Photos & First Impressions: Disney World’s New Beauty and the Beast Bar

Over the weekend, Walt Disney World’s new Beauty and the Beast-inspired bar at Grand Floridian Resort & Spa soft opened. Before stopping in to try the menu (which we also did later in the evening), we rope dropped Enchanted Rose to pore over this new-look lounge.

In this post, we’ll share 20 photos that highlight the aesthetic and themed design of Enchanted Rose Lounge, so you can see whether this new Beauty and the Beast bar might appeal to you. We’ll also offer some commentary on the style of Enchanted Rose to let you know what we think of it.

Basically, it’s a chance to scroll through and see photos of the interior design of the new location, which was previously Mizner’s Lounge. If you’re interested, you can also read my rambling assessment of the look of this new Beauty and the Beast bar…

Fair warning: I’m not a fan. This should come as no surprise if you’ve read our previous posts when the Beauty and the Beast bar was first rumored and subsequently when Enchanted Rose’s menu and other info was revealed.

Unfortunately, there’s no happy ending or twist here. The end result of this re-imagined restaurant at Walt Disney World’s flagship resort did not wow me or exceed my expectations.

The thing is, if you’re really excited about Enchanted Rose Lounge or are a huge Beauty and the Beast fan, what does the opinion of some random dude on the internet matter? Me not liking this bar has zero impact on your enjoyment of it, and as with everything, tastes vary.

It certainly doesn’t offend or impact me that so many of you commit regular Country Bear heresy. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, however wrong they may choose to be about the greatest attraction of all time.

Accordingly, if you’ve been anxiously awaiting Enchanted Rose, perhaps the best course of action here is to simply enjoy the photos and skim past the text, or simply read our Enchanted Rose Lounge Food & Drinks Review, which focuses solely on the menu.

With that preface out of the way, we’ll take a tour of Walt Disney World’s new Beauty and the Beast bar…

My primary reaction remains what it was when this was first announced: who is the target audience?

Is it older patrons stopping for a cocktail before one of the finest meals of their lives at Victoria & Albert’s? Affluent resort guests wanting something sophisticated? Locals looking for something new? The Instagram crowd trying to find that next great Walt Disney World wall?

It might’ve been ordinary, straightforward, and even (perhaps) dated, but at least Mizner’s knew its audience. I’m not so sure the same can be said for Enchanted Rose Lounge.

It seems like it’s attempting to offer something for everyone, but the end result could be that it strongly appeals to no one.

The biggest problem in this regard is it never goes all-in on a cohesive aesthetic. At the very most, this is a Beauty and the Beast-inspired bar (rather than a themed one), and the inspiration isn’t always apparent.

It’s possible (if not probable) that there were some ‘character integrity’ or other worries about characters and settings from a children’s movie being used in a bar, which explains why the live action film was used as the source material here instead.

However, even the live action Beauty and the Beast wasn’t leveraged much at Enchanted Rose Lounge. By my count, there are three characters present in the bar scattered on various bookshelves, plus the enchanted rose itself, and a handful of other nods to the film.

If you weren’t actively seeking out these movie-inspired details or the Beauty and the Beast connection, you might miss it completely at Enchanted Rose Lounge.

In terms of theme, you also won’t find much. An environment inspired by Beauty and the Beast would ostensibly feature classical baroque designs or flourishes evoking the French countryside.

To some degree, it does.

You could make the case that some of the furniture is baroque and the general look of the place, taken as a whole with its various decorations, appears vaguely French.

However, a lot of the furniture trends more towards mid-century modern than it does anything classical. The overall style of the bar is not nearly as ornate or lavish as you’d expect for such styles.

To be sure, there are some alluring touches at Enchanted Rose Lounge.

The marble table/bar tops and gold accents are both classy. There’s a variety of nice trim, recessed lighting, and the furniture is all substantial and high quality, irrespective of whether it fits whatever the theme here might be.

What’s perhaps most odd is the impermanence of it all. This appears less detailed than Red Rose Taverne, the Beauty and the Beast-inspired counter service restaurant at Disneyland, which was originally intended to be temporary.

It appears as if the entire style of Enchanted Rose Lounge could literally be changed overnight into something totally different without missing a beat.

I’m not kidding.

Look at everything that establishes some semblance of theme or style here–almost all of it is furniture, fixtures, or decorations perched atop the mantle or in the bookshelves that could easily be removed.

Even the signature gold chandelier, which takes its inspiration from Belle’s flowing ball gown, consists of strands of glass that are individually hung and could be removed one by one.

This gold chandelier is beautiful, but it doesn’t have anything approaching the same depth or quality as chandeliers aboard Disney Cruise Line. This is elegant, but very much minimalist.

Throughout Enchanted Rose Lounge, there’s a minimalist and modern vibe that underscores everything.

Some of the (removable) furniture is high-quality, but the built-in bookshelves are simply painted and other finishings are either superficial are wholly lacking.

Decorations like the books, vases, teapots, etc., help mask this, so the basic appearance of the underlying design doesn’t stick out quite as much.

Nevertheless, I’m surprised by just how much this resembles Ale & Compass Restaurant–but with Beauty and the Beast stuff added to shelves.

Even the wall murals and some art in Enchanted Rose Lounge are not specifically Beauty and the Beast.

Rather, they’re sufficiently vague and generalized that they could remain and fit whatever next fairytale theme takes the place of Beauty and the Beast here.

The term “blank slate ride” has been thrown around for (rumored) future attractions that will lean heavily on projection-mapping and things that can be swapped out quickly to produce totally new attractions with minimal downtime.

Enchanted Rose could be Walt Disney World’s first “blank slate bar.” It really wouldn’t surprise me if this was installed with the expectation that it’d be something different in 5 years.

Arguably, this is a good thing.

A movie based upon a French fairytale is a really odd choice for Walt Disney World’s Victorian-themed flagship resort. If you’ve objected to Enchanted Rose on that basis (as I have), you might be pleased to see Imagineering didn’t work overtime to create something truly opulent and ornate.

That’s my general take. I’m left wholly unimpressed by the end result and am scratching my head as to who the intended audience is here.

I’m also happy it’s not hyper-themed in a way that makes it even more jarring against the rest of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa…or makes it likely to last for the next several decades.

Modern design and the darker color palette still doesn’t fit this hotel, but it could be worse.

About the biggest loss as of right now is the relocation of the Grand Floridian Society Orchestra from their iconic balcony (which is now seating), but I’m hopeful they’ll reclaim their proper location once the popularity of this Beauty and the Beast bar fizzles out.

Overall, that’s where I end up with Enchanted Rose Lounge. It doesn’t appeal to me at all (then again, I wasn’t the world’s biggest Mizner’s fan) and I have a hard time envisioning who the audience will be once the initial hype dies down. It’s not interesting or good enough to be a destination bar and it’s probably too large to be a standard resort lounge. I also still wonder why it was built here as a half-measure instead of Disney’s Riviera Resort where it could’ve been something truly special.

However, Enchanted Rose Lounge also doesn’t bother me tremendously–it’s more confusing than anything else. I’m sure tons of other Walt Disney World guests will absolutely adore it, which is fine. Not everything needs to cater directly to me. If all of this looks nice to you, be sure to also check out our Enchanted Rose Lounge Food & Drinks Review, so you know what to order.

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Your Thoughts

Do you agree or disagree with our impressions of Walt Disney World’s new Beauty and the Beast bar? Are you excited to see and experience Enchanted Rose Lounge for yourself? 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!

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