2023 NEW MENU: Is Be Our Guest Restaurant in Disney World Worth It? (Restaurant Review)
Planning a trip to the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World and wondering if the famous Be Our Guest Beauty & The Beast-themed restaurant is worth it? Keep reading for a full restaurant review!
Is Be Our Guest Worth The Hefty Price Tag?
Full disclosure, I don’t always like Disney fine dining. In fact, I wrote another article on this blog about Disney’s new Space 220 restaurant in Epcot where I wrote it was de facto not worth the price tag.
All this to say, you can trust I’m giving you an honest opinion when I say Magic Kingdom’s Be Our Guest restaurant is 100% worth the price tag. Not just for the theming (which was gorgeous) but because the food is truly amazing.
I wasn’t expecting authentic french food in the Magic Kingdom, maybe at Epcot’s France Pavillion, but the Magic Kingdom isn’t known for having the best restaurants out of all the parks.
But with the brand new menu at Be Our Guest, they have blown the other restaurants I’ve been to at Disney World out of the water.
The food was so terrific at Be Our Guest, the theming was a bonus. I would recommend anyone go there just for a great dinner alone, but if you’re also a Beauty & The Beast fan it’s a not to miss experience in the Magic Kingdom.
✔️INFO
– Be Our Guest is located in the Beast’s Castle in FantasyLand, which is in the Magic Kingdom Theme Park.
– Be Our Guest is open from 11:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. for lunch, and dinner is from 4:00 p.m. until the park closes.
How much does it cost to eat at Be Our Guest?
As of right now in 2023, the 3-course prix-fixe menu at Be Our Guest restaurant costs $67 per adult, and $39 per child age 9 and under (not including taxes and tip). There are also additional charges for drinks and add-on items.
🚨 Note !!! The lunch and dinner menus at Be Our Guest are exactly the same and cost the same amount.
All About Be Our Guest, Beauty & The Beast Restaurant In Magic Kingdom
There are three main dining rooms at Be Our Guest, all inspired by main scenes from the Beauty & The Beast movie. All three are distinct, and they can drastically impact your dining experience depending on where you’re seated. Keep reading to find out more!
The Grand Ballroom
The Grand Ballroom is the main dining hall in the Be Our Guest restaurant. It’s styled after the Grand Ballroom scene where Belle and The Beast dance for the first time (and she wears her famous yellow gown! I had a costume of it as a kid 💛).
This is the scene where they play “Tale as Old as Time” in the movie, which you can hear twinkling in the background in the Grand Ballroom dining room.
The windows in the Grand Ballroom feature snow falling outside, over the Beast’s castle grounds in the French countryside. It’s so beautiful, and even if it’s 100 degrees outside in Orlando, Florida, you’ll believe you’re in snowy France!
💡 Note: The Grand Ballroom is the largest and most popular dining hall, but since it’s so big it can get loud.
The West Wing
You might remember the West Wing from the Beauty & The Beast movie as being the forbidden West Wing that the Beast declares Belle can never enter. Well, the Be Our Guest restaurant has recreated it (down to the Beast’s Enchanted Rose!) and it is the “Spooky” themed room out of the three main dining halls.
Some of the notable features in the West Wing are a portrait of The Beast that transforms between him as The Beast and him as The Prince, as well as the Enchanted Rose – which if you look intently enough, you can see drop petals in real time!
Thunder & lightning are going off in the West Wing as part of its theming, so if your little ones get scared easily I would recommend the Grand Ballroom or Castle Gallery.
💡 Note: The West Wing has the dimmest lighting out of the three dining rooms, so if anyone in your party prefers a more lit room I would recommend going with the Castle Gallery or the Grand Ballroom.
The Castle Gallery
The Castle Gallery is styled to be a portrait gallery at the Beast’s Castle. It features large pieces of artwork on the walls featuring the characters and scenes from the movie. It also has a giant spinning music box in the center of the room where Belle & The Beast are depicted dancing to “Tale As Old As Time”.
Which Dining Room to Choose?
Which dining room to choose at Be Our Guest will depend on your preference!
