With the expansion of the new Fantasyland at Walt Disney World came new attractions and restaurants, including the Be Our Guest restaurant, named after the song from Beauty and the Beast. The theme of the restaurant is Beast’s castle, and it is absolutely gorgeous. Decor- and ambiance-wise, this is the most beautiful restaurant in all of Walt Disney World—yes, even more beautiful than Cinderella’s Royal Table in Cinderella Castle.

The first time I went to Be Our Guest was for breakfast, which is quick service. Even though it’s quick service, you still need to get reservations in advance. I was lucky enough to get last-minute reservations, most likely because someone else canceled that day, but that’s not usually the case. It’s better to book as soon as you can. However, if you can’t get in on the day you want, keep checking the My Disney Experience app every day because something may open up. For breakfast, you order from kiosks, get a plastic rose, and then your meal magically shows up at whatever table you pick to sit at. I ordered the egg whites, thinking I was going to be healthy. Ha! I should have known that’s never the case at Disney World. With breakfast came an array of delicious pastries, and the diet went completely out the window.

I use antlers in all of my decorating! 💪🍺 #gastonstavern #lefousbrew #gaston #magickingdom #fantasyland #wdw_igers #disneyworld #wdw #waltdisneyworld #disnerd #disneydining #Disney #disneyfood #disneysnacks #disneydrinks #disneytreats #ilovedisney #disneynerd #disneyaddict #annualpassholder

A photo posted by Disney Desi (@disney.desi) on Aug 10, 2016 at 11:29am PDT

When I went for dinner with my husband, I booked six months in advance. That’s how quickly this restaurant gets booked up. We checked in at the front a little early, and the cast member said that they were running a little late. So he said we could either wait on the bridge (where they had free water, which was nice), or we could walk down to Gaston’s tavern and hang out in the air conditioning. I am SO GLAD we listened to him and went to Gaston’s tavern because not only was waiting in the air conditioning better than waiting in the hot Florida sun, but we also ordered a couple of LeFou’s Brews. This might now rival the Dole Whip for my favorite sweet treat at Disney World. It’s amazingly delicious. It’s like an apple cider slushy with a hint of marshmallow taste, topped with a passion fruit foam. I can’t even begin to describe how good it was. My husband said he liked it even more than the Dole Whip. It’s still a tight race for me.

We got a text message to let us know that our table was ready at Be Our Guest, so we headed back. The cast member at the front of the castle handed me a Lumiere figurine to “help light the way” to our table. We were lucky enough to be seated in the ballroom, which looks exactly like the movie. It’s so opulent and gorgeous, and they even have the mural with cherubs on the ceiling. If you look out the “windows” in the back, it looks like it’s snowing outside. The other gorgeous room is the West Wing, which, again, looks just like the movie. It has the painting of Beast as a human (Prince Adam) that he clawed at as well as tapestries that had also been clawed. The coolest part of the West Wing is the enchanted rose. It really is just like you stepped into the movie.

For dinner, I ordered the shrimp and scallops, and my husband ordered the steak. This also happens to be the only place in Magic Kingdom where you can have alcohol. Be Our Guest offers beer and wine, but only for dinner. (If you really need a drink, you can go to any of the other parks, or I’ll give you some tips in another post.) Both of our meals were superb. This may be my favorite sit-down restaurant at Disney World (at least for the restaurants that aren’t all-you-can-eat).

Everything was so amazing that we couldn’t even imagine how delicious “the grey stuff” was going to be. In fact, the whole reason I even wanted to eat at Be Our Guest for dinner was so I could try the grey stuff. It comes from the line in the Be Our Guest song, “Try the grey stuff; it’s delicious. Don’t believe me? Ask the dishes!” Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but the dishes are liars. The grey stuff, while decent, was not great. I wouldn’t have called it super delicious. It tasted like Cool Whip—just Cool Whip with grey food coloring. Womp womp. My husband says that instead of asking the dishes, you should ask the steins. We both would have rather gone back to Gaston’s Tavern and had more LeFou’s Brew.

After dinner, we had a chance to walk around and see more of the restaurant. The ballroom is definitely the best place to sit, but the West Wing is a close second. However, I would have been pissed if I had to sit in Belle’s picture room. It looked like they ran out of budget because they spent so much on making the rest of Beast’s castle look so incredible that they just slapped this room together with some pictures on the walls.

We also had the chance to meet the Beast after dinner. All the cast members referred to him as “the master” and “our host for the evening,” which I thought was a nice touch. However, I think it would have made more sense if instead of the Beast, it was Prince Adam. A cast member happened to drop a dish while we were there, and I said to my husband that’s like murder if the castle is enchanted. He said that it’s not because the curse was broken, which is why all the servers are humans. I said that was a good point. But if the spell was broken, then why is the Beast greeting guests instead of Prince Adam? That’s a miss in my book. Also wish Belle could be there too, but I guess she’s over in the cottage for her Enchanted Tales.

Overall, I highly recommend Be Our Guest for both breakfast and dinner. I can’t comment on lunch yet, but I assume it’s good. But opt for a different dessert than the grey stuff because that was a bit of a disappointment. I’m not saying it’s bad; I’m just saying there’s probably better options on the menu. It’s such a gorgeous restaurant with beautiful decor that it makes for great photo ops. There’s even a room with suits of armor that talk! Disney certainly knows how to pay attention to details.

The details in the Beast’s Castle are amazing. The knights in shining armor even talk! ✨ #disneyworld #wdw #waltdisneyworld #knightinshiningarmor #beourguestrestaurant #beourguest #beastscastle #beautyandthebeast #beastcastle #thebeast #belle #instadisney #igers_wdw #disneyigers #disneygram #disneyig #wdw_igers #Disney #disneyphoto #disneyparks #disneyside #disneydining #magickingdom #fantasyland

A photo posted by Disney Desi (@disney.desi) on Aug 9, 2016 at 4:26am PDT