Be Our Guest

Booking a reservation

The day had finally arrived Monday August 26th, much anticipation had been building (at least for me) to finally get the chance to eat at Be Our Guest Restaurant at Disney! Sometime months ago I went on a computer clicking rampage to try to reserve a spot at Be Our Guest, unfortunately reservations were already into December and with none available for our party of 6. Therefore, I took to a different method of madness to search for a dining reservation and began checking every night reservation starting at the current month until getting through probably 4 months in their calendar I found the night for us. I immediately booked it and added all 6 guests names to the reservation. Afterwards I told everyone about the date and time and we were all very excited especially since it wasn't in December!

Getting to the restaurant

Now, I wouldn't typically suggest clicking through all the dates on the dining reservation calendar, but for a packed restaurant where your date and time are flexible it can work. Our time was for 6:25pm, making us a little nervous because some had to drive from work. Well we got there and discovered that me and Neil (the two who didn't have work times in the way) were the last ones to arrive, but still caught seats with Ash, Anna, and Mrs. Barrett on the tram to the ticket center. That should have been a bad sign to us, Ashleigh was waiting on the tram before anyone else got there for around 15 minutes without another one coming. Matt was waiting for us by the ticket center and we started for the Monorail, but to our luck this broke down as we got in line. Instantly we began rushing for the ferry boat, but it just left. Now, we were really pressed for time and a new boat took forever to come. Needless to say we hit the reservation time while on the ferry boat and still had to go through bag check, get in the park, and back to the restaurant where you also have to stand in line. In the end they only had us wait about 25 minutes for a new table because they must had filled ours.

The dining experience

Our time came as we were waiting just inside the entrance (it started raining outside) and our host greeted us and began taking us through the castle explaining the different locations. We ate in the West wing which had dimmed lights compared to the ballroom and we personally enjoyed this more. Of course, we also had the best seat because we sat right in front of the rose and enjoyed seeing petals fall. This of course became a big picture area, but it didn't disturb us. The menu consisted of pretty much one item from every type of dinner entrée. Also if you are looking to drink at the Magic Kingdom this is the only location you can. Always remember you can drink at other Disney parks. I personally love bread so I was very happy to see them give us rolls and butter to begin with, not to mention that we were all very hungry. I then ordered the Chicken dish, Ash, Anna, and Mrs. Barrett got the ratatouille, Neil got the salmon and Matt got the pork.

Chicken entree	Salmon entree	Pork entree

Conclusion

All in all our meals were presented very nicely and we enjoyed them thoroughly. Of course the best part was yet to come with desserts! Our waitress brought around the rolling cart of desserts and you have 5 to pick from. They aren't very big so they are perfect for one person or for everyone to get a taste. Me, Neil, and Ash all got one with them being strawberry, passion fruit, and chocolate. Each was delicious, but Neil and I agreed that mine was the best! During your dinner the Beast will also come visit so have your cameras ready because he comes and goes very quickly, but after dinner you can visit him in the study and get pictures with him. After dinner it was dark out so we just walked around a bit and Anna began looking for Beauty and the Beast vinylmations. We couldn't find them anywhere that night, but they will be restocked soon. Overall we really enjoyed our night and our dinner! We all even were a bit dressier at Disney for once(something us girls wanted to do and decided we would do for this dinner)!
Overall here is how I rate Be Our Guest on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best:

Food	1 2 3 4 5
Decor	1 2 3 4 5
Service	1 2 3 4 5
Value	1 2 3 4 5

On a side note it did appear that it is now possible to walk up to the reservation booth at Be Our Guest and be able to make a reservation or wait for a table to open, when we first tried months ago this was not available because all the times were filled. It would appear that the rush to eat there because it is the newest restaurant is dying down making it easier to get a seat.

Lights! Camera! Action!....Hollywood Studios!

     Ashleigh blogging about my last visit to Disney. Although, my title suggests I was only at Hollywood Studios in fact we visited Epcot and Magic Kingdom all in one day! Talk about park hopping! Well last Sunday was the visit and I should highlight it was marked the hottest day of the year too, we arrived at the park around midday to begin our trip. My trip wasn't with the usual, in fact, I was tagging along with my church friends, Brent, Tracey and Brandon. Upon arrival we decided to make our way to Tower of Terror. It didn't seem to have too long of a line and well most of the line is shaded. Believe me by the time we got in line I was sweating like a pig! In case we haven't mentioned it, the Tower of Terror is an actual Disney Channel movie probably from the 90s and about a group of people who died on the night of a big party in the elevator. Needless to say you ride the elevator up....and well I'll leave the rest for a surprise for those who don't know. It's a classic and a must go! We grabbed some fast passes for later at Rockin Rollercoaster and made our way to check out the Indiana Jones show. This show is family friendly and obviously action packed. It's actually really funny and you might have a chance to participate like Tracey did!

