New Menu at Be Our Guest Restaurant
Walt Disney World is changing the menu at Be Our Guest Restaurant yet again, as the once #1 Magic Kingdom dining spot continues to struggle in a post “revenge travel” environment. Here are the new menu items, plus why we hope this is a sign that the Beauty and the Beast eatery will soon revert to pre-COVID normal, and more.
Be Our Guest Restaurant was once iconic, but is now polarizing. Ask 10 different Walt Disney World fans what they think of it and you’ll likely to get 10 very passionate answers. Some love it, even more now hate it. When it comes to overrated restaurants at Walt Disney World, Be Our Guest Restaurant is the one we hear mentioned most frequently by readers. For our part, we’ve been fortunate with positive experiences at Be Our Guest Restaurant and have dined here over a dozen times since it debuted over a decade ago.
With that said, a lot has changed since Be Our Guest opened, and the restaurant is inarguably a shadow of its former self in some regards. The table service dinner expanded to replace the beloved counter service lunch. Once one of the best uses of a Disney Dining Plan credit, it’s now a laughable use of 2 credits. Breakfast still isn’t back. The prix fixe service that debuted to replace the a la carte table service menu has been scaled back and some entrees have been simplified. Thankfully, that last point is seemingly being remedied in part with the latest menu updates…
Be Our Guest Restaurant at Magic Kingdom is debuting several new and updated menu items on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. Walt Disney World revealed these new menu or refreshed items:
- French Onion Soup au Gratin: Rich beef broth, sherry wine, and swiss cheese
- Mixed Greens Salad (Plant-based): Tomato, cucumber, and dijon vinaigrette
- Endive and Walnut Salad: Roquefort, green apple, radicchio, and champagne vinaigrette
- Steak Frites: Slow-roasted butcher’s steak, house-cut french fries, and red wine sauce
- Pan-Roasted Arctic Char: Roasted potatoes, charred tomatoes, shaved fennel, and citrus-caper brown butter
- Poulet Rouge Chicken: Roasted potatoes, stewed pepper pipérade, and sweet corn velouté
- Crème Brûlée Tart: Orange custard, passion fruit meringue, and chantilly cream
- Blooming Rose: Chocolate cake topped with “The Grey Stuff”
Here are stock photos via Walt Disney World of the new menu items coming soon to Be Our Guest Restaurant:
Some of these dishes are strikingly similar to what’s currently being offered, so “new” isn’t entirely apt.
For example, the Poulet Rouge Chicken is a staple at Be Our Guest, so the core difference here is potentially the preparation and the accompaniments. Gone are the ‘sweet Potatoes, seasonal vegetables, and whole-grain mustard sauce’ in favor of what you see listed above.
There are a couple more instances of changes like that. The iconic French Onion Soup is swapping in swiss cheese, and the Mixed Greens Salad is mixing up new greens. These two strike me as fairly inconsequential, although I’d probably take a “don’t fix what isn’t broken” attitude with that fan-favorite soup.
In case you don’t closely follow the Magic Kingdom dining scene, Be Our Guest Restaurant has only served the prix fixe menu since the COVID closure. This means it’s only table service, with the same appetizer, entree, and dessert options all day long. It has been this way since Magic Kingdom reopened, and remains the case over 5 years later.
That prix fixe menu was controversial when it debuted for dinner pre-closure, and suffice to say, it has not won over any fans in the last 5-plus years. Even those of us who still enjoy and defend Be Our Guest Restaurant have to concede that the value proposition is worse than it was pre-closure.
Honestly, I’d go as far as to say it’s much worse than before. And keep in mind that I’m one of the biggest defenders of Be Our Guest Restaurant. So if this is what even I’m willing to admit, you can probably imagine how much harsher the sentiment is among its fiercest critics!
By contrast, the counter lunch at Be Our Guest Restaurant was pretty much universally beloved prior to the closure. It was near the top of our list of the Best Counter Service Restaurants at Walt Disney World, and was an exceptional value on the Disney Dining Plan. There were very few fans who didn’t love lunch at Be Our Guest. Unfortunately, that counter service meal has been replaced with an all-day lunch/dinner menu since the reopening.
