Theme Park Foodie

1) Make advanced dinner reservations yesterday (or ASAP)!

Disney dining reservations can be made 180 days in advance, and each day the Be Our Guest dinner reservations are quickly snatched up. There may be a few days with availability scattered over the course of the next sic months, but these are few and far between. If you want a Be Our Guest dinner reservation, stay up until 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time or wake up early 180 days before your trip to the Magic Kingdom to make your reservation. You can make advanced dining reservations online here or by calling the reservation hotline at (407) 939-7211. Lunch is served from 4:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. If you are unable to make reservations for dinner, don’t worry! Reservations are not required for lunch.

2) Be prepared to wait in line for lunch.

The lunch at Be Our Guest is a modified quick service style. Guests enter the restaurant, are directed through the Beast’s Study where they order using a touch screen, and then seat themselves. Disney cast members deliver lunch to the tables by using RFID magical roses guests receive when they finalize their order. While this process is very efficient, the restaurant is very popular and fills up quickly. If you’re hoping to dine at Be Our Guest for lunch, you’ll likely wait in a line of some sort. If you get to the restaurant by 10:30 a.m. a short line will have begun to form, but you will be seated when the restaurant opens at 11:00 a.m. If you decide to have lunch at a later hour, be prepared to wait in a line that may be more than an hour long. Lunch is served from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., but the line has been known to close at 2:00 p.m. Our best recommendation for waiting in line? Pick up a LeFou’s Brew at Gaston’s Tavern, hop in line at 10:30 a.m., enjoy the quality time with friends and family and get excited for a great lunch!

3) Know the limitations on the availability of the Grey Stuff.

There’s been a lot of hype about the Grey Stuff being served at Be Our Guest, but guests planning on visiting the restaurant shouldn’t get too excited until they know all of the details. The Grey Stuff is, unfortunately, not available on the menu. Guests celebrating a special occasion can request the treat, which is a cookies and cream concoction, but it cannot be ordered as a dessert. It is also only available during dinner service. We teamed up with Orlando Attractions Magazine to call for Disney to add the dessert to the menu, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that it will be added in the future. In the meantime, tell your server with a wink and a smile that you’re celebrating something special (birthday, anniversary, first visit, etc.) to get a taste of this iconic Beauty and the Beast dessert.

4) Bring your best ball gown! Dinner guests have a date with the Beast.

When New Fantasyland opened, the Beast stopped meeting guests with Belle in Epcot at the World Showcase and reappeared in his study at Be Our Guest. It makes sense that he would want to meet visitors from the comfort of his own castle, and who wouldn’t enjoy dancing with the Beast after enjoying a lovely meal? Of course, the Beast (being a “hideous monster” and all) comes out at night; he only meets guests during dinner service. He’s also rather stingy with his time, as he likes to take photographs with entire parties and not individual visitors. If you make reservations for Be Our Guest, be sure to bring your camera and a smile! Ball attire is optional.

5) The restaurant features three different rooms, and each tells a different piece of the story of how Belle and the Beast fell in love.

When people imagine Be Our Guest, most think of the beautiful grand ballroom with the decadent golden chandeliers above and windows with a view to an enchanted wood and softly falling snow. While the grand ballroom is one of the rooms available for dining within Beast’s Castle, there are two others that are just as breathtaking. The Rose Gallery room has a similar feel to the ballroom. It is an opulent, warmly lit venue that features portraits of Belle and the Beast and their enchanted friends. The Rose Gallery is only available during lunch. The other room, a favorite of many diners, is the West Wing. This room is dimly lit, and features a number of the Beast’s, er, personal “touches” including a slashed portrait of the Prince (which has an enchanted surprise in store), ripped and hanging curtains, and the rumble of thunder and flashes of lightning. Meanwhile, amidst the destruction, the enchanted rose glows peacefully. The West Wing is a very well-themed, fun and unique dining venue, but parents be warned: it may be too dark and scary for some young children.

Do you have any tips for guests planning to dine at Be Our Guest? Comment on our pin on Pinterest or shares your thoughts with us at @themeparkfoodie!

Walt Disney World announced this morning that Gaston’s Pub has sold 100,000 cups of LeFou’s Brew. Have you tried the New Fantasyland favorite? LeFou’s Brew is frozen apple juice with a hint of toasted marshmallow, topped with all-natural passion fruit-mango foam. Yum!

Dreaming about a trip to Walt Disney World or Disneyland in 2013? Right before midnight on New Years Eve, The Walt Disney Company announced its latest sweepstakes, Disney Time.

This could be your year to hit the pause button on the hustle and bustle of everyday life and spend some Disney Time with your favorite people doing things together you might not get to do at home. Dance, clap and sing along with some beloved Disney tunes. Eat ice cream for breakfast. Spin in teacups. Chase Mickey Mouse balloons. Giggle and goof off with abandon. Do whatever the kids want to do. On Disney Time, everything is magic and everyone is just about the same age. The memories that you create together live in your hearts forever. So, pick the vacation that’s right for you and enter for a chance to win! We’re giving away one vacation per day for 31 days!

At DisneyTimeSweeps.com, Disney fans can select the vacation of their choice (Happy Happenings, Magical Discoveries, Amazing Fun, Big Thrills or Sweet Romance) and enter once a day every day through January 31st for the chance to win a dream Disney vacation.

Be sure to enter and share the fun news with other Disney fans. Best of luck! If you win, let us know; we’d love to hear about the food you plan to try on your once-in-a-lifetime trip, and whether you plan to visit Disney World or Disneyland.