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.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
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!
“Not everything needs to cater directly to me.”
It should be about catering to the story, which in the case of the Grand Floridian used to be a turn-of-the-century seaside resort. Then Chapek got ahold of it. Cítricos and the Guest Room buildings seem to try for a Mary Poppins/MP Returns motif based on, at Chapek’s insistence, The Four Seasons. So then how does Beauty and the Beast fit with that?
I think the problems here are: 1.) abandoning a resort-wide story to hold everything together 2.) over-reliance on intellectual property (there used to be subtle touches – now it’s the whole story) and 3.) using other hospitality businesses as a basis instead of BEING a hospitality basis
I was a little confused as well, especially with the color scheme, it is B and B color not GRANDE FLORIDIAN. Also, I thought the orchestra had moved!
We dined at Narcoossees and Victoria and Albert’s in May with our adult children. This was our “high end Disney experiences “ separate from Mickey and any character tie/in. We have eaten multiple times at Beauty and the Beast Restaurant at MK and enjoyed our experience. But. Grand Floridian is the flagship, grand dame of all resorts. We would not have had any desire to have a pre or post dinner drink here. Offer kid meals, pump it up with character appearances and it might work. Otherwise, it is a sparkly bar with limited theming, ready to be flipped to the newest Disney movie release
It’s pretty… but it doesn’t fit the theme of the resort at all. Disney is making it harder and harder for me to want to spend my money there. It takes a nice chunk of change to go there. It better look and feel like they put some thought into the place.
By the way, I too still love Country Bear, but man does it need a refresh. The last time I was in there I was distracted by the loud noises the mechanics of the deer, moose, and bison were making.
Mizner’s Lounge was my absolute favorite place to spend a relaxing evening with my parents. They always made good drinks that weren’t sugary and prices were not terrible as far as disney is concerned. They gave you free snack mix to eat too. Sounds like all of that has changed…
I think they easily could have made the rose theme more inline with the victorian turn to the century feel GF has. Roses are huge victorian motif. Maybe a play on the beast’s castle’s outdoor rose garden or something if they had to make it beauty and the beast theme. This dark, bold modern look feels more like a Kimpton hotel lobby, waiting for wine happy hour.
I came back to look at the pics (which are great btw) to see if perhaps I would see it with a different perspective. And, no, I still find the blue paint color so off-putting and uninviting. If there was a color equivalent to pepto bismol blue, this is it.
OK, so not fixating on this blue color at all– but I have a thing for admitting my own ignorance. I just rewatched Beauty and the Beast (now that I have a 2 year old), and saw this color was matched pretty perfectly to the Beast’s impressive library. Still don’t think it’s the best color for a bar, but perfectly suitable for a library! And, they did a nice job interpreting the large chandelier.
So sad. The audience for this seems to be women in the 21-28 yrs range. At least, those were the only people commenting on the Disney Parks Blog Facebook post.
It think the colors and mismatched furniture are awful. Mizners didn’t look exceptional, but it was one of the few quiet and relaxing bars left on property thay was easily accessible. And honestly, Outer Rim Lounge needs a refrub so much more than Mizners did….
Only enough, the “generic” fairytale mural on the wall is the background from Sleeping Beauty, specifically the Once Upon a Dream scene. Not that most humans would notice, but it’s an odd choice to pick a completely separate film that the bar is not referencing.
Briar Rose was technically enchanted, I guess. What’s that Gertrude Stein quote again?
I thought I was the only one that would notice that mural as Sleeping Beauty.
I agree. I thought this is more Eyvind Earle’s Sleeping Beauty background than Beauty and the Beast. The whole place is a mess and just further shows how Disney is straying further from its resorts themes.
I will probably make enemies from my comments, but I wish Disney would remember that bars are meant for adults OVER 21 and not places to bring children. My husband and I have spent years going to Disneyland and World with our kids. We had wonderful family times with them and still do with our grandchildren. We love kids. However …
Now that we’re empty nesters, we still LOVE anything Disney, but we also REALLY appreciate the very few places on property to get away from other people’s’ kids who are overly stimulated or tired (screaming, crying, etc.) and whose parents don’t seem to know that it’s time to feed them or put them to bed.
