Meal Time Monday - Be Our Guest

What is the hardest ADR(advanced dining reservation) to get in all of Disney World?

Be Our Guest Restaurant of course!  Saying it has been hard to get into since it opened with the New Fantasyland Expansion is an understatement.  Why is it so hard to get into?  We will take a look at the atmosphere and the food to find out why. 

Any restaurant with gates must be difficult to get into!

The art work here is present around every corner of the 3 room venue.  You can dine in the Grand Ballroom, The Rose Gallery, or The West Wing.

In the Grand Ballroom you find huge chandlers and floor to ceiling windows with ever changing weather outside.  It even snows(out the window).

Many of the faces of the angels on the ceiling have the faces of the imaginers that worked on the project.  The lighting in here is fairly dark, while pretty the chandlers don't produce much light.

Us at our table in the Grand Ballroom.  

In the Rose Gallery the center piece is a Belle and Beast spinning music box.

The walls have lots of works of art.  This is the room you want to be in if you like to see your food or the other people at your table.

Lastly we head into the West Wing.  Even though Belle was told not to enter we are allowed.  This room is dark.  You will also have lots of people walking through to see the rose and other art work.

This room is by far the neatest, but is better to visit then eat in.

The effects of the floating rose are lost when you use a flash, but if you don't use a flash you would need a tripod and a good camera.  Also their are people trying to eat their dinner literally feet from the rose.  It is very cool to see, it just doesn't photograph well.

Back to our table we were created with "rose" napkins and a bread service.

I went with the Grilled Strip Steak with Garlic-Herb Butter and Pommes Frites

Doug had the Braised Pork (Coq au Vin Style)

Both were very good and full of flavor.

The Kids had the Beast Casserole (Mac and Cheese)

Then they bring around the Desserts

Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcake

Triple Chocolate Cupcake

Chocolate Cream Puff

The "Grey Stuff"

They were all delicious.

After Dinner you get to meet the master of the castle.  We got a picture with the whole family and just the kids.  There was a photopass photographer there.  This is currently the only place to meet him.

We enjoyed our time at Be Our Guest, but it is not high on our list to hurry back to.  It is more an experience in dining then other places around the park.  Inside the Magic Kingdom it is leaps and bounds the best food.  It is also the only place that serves alcohol in the Magic Kingdom.  It is a little finer dining then many people are looking for but if the French on the menu doesn't scare you off you will truly have a wonderful meal.

Be Our Guest is located inside the Magic Kingdom, a park ticket is required.

It is one table service credit on the Disney Dining Plan for dinner.

The full Dinner Menu can be found HERE.

This was a review of dinner.  Lunch is considered a counter service and you do not meet Beast.  ADR's are required for lunch as well.

ADR's are required,  most are made 180 +10 days in advance.  (180 days from when you check into your Disney Resort plus 10 more days after, so if you are there for 7 days you can try to make a reservation 187 days in advance)

Trip Report 2013 - Day #2 part 1 - Magic Kingdom Rope Drop,Be Our Guest, PhotoPass

On the first day of our November 2013 trip we wanted to spend a half day at the Magic Kingdom.  This is our first chance to try out FastPass +.   It was a somewhat of a late night getting the kids to bed but we were up bright and early and the 8th car in the lot!

Remember when driving to Walt Disney World in a rental car or your own to take a picture of your row number.  If you rent a car, make sure to take a picture of the license plates because lots of cars look alike! The lots are large and it is easy to get lost.  However if you get to the gates this early it is quite simple to find your vehicle!

Aboard the resort monorail! 

At the rope for rope drop.  The bands let us all in so we were off to a good start.  

This is what the crowd looked like at 8:20 for a 9:00am opining on November 1st 2013.  By 8:30 it will be solid people behind you.

Only way to get this picture with out strangers is by being crazy early.  But it still does not mean your kids look at the camera.

One of my favorite shots at my favorite time of year.

After the first rope is dropped you meet a wall of cast members preventing you from just running to the attractions.  They walk you all the way there so that everyone is safe.