With that shift, the mostly-beloved Breakfast at Be Our Guest Restaurant also vanished. We qualify that with a “mostly” because it was pricey when paying out of pocket and arguably not worth the cost. Nevertheless, that morning meal was great from a Disney Dining Plan use of counter service credits perspective and also for rope dropping Fantasyland attractions. We loved breakfast at Be Our Guest Restaurant for these reasons. It was a great experience.
The commonality between those two meals was actually that both were great experiences, and affordable options for stepping inside Beast’s Castle. The cuisine might’ve had its lows and highs (mostly highs for lunch), but very few fans ever felt “ripped off” by those meals because the whole package was so strong. By contrast, I would say the prevailing sentiment about the current prix fixe menus at Be Our Guest Restaurant is that they’re a rip-off. And again, I say this as someone who still enjoys it!
As we wrote back in Big Little Things Walt Disney World Needs to Bring Back, moving to the same prix fixe menu for lunch and dinner was the right move for Be Our Guest Restaurant at one point. Table service dining was in high-demand, guests were spending freely as pent-up demand played out, and there were staffing shortages that reduced capacity.
That time is over, and has been for over two years! Be Our Guest Restaurant is no longer as popular as it once was. It’s gone from the single-most difficult Advance Dining Reservation (ADR) in all of Walt Disney World to one of the easiest. This is despite the inherent advantage of being an in-castle restaurant at Magic Kingdom themed to Beauty and the Beast.
ADR availability is plentiful, as are spots on the Walk-Up Waitlist. The last three times I’ve dined at Be Our Guest, the restaurant was less than half full and the server to guest ratio was surprisingly high. The story here is now one about how the mighty have fallen, with the hype and FOMO feedback cycle completely reversing. Tale as old as time.
At this point, I’m skeptical there’s even a “but Disney is a business” justification for Be Our Guest Restaurant to be prix fixe all-day. It’s not filling tables like this or even coming anywhere close most of the time. At some point, that $72 menu becomes a liability, and they’d be better off actually filling tables at ~$20 a pop (and with a faster churn rate).
Based on what I’ve observed, I would argue that time arrived a while ago. It’s wholly unclear why bigger changes haven’t been made. Perhaps inertia, complacency or good ole fashioned laziness? It could just be that Walt Disney World is slow to do anything, and far more lagging and reactionary than many fans believe. They might recognize there’s an issue, and it’s slated to be addressed after many more meetings and brainstorming sessions in Fall 2027.
While the financial incentives are obviously debatable and I’m not privy to Disney’s guest spending data, the guest satisfaction gains would be fairly undeniable. This is doubly true since the counter service restaurant and breakfast ‘scene’ at Magic Kingdom is fairly bleak.
Not only is it bad, but it’s busy. Nothing adds to the “joy” of a mediocre meal at Cosmic Ray’s or Pinocchio Village Haus like waiting in a long line, having to hunt for a table, and then sitting in one of the most chaotic seating areas on the face of the earth.
Bringing back the counter service lunch and breakfast at Be Our Guest would be fun–memorable meals that would allow more guests to step inside Beast’s Castle. Be Our Guest Restaurant is still a winner from a thematic perspective, and experiencing that leave a lasting impression on a lot of kids and their families. It would be a nice meal plus a pleasant setting, making for an easy guest satisfaction win. Take the win, Walt Disney World–you could use one!
While we’re at it, bring back the dedicated Beast meet & greet for dinner. This smile and wave from a distance stopped making sense 2 years ago. They tested the Beast meet & greet last summer…but it was gone again last time we dined at Be Our Guest, with Cast Members simply saying that the “test ended.” What’s there to test?! It’s a nice ending to an expensive meal!
