The FastPass+ Lunch Experience at Be Our Guest

Lunch at Be Our Guest in the Magic Kingdom is the most sought-after quick service meal in the entire kingdom. If you aren't lucky enough to score a FastPass+ for lunch you either have to try to get one of the new standby tickets or stand in a terribly long line and hope to get in.

Recently, I was lucky enough to receive one of those "magical" emails inviting my family to be part of the "test lunch" at Be Our Guest during our vacation. The test lunch is a not-so-fancy way to describe the FastPass+ system the restaurant is testing at lunch time.

The prince's portrait in the West Wing

No one knows how or why guests are chosen for this program and our email arrived out of the blue about three weeks before our arrival date at Walt Disney World. The email gave us a link to visit where we input our resort reservation number and then we had to select a day to dine.

It should be noted that the days and times were extremely limited which is likely due to the overwhelming popularity of the restaurant. After several attempts to find a date and time that worked we finally had a reservation. Next up was the chance to pre-order our food. And that's all there is to it.

Lunch at Be Our Guest is delicious!

[Note: even though you're getting a FastPass+ for lunch, it is not part of the three FastPass+ allotments you're given for the day. The Be Our Guest FastPass+ is a completely separate FastPass and it also doesn't show up in your plans in My Disney Experience.]

Once we arrived at Be Our Guest for our FastPass+ reservation we checked in at the arrival kiosk (which is located at the entrance to the bridge to the castle) and then we joined the FastPass+ line. A cast member escorted us into the castle where we were queued up next to the suits of armor. A suggestion: listen closely to the suits of armor. You might hear them talking or even snoring.

Listen closely to the suits of armor at Be Our Guest

Eventually we made it to another kiosk with another cast member who directed us to the ordering kiosk where we could amend our order. We needed to make some adjustments to our order for our daughter who has food allergies and the cast member called the chef to talk with us.

And magically (or so it seemed) Chef appeared with a notebook in hand to take our order so he could ensure all the food was safe. We were dealing with a peanut, tree nut, and sesame allergy and Chef told us he wasn't comfortable serving our daughter the bread for the steak sandwich as it was from an "outside" source. But in a bit of good news he also said all the cupcakes were made in-house and were completely safe! This was a very big deal.

An allergy-safe cupcake at Be Our Guest

After finishing the menu adjustments we were sent on our way to find a table. Guests can choose to sit in the Ballroom, in the West Wing, or in Rose Gallery. As we stepped into the Ballroom I was rendered speechless (which rarely happens). It is so breathtaking and gorgeous and all you can think is "I'm in the ballroom. From the movie. This is so cool!"

We found a table in the Ballroom right next to the windows, which was pretty spectacular considering it was snowing outside the windows. If you sit in the West Wing you'll find the magical rose in addition to the tattered portrait of the Prince, and in the Rose Gallery you'll find a statue of Beast and Belle in addition to portraits of other characters from the film.

The Ballroom inside Be Our Guest

After finding a table it was time to pick up the real silverware and grab drinks from the beverage counter. That's right, even though this is a quick service restaurant you're dining on glass plates with real silverware! And, unlike most quick service locations the beverage station is a self-serve station so you can refill your cup during the meal.

Several minutes later the food "magically" appeared at our table via a rolling cart. Even though I had heard how good the food is at Be Our Guest I was still happily surprised at our meal. Everything was delicious and I'm going to say it was the best quick service meal I've had at Disney. Ever. And you really do need to try the "Grey Stuff" because it is delicious. (You can enjoy the Grey Stuff at lunch when you order the Master's Cupcake).

The Master's Cupcake

Be Our Guest is truly a masterpiece when it comes to dining locations at Disney World. The "wow" factor starts as soon as you enter the castle and doesn't end until you leave. No matter which dining room you choose I guarantee you'll look around in awe several times during your meal and think "this is just incredible."

Stained glass window in the lobby of Be Our Guest

Once you finish your meal be sure to walk around the restaurant and take a few minutes to explore the other dining rooms. All three are stunning and between the location and the food you really do forget that you're in a quick service restaurant.

Have you dined at Be Our Guest for lunch? Leave us a comment and let us know what you thought about the experience.