While the Grand Ballroom is the most beautiful (in my opinion), it’s the largest of the three dining halls and also gets the loudest. If you want to dine in a quieter environment, I recommend the West Wing or the Castle Gallery.
The West Wing can get a little bit dark, and if that’s an issue I would recommend going with the Castle Gallery.
💡 Tip: While the Castle Gallery has the least theming out of the three dining halls, it’s the most similar to a typical high-end dining experience in my opinion.
Character Dining At Be Our Guest
While Be Our Guest is a fully-themed character dining experience, the only character you’ll meet is the Beast since other beloved characters from Beauty & The Beast already have dedicated meetup points throughout the parks.
Throughout your meal Beast will come out and greet diners throughout the three main rooms. This isn’t the typical character dining photo opportunity, The Beast just makes an appearance.
The Beast saw me trying (and failing) to get a photo for this blog when he came out to greet diners because the lighting was dim, so he sent an autographed one to the table at the end of our meal. Just one out of many nice touches they added to this experience.
If you want to properly meet The Beast and get a photo with him there’s an adjoining room off of the Grand Ballroom where the character does official meet and greets. 🚨 Note! The Beast photo meetups are only done after dinner, so I recommend booking your reservation in the evening if you want a photo with The Beast.
You can get a pic with your own phone or use the Disney Photo Pass services. Afterward, your pictures will be available to view in your My Disney Experience app right away.
Do characters come out at Be Our Guest Restaurant?
The Beast from Beauty and The Beast is the only character you’ll see at the Be Our Guest restaurant. If you want to meet other characters from the movie they’re located at other places in the park.
You can meet Gaston at Gaston’s Tavern, a casual dining restaurant located close to Be Our Guest. And you can meet Belle outside of “Enchanted Tales With Belle” in the Magic Kindom, or sometimes on the France Pavillion in the Epcot theme park.
🚨 NOTE!! At the moment, Enchanted Tales With Belle is temporarily unavailable.
You can also find Belle at the Princess Storybook Dining experience at the Norway Pavillion in Epcot, where you can meet Belle as well as a variety of other Disney Princesses.
Be Our Guest New Menu (2023)
In 2022 Be Our Guest rolled out a brand new menu that emphasized authentic classic french dishes like French Onion Soup, Escargot, Duck Terrine, Trout Almondine, etc.
For the little ones, there’s a kid’s menu which is a bit more upscale than typical kiddie fare. Children 9 and under can have dishes like grilled beef tenderloin, pan-seared chicken breast, or classic mac & cheese.
If your child is a picky eater, Be Our Guest was pretty good with substitutions. For example, my younger cousin is too old for the kids’ menu but didn’t want to have potato puree with his steak, so they subbed french fries at no extra charge.
I opted to have the Duck and Pork Terrine as my first course, and the Beef Bourguignon, which was a special, as my main.
I’ve been to France a few times and I was surprised at how authentic and high-quality the french fare at Be Our Guest was! The Beef Bourguignon (which is my absolute favorite food) tasted just like the ones I’ve had at little bistros in Paris.
The Duck and Pork terrine was served with whole-grain mustard and was also very good.
Special Wine List
One of the very special touches unique to Be Our Guest is their Beauty & The Beast-themed wine menu which is exclusive to Disney World.
All of the wines are from France, keeping with the Beauty & The Beast theme, and can only be bought in the restaurant!
We tried the L’Ombre de la Bete (Shadow of the Beast) Chardonnay, and the Enchanted Rosé, and liked both of them, but the Chardonnay was the table favorite.
Don’t want to pick? You can order the Private Label Wine Sampler and get a small glass of all three options.
About the Gray Stuff
In the Beauty & The Beast animated film, Lumiere famously sings “Try the Gray Stuff, it’s delicious!” during the “Be Our Guest” musical number.
Disney has re-imagined the famous “Gray Stuff” from the song into a real dessert you can try in the Be Our Guest restaurant, which is named after the musical number!
What is the “Gray Stuff”?
By telling you, I ruin a little bit of the magic of it – but the famous “Gray Stuff” is actually just cookies and cream pudding mixed with whipped cream.