That Beast meet & greets was one of the little touches that made dinner at Be Our Guest Restaurant “worth it” despite the high price tag. Now, it’s more expensive despite a scaled back menu and no meet & greet. Even the Disney Dining Plan hasn’t helped revive the restaurant’s popularity–probably because it’s far and away the worst 2-credit option available.
Hopefully Walt Disney World is starting to realize it has a problem with Be Our Guest Restaurant? That’s really the first step, and this menu change is at least suggestive of that. The next step is realizing that this won’t move the needle at all. What’s needed is a complete overhaul–or rather, pulling from the 2019 playbook and reverting to what actually worked.
To end this on a somewhat positive note, I’m pleased to see the dessert options changing at Be Our Guest. The Dessert Trio that’s been available for a while now is incredibly underwhelming and not befitting of a (supposedly) Signature Dining Experience. The Blooming Rose sounds like a fun twist on the classic “Grey Stuff” and the Crème Brûlée Tart looks a bit more upscale than what we’ve seen before at Be Our Guest.
As we’ve noted in several past reviews, dessert has been the weakest link here for a while. That’s one of many points discussed in our comprehensive review: Is Be Our Guest Restaurant Still Worth the Money? That covers the full current menu and what the experience is like now, cuisine quality, Advance Dining Reservation difficulty, and more. Something worth reading if you’d like more positivity about Be Our Guest and whether it’s worth the splurge. Because again, it may not read like it here, but we actually love this restaurant!
Ultimately, we’re really just ready for improvements to Magic Kingdom’s dining scene. Sure, we recently got big wins with Pecos Bill and the waffles at Sleepy Hollow, but in fairness, those changes were mostly about undoing unforced errors. Neither of those restaurants are better than they were in 2019, and the Magic Kingdom restaurant roster as a whole is far worse.
There’s arguably only one other dining option in the entire Magic Kingdom that stacks up to Be Our Guest Restaurant, and that has a more adventurous menu that won’t appeal to picky eaters. Cinderella’s Royal Table can be a fantastic option, but it’s not as universally accessible as regular restaurants.
We’ve long acknowledged that Be Our Guest Restaurant is polarizing, with fan opinion typically falling either in the “love it” or “hate it” camps. Recently, we’re noticing more and more converts to the “hate it” camp. Even though we love Be Our Guest Restaurant, it’s also plainly obvious to us that the restaurant has problems that need to be fixed. You can love something and still want it to be the best version of itself, so more people see what you see in that thing (sentiment that applies to critique of Walt Disney World as a whole and, I suppose, life in general).
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of the menu additions and changes at Be Our Guest Restaurant? Think this is a sign of more changes to come at Magic Kingdom’s once-best restaurant, or are we getting our hopes up for nothing? What are your thoughts on Be Our Guest Restaurant, generally? Do you think it’s worth the money? Is it overhyped and/or overrated? Would you rather do a table service meal elsewhere in Magic Kingdom, or is this the best option? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
i cannot have the sugar, unless you want to see me on floor rolling in pain, ate there any sugar free desserts in Disney? The Beast, vision limited, cannot see to go to tables thru dining room, however, could have Belle visiting guests.
crystal palace, lunch 4 times and only 2 character visits, the other 2 escorted out…why, pay for character dining. Dissappointed!
Ugh. We loved the dessert trio. I like variety! Doesn’t matter; we aren’t likely to go to BOG any time soon. Breakfast and lunch really were the best.
I was very disappointed in Skipper Canteen, felt like a reduced quality Yak and Yeti, which is already only mediocre.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the only way to get an actual good meal at Magic Kingdom is to hop on the monorail or boat and go to a resort.
DHS and Animal Kingdom have the best in-park dining. Epcot is the most overrated. And MK is just plain bad.
Tom,
One of the problems with BOG is the acoustics. Disney imagineers failed here. It is like eating in a cafeteria. The other issue is that you are paying to see the Beast just walk through. One and done for me.
Where’s the grey stuff on that Blooming Rose…? I only see red stuff and green stuff.
The Steak Frites look good, but not “$72 good.”
