We returned last night from a six day visit to WDW. I kept trying to get a reservation at Be Our Guest for our party of 4 adults and 3 young kids and was pleased when the Touring Plans reservation finder sent me a text advising a reservation at the time requested was available. I happened to be looking at my phone when the notice popped up so I immediately got the reservation. That part worked well.
We hiked over to the restaurant on our last afternoon in the MK and had to stand in line for a while in the sun. They gave us menus to review and we were surprised at the limited offerings at this supposedly desirable restaurant. They asked how many were in our party and we said seven.
We were admitted to the restaurant to stand in line again to order. My wife and I were directed to register 6 which was manned by a cast member taking orders. My son and his family were directed to a kiosk not manned by a cast member.
After ordering, we stepped into the next big room with many tables. We had been told to find a clean table that would accommodate seven people. I was not familiar with the restaurant and there was no cast member to offer assistance so I wandered around until I found a table. I then tried to find some iced tea. The first two ice machines I tried were empty so I asked a cast member where I could get some ice. She directed me to an ice machine in the next room.
The rest of our party arrived at the table and our food was delivered fairly promptly. The server asked “Is there anything else you need?” My son responded “yes we could use three straws”. The server responded “they are over there” and pointed to the same area where I filled my cup with ice.
The room itself was dingy, the tables were close together, there were no characters and no music. The food was not appealing or tasty and the meat loaf tasted like dog food. One member of our party wanted a second glass of wine so I asked our server. She said I had to return to the ordering kiosk and pay for the wine there. This was annoying and I had to jockey for position to place the order. I couldn’t believe with all of the technology deployed by Disney there was no way to order a glass of wine using an iPad or such.
We had many excellent meals at WDW and Cinderella’s Table, Tusker House in Animal Kingdom, Ohana at the Polynesian and Askershus at Epcot were so much better. I recommend you avoid Be Our Guest. It simply isn’t worth it. We ate at many WDW restaurants and would rate BOG at the bottom of the list of desirable places to eat.
I agree. We’ve eaten several meals there and I have never been impressed. I think they depend too much upon the impressiveness of the setting and ignore the more important issue of FOOD. Now that my daughters are older, we will be unlikely to return.
This is the issue with BOG having a blended service - Breakfast and Lunch Quick Service with Dinner being Table Service. I believe if you would have had dinner there, it would have met or exceeded your expectations.
It sounds like you were there during breakfast or lunch, which is QS, not TS. It is self-serve and you can preorder your food on the app. We have eaten lunch there, which we enjoyed. Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy your meal.
We haven’t done lunch there. Really enjoyed it for breakfast - highly recommend using the pre-order feature on the app to save time for QS though. We also liked the dinner there where it is table service, although that predates the menu change. Both times we ate in the west wing which is more intimate and seemingly a better experience than the main dining hall.
I am sorry that your experience was negative. I will offer some insight as to some of your criticisms: expectations and lack of planning.
BOG at lunch is a self-serve quick service meal. You don’t have hostesses or a dedicated waiter, you seat yourself and help yourself to everything (drinks, refills, napkins, straws, etc.) except your food and alcohol.
Reviewing the menu on your phone prior to your trip would have shown the exact options on the menu so you would have been prepared for what was available.
All of the comparison restaurants you listed are Table Service. It’s apples and oranges.
Again, I am sorry you had a bad experience. It would have been better with advance knowledge and planning.
I don’t know what the point is, either. We loved it for dinner in 2017, but I didn’t like the idea of the fixe prix dinner and it taking 2 credits. We don’t do QS normally.
I somewhat agree - although we had a very good experience there for our PPO breakfast (including hot cocoa pixie dust!). That was my third time eating there and I just don’t get it. It’s a means to an end for me - RD of 7DMT/PP. I didn’t even peek in the West Wing this time but sent my husband over with the boys (this was their first time).
The first two times I went with a friend and she was telling me how awesome BOG was and I was expecting to be blown away. And then I walked into a dressed up college dining hall. This is it? Okay. (ETA: the second visit we sat in the West Wing and I got “it” a bit more but the capacity in there is so limited).
It served its purpose so we’ll continue to eat there for PPO but otherwise, it’s not on my list. I preordered and was still surprised by how long that line took. To be fair, we speed through the lines on my previous visits.
I also thought the food was fine - standard breakfast fare. I had the Croque Monsieur for lunch on a previous visit and really enjoyed it.
I agree that comparing it to a true TS isn’t fair. A more apt comparison is Flame Tree BBQ or a similar QS - but a QS ADR that can get you in before rope drop? I think that’s unique to BOG so I’m willing to pay a premium for getting the jump on RD.
It sounds as if the dinner table service experience is what you were expecting, but you went at lunch or breakfast. If that’s the case, you might want dinner reservations next time- we’ve been there in the evening and enjoyed it immensely.
Earlier in the day it’s a whole different ball game. I have it scheduled because it’s quick service and we can do mobile ordering, which I plan to do the night before.
I wouldn’t want to go there for lunch if I didn’t order in advance, honestly, because of the confusion that you mentioned. But with the mobile ordering, and the location, it’s ideal for a quick sit-down in the middle of a busy park.
Sorry you had a bad experience. We ate QS there for lunch but it was two years ago; We pre-ordered a month in advance which saved standing in line; our food was good and experience good, but I would not be overly disappointed if I had not gotten an ADR
I was also underwhelmed by BoG PPO. Then again, it was torrential rain when we went and we were super tired from staying out 'til 1am the previous night so, maybe not the fairest sample? I liked the decor and the food was fine, but I kept having to remind myself that it was QS and not TS.
You are comparing McDonalds to Del Friscos. Well, maybe not that extreme but you complained about a quick service self serve venue not having as good of service and food as several full-service places (that’s all you named). Well, imagine that.
I have only had lunch there. It’s a beautiful restaurant, but the food was no better than any other QS food that I’ve had. Lunch is a one and done for me. I may try dinner sometime.
After our group of 8 walked and walked trying to find a table - we finally went for assistance and the CM finally grabbed a table for us. The food was nominal at best. We loved the building itself, but we never went back and never will. Way overrated.
We had the QS lunch at BOG on our last trip and absolutely loved it. I placed our order the night before and we got in fairly quickly. Found a table in the Rose room in short order and by the time we got drinks we had hardly any wait until our food arrived. We all thought our food was delicious and a step above the typical counter service meal. Our only problem was that there was so much food! We couldn’t finish all of it. I would totally go back for lunch.
We have enjoyed lunch several times but did not enjoy dinner. I ended up with a horrible rash on my face and chest that evening and the next day and was up with an upset stomach all night. It was a nice experience but I will not do dinner again. No way- no how!
Ate at Columbia House in MK and the food was about what I expected. BOG is just a strange combo and didn’t seem to work. After reading the info in the Touring Plans book we expected ambiance, good food and attentive service. Chucky Cheese has more ambiance.
