One of the Disney experiences we were most excited about this year was Beast’s castle in the Magic Kingdom and eating at the popular Be Our Guest Restaurant. It would be our first time there since it opened last year. I tried to make dinner reservations, but they were already booked. Boo. The new plan was to wait in line for an early lunch.
But before lunch, we FastPassed “Enchanted Tales with Belle” and had our very first sneak peek inside the castle. I highly recommend this storytime, even if you have to wait in line. We started in Maurice’s cottage and then an enchanted mirror on the wall transforms into a walkway to the castle. It was some seriously awesome Disney magic. We walked into a waiting room where we were greeted by a talking wardrobe. “She” explained that the children would be acting out how Belle and the Beast fell in love. The children all received a part in the play and there were fun props too. Annabel was picked to be a dancing dish and Daniel got a lead role as Belle’s father, Maurice. He did a great job shivering behind an old window.
After the kids were done practicing in the first room, we entered the gorgeous ball room to finally meet Belle. We were greeted by Lumiere who was perched on the fireplace mantle. The lights were lowered as he introduced Belle and she entered the room in her golden ball gown. The kids performed their play and it was too cute for words. Then everyone had the opportunity for one-on-one photos. I think Daniel now has a little crush on the princess. Before we left, all the kids were handed a Beauty and the Beast bookmark.
I rushed over to stand in the long line for the Be Our Guest Restaurant. I sent Hubby and the kids to the Dumbo ride, but after just 30 minutes I texted them to say I had reached the front entrance. It wasn’t a bad wait at all! They joined me and we headed inside to order. Lunch is quick-service and you order your meals from touch-screen kiosks. We used our Magic Bands to sign in and select our food items from a pop-up screen. It was really neat.
(Tip: Look at the menu at home, or while you are waiting in line, so you won’t have to take a long time at the kiosk. The food is all French-inspired and there are a bunch of yummy choices like turkey baguette, vegetable quiche, and braised pork. There is separate kids menu featuring Mickey meatloaf, whole-grain macaroni, and grilled cheese and tomato soup.)
After we placed our orders, we headed into the grand two-story ballroom where we were told to sit anywhere we liked. We grabbed a table near the back so we could see the entire room. There are gorgeous crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and frosted windows that made it look like it’s snowing outside. They keep the lights dimmed for that romantic vibe. It was crowded as the servers weaved between the tables delivering the food. We wondered how they would find us. Then…voila! Ten minutes later a waiter rolled a cart to our table and delivered our meals. We asked them how they found us and we received the perfect Disney answer: “It’s magic!” (Magic Bands, we figured out.)
The food was elegant and delicious. The best part was sharing the amazing chocolate cream puff and strawberry cream cupcake for dessert. As we left, we passed the colorful stained glass window with the picture of Beauty and the Beast. Definitely check out “Enchanted Tales with Belle” and the Be Our Guest Restaurant the next time you head to Disney’s Magic Kingdom! We had the “beast” time! (Hee. Sorry.)
For Disney World ’14: MagicBands! click HERE.
For Disney World ’14: Frozen Meet-and-Greet click HERE.
For Disney World ’14: Chip ‘N Dale’s Campfire Sing-A-Long click HERE.