It seems like Disney keeps adding bars that are meant to attract children rather than to be an oasis for adults to get a respite away from the noise and craziness.
We love the fun of Trader Sam’s, but I’m dreading the time we go in and there are 13 children running around unsupervised because their parents don’t know better – or care. I’m afraid that this new bar will be a place that parents will want to take their children instead of a quiet retreat for adults. Mizner’s was at least quiet – and I LOVED the orchestra.
We are right there with you! Always looking for a lounge where we can relax and have a quiet cocktail ( quiet is relative, I know it’s Disney). Haven’t been to Mizner’s in 3 years, because during our last visit for a pre dinner drink, there were 2 double strollers in there and kids playing tag as they ran through the bar, in one side and out the other. It was horribly distracting and parents were oblivious. We will try this new space, The menu that I saw didn’t look too kid enticing so maybe it won’t appeal to young children? Who knows. I don’t hate the new look, we’ll check it out in November.
Well said! Yhank you!
I totally agree with your assessment. I do not understand making Beauty and the Beast theme for a lounge???? My husband and I loved going to Mizners and having the orchestra playing. This is so sad.
“It really wouldn’t surprise me if this was installed with the expectation that it’d be something different in 5 years.”
Yes, but if all the petals fall off the rose, this incarnation of the bar becomes permanent!
Country Bear heresy…I snorted laughing at that. Country Bear Jamboree was always my favorite and my six year old who went this year thought the same!
I appreciate that the movie theme isn’t too overt. I worried it would be tacky in the resort. Honestly, it’s still not my style and doesn’t excite me at all, but I’m glad it’s not as ridiculously out of place as it could have been.
Looks like two competing styles, done on purpose? Alluding to contrast between beast and beauty or possibly beast and man. Maybe contrast was the goal but I agree….The mix is not cohesive enough to feel as cozy or beautiful as most Disney high end spots. Agree also with your Ale and Compass comparisons. That place makes me sad. Apparently paint (dark) is Disney decorators go-to to save on costs. In this case it works but there isn’t enough cohesion to carry off the rest. Tacky tapestry plus sleek, modern, cafeteria, table tops? I vote to replace the latter with something warmer and more charming.
I agrees. It can’t seem to decide if it wants to be minimalist or luxurious, and doesn’t do either particularly well.
So. I love the look of the interior. The color palette is wonderful and the combination of mid century sleekness with the shabby chic accessories is fun and very appealing to me. If I stumbled upon this place in Brooklyn or Portland I would want to claim it as my regular spot. I could wallow in the blues & greens & golden velvet for days.
However.
This is not Beauty & the Beast and it CERTAINLY isn’t the Grand Floridian. Mizner’s was, yes, a little bland. But if you wanted to make it more engaging, why not go full Adventurer’s Club? That fits the Victorian aesthetic and comes with built in devotees. It also gets around the “children’s movie characters in a bar” problem.
If it had to be an IP, yes to Alice or Mary Poppins. And Mary even has a recent live action film to play with.
The whole thing just looks like a spread from Domino that was accidentally dropped into Disney World. Beautifully designed, but completely out of place and probably out of date within a few Pantone Color of the Year cycles. I am le sad.
To me, that tealy-green is less mid-century and more early-90s. In the 40s and such, it was a mint green that was popular and used a lot. In the early 90s, both powder blue and teal were huge. However, that is when the original Disney Beauty & the Beast came out, so maybe it’s a little fitting??? That might be a stretch, though…
Those wall colors are actually super modern – painting walls, trim, sills, etc. in one uniform color from a deep blue to an almost brownish green is a huge decorating trend right now. I get the mid century feel more from several of the seating choices and the sleek bar and six tops.