Yeah, that’s a good question–it’s clearly not on top of the rose. Maybe the green stuff is the Grey Stuff? That’s the only explanation that works with the stock photo WDW provided.
I assumed the rose is essentially a dome cake, like the part shaped into the rose petals is hollow chocolate with a layer of chocolate cake and grey stuff inside? Either that, or the grey stuff has been shaped into the rose and then they sprinkled some kind of red powder on top of it?
Quick service breakfast and lunch was the way to go back in the day at BOG. Dinner is overpriced. You are just paying extra for ambiance.
I agree- the counter service lunch was my goto reservation. We tried the prefix lunch meal and we were so disappointed. We have not been back since.
This was an ADR we had tried to get in the 2010s without success and have not even had the desire to obtain it with the ease that it is available. It is almost insulting to not even have a character interaction with a meal of that price, considering past precedence. We would love to see the past offering back again….MK desperately needs it, in particular the previous lunch as an option.
“Not only is it bad, but it’s busy. Nothing adds to the “joy” of a mediocre meal at Cosmic Ray’s or Pinocchio Village Haus like waiting in a long line, having to hunt for a table, and then sitting in one of the most chaotic seating areas on the face of the earth.”
This made me laugh so hard. So true!!!!
Yes, what a gem! Just another example of how there is no way Tom could ever be replaced by an AI robot!
Well they could try to replace Tom with an Audio-Animatronics figure, but they’d definitely get the face wrong.
We enjoyed the counter service lunch many times before it was discontinued. The first time we dined there for dinner, soon after they opened, we were seated in the room with the rose, and it was a very nice experience. Fast forward a few years: our most recent experience took it off our list completely. In fact, we did not even stick around to order, because the noise level was deafening. I don’t actually expect a fine dining atmosphere, but for the fixed price, I at least don’t want to have to shout over screaming children on literally all sides of us. When we were there, the restaurant was filled to capacity, and there was no option to move to another location. And we waited 45 minutes past our reservation time to be seated. It sounds like things are different now with lower demand, but it’s just not a meal that is worth it to us anymore. It’s just loud and chaotic, and the food portions are very small overall. It’s too bad, because the theming of the restaurant is fantastic.
I would say it’s still the best restaurant at MK which in fairness isn’t saying much. I can’t for the life of me understand why pictures with the beast aren’t back though- covid is well over. Will be there next month but if the filet is still offered doubt we would try anything new
Now many real-world restaurants do this (heck, even Panera), but when BoG debuted lunch you would order, but a magic rose and they would bring the food to your table. That definitely added to the experience vs. something like Cosmic Rays. As for Skipper Canteen, I’m not sure why every review (not just yours) needs to call it out as “adventurous food”. A couple dishes, maybe, but they have steak and fries as well as chicken and rice – both pretty basic. For “exoticness”, I’d actually put it about on par with the BoG menu.
Panera gives you a magic rose? Not on Long Island
🙂
Hah! Well, around here they give you a small black box that using radio frequency instead of magic. 🙂
“Some love it, even more now hate it.” Once again make definitive statements without data that always lean pessimistic. All you do is complain.
We had a WDW vacation this year with two days at Magic Kingdom. With the kids older, no desire to pay that much for BOG. To us the best dinner experience at Magic is Jungle Cruise Navigation Company. A funny waiter/waitress can make the experience more memorable. Otherwise, we leave the park for diner.n
Be Our Guest is a good test case for whether Disney will remain focused on profitability on the micro level rather than going for macro profitability by delivering the top-notch value it is known for. I think that the $72 per person pre fixe is still more profitable than a quick service of a la carte lunch would be. If Disney switches back, it will be because they recognize that they need to improve the overall guest experience for lunch at MK. Maybe they can bring back breakfast like Satuli Canteen–that should only increase revenues.
Also–while I like Skipper Canteen, I think Liberty Tree Tavern is in the running for top dog at MK. The price is competitive and the dessert is one of the best in WDW.
“Liberty Tree Tavern is in the running for top dog at MK. The price is competitive and the dessert is one of the best in WDW.”