It’s not too sweet, and the flavor doesn’t scream “Oreos” – but blended-up black and white cookies are what give the Gray Stuff its muted gray coloring.
The cool thing is, if you didn’t know what the Gray Stuff is going into it, you’d never be able to guess the flavor!
>> Not planning a trip to the Magic Kingdom anytime soon? Disney released the recipe for the famous Gray Stuff, so you can make it at home!
Do they still have the “Gray Stuff” at Be Our Guest in 2023?
YES! They do still sell the famous “Gray Stuff” at Be Our Guest in 2023 with the updated menu, but they do it a bit differently!
If you’re ordering off of the adult menu at Be Our Guest, your dessert course will be a sampler of three small desserts.
One of the desserts is the Gray Stuff in tart form with a little white chocolate disk topping which features the character “Chip” from the Beauty & The Beast movie.
For the kids, it’s a little more fun. The Children’s dessert at Be Our Guest features a Chip made completely out of white chocolate, filled with gray stuff! What makes this dessert extra cute is it comes with a little paintbrush and “paint” made out of icing, so it’s a dessert and toy all in one!
💡 Tip: For children over 9 that order off the adult menu they will bring you an extra Chip dessert if you ask! That’s what we did for my little cousin.
RELATED ARTICLE 🪐 Is Space 220 Restaurant In Epcot Worth It?
Tips For Visiting Be Our Guest
✅ Book Ahead of Time! The restaurant is frequently booked solid.
✅ Know that the lunch & dinner menus are the same! (and are the same price).
✅ You might want to schedule your visit right before you leave the park! Be Our Guest is a 3-course prix-fixe meal of heavy french food. By the end of our meal, we practically had to roll home!
I can’t imaging doing a day at the parks after eating at Be Our Guest, so I would recommend it is the last thing you do for the night before heading home.
✅ Request which room you want ahead of time – While there are no guarantees you’ll get your request, all three dining rooms have a very different vibe so it’s good to know going in what you’re looking for.
✅ Budget at least 2 hours for this dining experience! Because it’s a mandatory 3-course prix-fixe menu, Be Our Guest takes a little longer than most restaurants in the Magic Kingdom.
Be Our Guest Restaurant: FAQs
Common questions about Be Our Guest Beauty & The Beast Restaurant in Magic Kingdom:
Is Be Our Guest in Cinderella’s Castle?
Nope! Be Our Guest is in its own castle in Disney World’s Fantasyland, located near Gaston’s Tavern and Prince Charming’s Carrousel.
How do you get reservations at Be Our Guest 2023?
The easiest way to make reservations for Be Our Guest in 2023 is by using the My Disney Experience mobile app for IOS and Android.
Do you need a reservation for Be Our Guest?
YES!! You definitely need a reservation for Be Our Guest in 2023. The restaurant is usually booked weeks ahead of time for peak dining hours.
Is Be Our Guest fancy?
For Disney World, Be Our Guest is considered a fancy restaurant. That being said, it’s located inside the Magic Kingdom theme park, so you don’t have to worry about dressing up like you would at a typical fancy restaurant.
How long does eating at Be Our Guest take?
I would budget 2 hours for Be Our Guest restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. This is because you only have the option to order off of the 3-course prix-fixe dining menu, which takes a little longer than a 1-course meal.
Also, because of how packed Be Our Guest usually is, the bookings sometimes run a bit late. We weren’t seated until thirty minutes after our reservation time, just something to keep in mind if you’re trying to plan out your park day!
So, Is Be Our Guest Worth It In 2023?
Thank you for reading this article to the conclusion! Just to recap, I do think Be Our Guest is worth the hefty $67 ( + tax & tip) price tag in 2023. This is due to the re-vamped menu which features authentic french food, and immaculate theming.
Be Our Guest is a kid-friendly fine dining experience that was also enjoyable for the adults in our group.
Even if you’re not a huge Beauty & The Beast fan I think you could get a lot out of dining at Be Our Guest, it’s just a very *magical* experience, plus – the food is terrific!
