On a whim, Eden and I decided to have a mother-daughter princess-themed evening at Disney, complete with dining at the Beast’s enchanted castle, known as Be Our Guest Restaurant. Here’s the thing, to dine at the castle in the evening, you must have a reservation. You also must have a valid park ticket.
So, I hopped on the Disney app that Friday early evening, hoping to get reservations for two for the next day. Of course, this was a long shot, people book reservations months in advance. Being one determined mom who really wanted to try the gray stuff, I was just hoping someone would cancel and a spot would open up for us. Sure enough, after about 45 minutes of trying, I scored my reservation for 2.
When our reservation time arrived we eagerly approached the check-in location at the front of the restaurant and waited for our turn to enter through the castle doors. Since we had the earliest evening dining time slot that is available the castle was still rather empty, but absolutely breathtaking.
In the castle, there are three different dining rooms. We dined in the majestic Ballroom which is the main dining room. In the Ballroom, there are beautiful crystal chandeliers, a terrazzo floor, and the ceiling is painted with fluffy clouds and adorable cherubs. It was absolutely breathtaking! Fun fact – we were told that each of the cherubs on the ceiling are actually paintings of the Imagineers children who created Be Our Guest.
There is also the dark West Wing where you will find the glass bell jar containing the enchanted rose slowly dropping its petals as time runs out for the beast. Over the fireplace, in the West Wing, there is a portrait of the Beast in human form slashed by the beast’s claws.
The third dining room is The Rose Gallery and features a large music box centerpiece nearly 7 feet tall with Belle and the Beast atop slowly spinning. This room contains many paintings and tapestries that commemorate the characters from the story. You will also find carved wooden roses throughout the appropriately named Rose Gallery.
Clearly, no detail was missed in the designing of Be Our Guest, right down to the red cloth napkins being folded like roses. My biggest piece of advice with making the most of this experience is to take your time and walk around the castle. There is so much detail that even on a second or third visit you are sure to discover something you did not see before.
As for the food, it was delicious. Dinner itself is a prix fixe meal that includes a choice of appetizer, entree, and a dessert trio. For a family of four, you could easily spend $300. Be Our Guest is also one of the limited dining establishments inside the Magic Kingdom that serves adult beverages including champagnes, wines, beer, and cider. Even without an adult beverage, with the prix fixe menu as of this posting, you will spend $55 for an adult and $35 for children ages 3-9. That does not include gratuity.
Of course, no visit to the Beast’s castle would be complete without meeting the Beast himself. At Be Our Guest, the Beast makes his grand entrance through the Ballroom as he retires to his library where you can visit for a meet and greet and photo opportunity. The Beast is only available at the castle at dinner time so Eden and I took full advantage of this meet and greet. I believe this may have been the most exciting part for her.
Although I was not a fan of the gray stuff, the food and service were top-notch and the ambiance will really make you feel like you stepped into the fairy tale. We truly felt like we were dining like princesses on our visit to Be Our Guest.