The dessert is so good and experience as a whole is very pleasant, but I feel like it’s been a victim of supplier switches as the quality of the meats seems lower than ~2019. At least, as of the last time I was there–maybe it’s gotten better since.
We ate at LTT for the first time in a long while last year and I can’t say I was impressed. Not bad, but even the beloved dessert was not as good as the toffee cake of yore. Perhaps we just caught a bad day, though.
Good write up and I agree with most everything.
From when BOG opened until it went Prix Fixe, my family went to BOG every trip for lunch. It was a highlight. It shows how disney can create magic when they want to. Such a disappointment to see it half empty.
And as you say Magic Kingdom food is mostly a sad state of affairs.
Just for what it’s worth, the switch to prix fixe didn’t result in the loss of lunch. It was still counter service for breakfast and lunch right up until the COVID closure. The prix fixe dinner launched before all of that.
(Your main point still stands, just want to assign “blame” where appropriate and clarify that they could do *both* the prix fixe dinner and CS breakfast/lunch. They did before!)
You might want to consider developing an alternate Disney persona, get a 2nd AP profile and use your alternative hand/fingerprint scanner to get in the gates. Experience Disney the way the rest of us commoners are forced to experience it. After decades our plated food dishes have never looked anything like your photos, ever. When we were at BOG last time my little one dropped his napkin on the floor by accident and I got out of my chair to pick it up and the staff started yelling at me to get back in my seat because the beast was 5 tables over. My little one was terrified after that. The food is meh, not worth the cost and lack of interaction. No way would they let us regular folk get close enough to the beast to take a pic with him. We’ve visited nearly all the character dining restaurants and BOG has been the worst experience.
Sometimes it looks like WDW is getting its act together and making smart moves, and sometimes decisions truly boggle the mind. This is one of those times. Like you said, the counter service ordering was great! The value proposition was reasonable and it was wildly popular. As it stands, BOG has an identity crisis. Its atmosphere suggests upscale casual family dining (dare I say the ballrooms looks like a nicely themed cafeteria?), but its cost and menu suggest expensive fine dining. The fact that they still expect a family of 3 to shell out >$200 for LUNCH is insane.
“dare I say the ballrooms looks like a nicely themed cafeteria?”
I’d say this is a fair assessment. I’ve called it that (or even a ‘mess hall’) in past reviews. I think part of the reason I’ve enjoyed the ambiance more recently is because I’ve dined there on totally dead days and it felt fancier due to the lack of people.
This post and a previous post of this week regarding the extent of the impending Villains’ land prompt a thought: Are they changing the menu temporarily to reduce the amount of kitchen and refrigerated space required–while they remodel/expand the kitchen–to double as a kitchen for a future upper-tier Villains’ restaurant to the north?
I doubt it. While I sure hope that entire plot of land is fair game for Villains Land, I’d be surprised if they cut off access to the service road behind Fantasyland. That’s useful to access those show buildings.
Not saying it definitely won’t happen, and I hope they find a way to connect Villains Land with Fantasyland, but I feel like that’s more likely to be done, if at all, via cleverly-concealed pedestrian overpasses.
Just went to BOG and while I do agree with you Tom, it’s still the best food in MK (which unfortunately isn’t saying much)
Removing the filet is a mistake though….If I had to guess, i feel like they are doing it and replacing it with a lower cost cut of beef to save money but the filet was the most popular thing on the menu
Next visit will will eat at on eof the monorail resort restaurants instead of in the park
ditto. my exact thought when I looked at the new menu.
If the filet or short rib is removed, this will be a downgrade. But I suspect that won’t be the case, as the steak frites is already on the menu. If anything is removed, I’d expect it to be the Trout Amandine. But really, there’s no need for that. Be Our Guest could have two seafood entrees–they have before!
Hi Tom, can you please do a ranking of every Disney and Universal park you’ve been to from weakest to best? I want to see how Epic Universe ranks and stacks up next to the Disney parks in the world!