Be Our Guest Restaurant is a counter/table service restaurant found in New Fantasyland.
History
Be Our Guest Restaurant was initially announced at the D23 Expo in 2009 as one of the focal points of the Fantasyland Expansion [1]. At the Expo, guests were told that Be Our Guest Restaurant would take place inside the Beast's Castle and that it would allow guests to eat in the ballroom that is shown in film "Beauty and the Beast". Eventually however information came out that guests would be able to eat in one of the three dining rooms: the Rose Gallery, the Ballroom, and the West Wing. [2]
Be Our Guest Restaurant eventually opened to guests for a soft opening on November 19, 2012, before having its grand opening on December 6 [3]. At the time Be Our Guest Restaurant opened to guests, dinner offered table service dining, while lunch was counter service. Although still considered a counter service meal, on February 25, 2015 Be Our Guest Restaurant began accepting reservations for lunch [4]. From March 20, 2015 until June 18, 2015 Be Our Guest Restaurant tested offering breakfast from 8-10 am [5]. This new offering became permanent in August 2015 [6].
Description
For lunch, guests enter Be Our Guest Restaurant through a hallway lined with suits of armor. Here, they can hear quite whispering coming from the walls. After checking in, guests are given an “enchanted rose” and told to select any open table [7]. They are also given the option of ordering their meals on the touch screen; if they have not previously ordered using the My Disney Experience App (guests have the ability to order their meals up to 30 days before their visit). If guests are visiting for dinner, they enter the restaurant and go directly into the Ballroom [8].
Be Our Guest is made up of three distinct dining rooms. The largest of the three is the Ballroom, where Belle and Beast dance in the film. This room is set during a time when Beast's curse is starting to be broken, and outside guests can see that it is snowing. The music that plays in the Ballroom features a 50 piece orchestra performing songs from Beauty and the Beast.
The smallest of the dining rooms is the dimly-lit West Wing. This room is set during the time where the Beast's curse was in full effect. The enchanted rose from the film can be found in this dining room, slowly losing its pedals. When the last pedal is lost from the rose, thunder can be heard outside and when lighting flashes, a portrait of Beast as a young prince (with a claw mark through it) changes and reveals Beast in his monstrous state (an effect similar to the portrait effect found in the Haunted Mansion). The music in the West Wing is darker and more ominous than that played in the other two dining rooms.
The final dining room is the Rose Gallery. Here, guests can find a seven foot music box depicting Belle and Beast dancing. Large tapestries on the walls depict other characters and scenes from the film. The music in the Rose Gallery comes from the music box, which plays a tinnier sounding rendition of the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack. The music in the Rose Gallery is perfectly synchronized with the music in the Ballroom [9].
Menu
Click below to see Be Our Guest’s current menu:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/magic-kingdom/be-our-guest-restaurant/menus/dinner/
Fun Facts and Trivia
- During dinner Beast makes his way through Be Our Guest’s three dining rooms to meet guests.
- Be Our Guest features the famed “grey stuff” (mentioned in the song “Be Our Guest”) as a dessert.
- There are 115 windows in the Beast's Castle [10]
- The two large animal statues that flank either side of the entrance to Be Our Guest Restaurant were called "golions" by the restaurant's design team. This was due to the fact that they are a combination of a goat and a lion. [11]
- The large chandelier in the Ballroom measures more than 12 ft. by 11 1/2 ft. wide. It also features 84 candles and 100 large crystals. [12]
- The cherubs found on the ceiling in the Ballroom are representations of the children of Imagineers who worked on the restaurant [13].
References
- ↑ http://progresscityusa.com/2009/09/13/d23-day-three/
- ↑ http://modernmouseradio.com/tag/be-our-guest-restaurant/
- ↑ http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/08/new-fantasyland-grand-opening-set-for-december-6-at-magic-kingdom-park-at-walt-disney-world-resort/
- ↑ http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2015/02/coming-soon-lunch-reservations-at-be-our-guest-restaurant/
- ↑ http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2015/03/new-breakfast-starts-march-20-at-be-our-guest-restaurant-in-the-magic-kingdom-at-walt-disney-world-resort/
- ↑ http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2015/08/breakfast-at-be-our-guest-restaurant-in-magic-kingdom-park/
- ↑ http://www.insidethemagic.net/2012/11/closer-look-be-our-guest-restaurant-details-served-up-by-imagineer-and-chef-as-walt-disney-world-opens-new-fantasyland/
- ↑ http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/be-our-guest-restaurant/
- ↑ http://www.insidethemagic.net/2012/11/closer-look-be-our-guest-restaurant-details-served-up-by-imagineer-and-chef-as-walt-disney-world-opens-new-fantasyland/
- ↑ http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?restaurant.id=615
- ↑ http://attractionsmagazine.com/now-open-enter-beasts-castle-at-the-be-our-guest-restaurant-in-new-fantasyland/
- ↑ http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/05/imagineers-share-how-beauty-the-beast-inspired-elements-of-the-be-our-guest-restaurant-at-magic-kingdom/
- ↑ Yee, Keven. Walt Disney World Hidden History Second Edition. N.p.: n.p., 2014. Print.