We were first on Big Thunder Thunder Mountain.  Clair chickened out and went with Doug to get an old school fast pass for the princess meets (please note: it is not longer to get the paper Fast Passes from the old days).   

When you are the first ones there you get to pick the back row!!!!

Doug and Clair successfully got paper Fast Passes for Cinderella and Aurora.  To do this we brought old key to the world cards that did not have any ticket media on them.  Every now and then you can find a loop hole.  This was a nice one and we decided to enjoy it while we could, this loop hole was closed just weeks after our trip.

Samantha braved the front row of the Barnstormer.

Too bad the group behind Clair and I did not have enough matching tee shirts for the rest of us.

After walking onto the Barnstormer, we walked onto Dumbo the Flying Elephant.

The back side of an elephant.

Now was time to get dizzy on the Mad Tea Party.

We always have so much fun spinning and spinning.  I almost feel sorry for Doug watching us, almost.

After getting a little dizzy we stumbled past the construction walls for the new Mine Train.  Construction walls have gotten a lot fancier in recent years.  

We were headed to the new Little Mermaid attraction - Under the Sea-Journey of the Little Mermaid.  It was our first time, and I think it instantly became Clair's new favorite.

We had a few minutes before our first FastPass+ window opened up so we road some horses.  Sam always tries to find Cinderella's Horse.  She was so happy to find it unoccupied.  Alden also likes the horse next to it because he says it is the Prince's horse.  

Clair seems unsure of everything here…

Fist up was using the traditional paper Fast Pass to see Cinderella and Aurora.

With your PhotoPass Pictures you can add all kinds of cool things when you get back from your trip.  Here I duplicated the picture then added the signature on to the duplicate.

Now it was time to use our first FastPass + ever!!!!   The kids thought it was cool when the mickey head lit up green.  We tried to get a few pictures of the kids by themselves with characters this year.

Not sure if Clair is happy, scared or mad?!?

Now for something else new to us.  Lunch at Be Our Guest Restaurant.  We had a FastPass reservation for lunch at 10:45am  So here were were all checked in and ready to go.

It is not like other counter service places throughout Walt Disney World.  Here you place your order and are given your cups and told to go find a table.  We got our drinks and found a table and then they brought us our food base of the location of our magic bands.  Doug got the Croque Monsieur pictured above.

Clair got some pasta.  Over all we liked the meal, but didn't love it.  I will be honest, chicken nuggets and burgers are popular for a reason.  

After eating we walked around and took a look around.  Don't sit near the rose in the west wing unless you want an endless stream of people talking pictures.

We ate in the grand ball room.  There was snow falling outside.

This large chandelier is very nice but does not give off much light.  I you like to see your food when you eat the West Wing is not for you.  If you like it to be light enough to see all the people at your table then the Ball Room is not for you.  If you want light, head to the Rose Gallery.  

At lunch time it is a counter service restaurant, but at night it becomes a table service meal where reservations are VERY hard to get, even 180 days in advance!

With full bellies we went to use our second FastPass+ at Enchanted Tales with Belle.  It is a neat show with lots of audience participation.  They pick the kids to be in it before the show in a different room.  Our kids our a touch shy and didn't raise their hands right away so they slid down the ranks fast.  Clair was Chip.

Sam was Maurice.

Alden was one of about 5 feather dusters.

At the end of the show each kid gets their picture taken by a PhotoPass photographer.

Clair had lots of fun.

We were done with princesses for a while, so we headed over to Buzz.

Doug's score.  I don't think I have ever seen him so sad at Disney World.  It was like they told him Dole Whip was under refurbishment.  

Right where they belong behind bars with Zurg.

After that we waited to meet Buzz Lightyear.  You can tell it is day one.  They kids still like each other.

Buzz really liked Alden's shirt and made the Girls get out of the picture.

He finally let them back in.  

A good picture of the kids squinting in the sun.

We used a Fast Pass to meet Mickey Mouse.   It was right around noon and time to head out for the day.

This was the scene in the back seats when we arrived back at our hotel. 

We let them sleep for a few minutes because tonight we are heading to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and it will be a late night!