, even if it was something as simple as mac and cheese, just so I had something else to eat. I thought that was really kind of her, especially since I didn't ask, and once again shows how amazing Disney is when it comes to guest experience. She suggested a cheese, bread, and fruit plate which I happily obliged. That was a perfect choice since it was simple and my son was able to enjoy some of it too. Plus we had plenty of leftovers to take back to the hotel!

If you eat meat, I don't think you'll have an issue dining here because I've heard great things about the other entrees. Just don't be a picky vegetarian like me and you'll do just fine! Next time I will ask for mac and cheese (I know, I know) for my entrée. We wanted to eat here for the theming and experience more than anything else, the food didn't matter quite as much to me.

Is Be Our Guest Worth the Price?

I think this depends on a few factors such as:

• are you or your kids big Beauty & the Beast fans?
• is themed dining important to you?
• are you on a budget?
• do you want a high end dining experience?
• is getting a picture with the Beast top priority?
  • if this is the case, you may want to wait until normal character dining resumes

The price of this dinner is expensive and if you have a large group, you might decide it's not worth it if you're not big fans of the movie or care much about the theming. If you're looking for a nice dining experience, you can easily find that at a lower cost in Epcot with larger varieties of food options to select from.

But if the experience and the theming is important to you, I saw go for it. Even though I didn't care for my food, despite the price I paid, I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was the perfect end to a day at Magic Kingdom and I thought the theming was simply magical. It was my son's first trip to Disney World and being able to share this with him on our first day is a memory we will always have. Would I do it every trip? Probably not, I'd reserve it for special occasions but I'm glad we did it at least once.

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