Now one of the biggest highlights of the day was our lunch/dinner reservation at 50s Prime Time Restaurant. Now this is a cool place and must to go eat and check out sometime! Definitely make reservations because it gets packed. This restaurant is based on the 1950s including classic furniture in funky colors, old black and white TVs and super friendly waiters/waitresses who talk the lingo. Needless to say the waiter we had made it awesome and enjoyable. In addition they have great "home cooked" meals and they are quite filling! It's not too bad on prices with typical meals between 15-20 bucks. And before leaving Hollywood Studios, we used fast passes over at Rockin Rollercoaster and of course rocked out :)

     After this, we decided on going over to Epcot for some drinks (although yes, we had some beers in Hollywood Studios). At Epcot we decided to make our way to Mexico and brave some tequila shots (which were really good) and road the boat around Mexico. Afterwards we continued our walk around stopping in at Germany for beers and snacks, England to enjoy pictures with Pooh and Tigger and some awesome music by the British Revolution band (and yes we danced unlike most people). We headed over to test track and in an effort to save time, we did single riders and had a blast! And of course, I couldn't forget to get Shannon two Star Wars Edition 2 vinylmations (one which she had and one she didn't).


Finally, we headed over to Magic Kingdom where we finished our day. Here we rode some classics like pirates of the Caribbean, the haunted mansion, tea cups, and buzz lightyear. I have to make a special highlight on the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger ride. On this ride, you shot targets with a laser gun to earn points. Needless to say, I unknowingly hit some high point targets because before I knew it I had over 500,000 points! I ended up maxing out at 999,999 points and feeling pretty amazing at winning! We rode the people mover to get a break before heading back home.

     As usual, it was a pretty epic day and awesome to do some things I hadn't before. My biggest advice on this trip is to be prepared for the heat and to make a reservation at a cool reservation to check out! You won't be disappointed!

Sci-fi Dine-In Theater

Every time that I (Anna) have wandered by the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater in Hollywood Studios I’ve always wanted to go in and eat. It has always been really busy though and to “walk-in” would be nearly impossible. I finally found a weekend that I could go and got reservations for Matt and me.

As we were being seated, our host told us about the atmosphere of the restaurant. We were heading back in time to 1957 California where drive-in theaters were all the rage. Each “car” seated six diners in groups of two. We sat in the far back seat behind a family of four. There didn’t appear to a seat that wasn’t good to see the screen that was up ahead. They played old commercials and sci-fi thriller trailers mostly and I could tell that everyone was getting a laugh from them.

The menu didn’t have a lot of food options, but it was enough for anyone to find something they’d like. We ordered fried pickles (my favorite) as an appetizer and Matt got a long island iced tea which he really liked. The pickles were pretty good, but not the best I ever had. For our entrée, Matt ordered a half rack of baby-back ribs, while I got their salmon BLT. Matt loved the ribs that came with baked beans and coleslaw. I don’t know if it wasn’t enough food or if he was just hungry because after he was done he ate some salmon out of my sandwich. The BLT was very good and also very filling.

All-in-all, I’d give the atmosphere of the restaurant a 9/10 and the food experience a 7.5/10.

Goofy's Goofy Lasagna

This past Sunday, I (Anna) had Ashleigh, Shannon, Neil, and Matt over to make a recipe out of one of my Disney cookbooks. The cookbook is Delicious Disney written by The Disney Chefs with Pam Brandon. The recipe was found in the "Magical Gatherings" section. If you wish to just eat this dish and not make it, it can be found at Chef Mickey's located in Disney's Contemporary Resort, a Walt Disney World Resort.

To be honest, when I picked out the recipe to make with everyone I didn't read the ingredients nor directions until I was at the grocery store trying to buy everything. In fact, it was hard to find all the ingredients. I ended up substituting the cilantro pesto with traditional pesto mixed with cilantro paste and the chipotle pepper tortillas with sun-dried tomato tortillas.

This is not by any means a traditional lasagna recipe. Needless to say, I was really nervous about serving this to my friends, but I had already gone in too far to come back out. Despite the bottom tortilla sticking to the bottom of the casserole dish, it turned out delicious (if I do say so myself)! I can completely understand why the Disney chefs serve this at their restaurant. I look forward to making it again and maybe even going to Chef Mickey's to see how the professionals perfect the recipe.

ingredients

• 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
• 2 tablespoons cilantro pesto
• 1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato pesto
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 cups thinly sliced zucchini
• 1 cup diced and seeded tomatoes
• 1 medium green pepper, seeded and julienned
• 1 medium red pepper seeded and julienned
• 1/2 cup chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups grated provolone cheese
• 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
• 3 large chipotle pepper tortillas

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large bowl, mix garlic, 2 pestos, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
3. Stir in zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, and spinach.

4. In another large bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese. Add the provolone and mozzarella, and mix well.
5. Spray bottom of a 12-inch round casserole baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
6. Place one of the tortillas in bottom of dish. Spread one-third of cheese mixture over the tortilla. Follow with one-half of vegetable mixture.
7. Repeat procedure with second tortilla, cheese, and vegetables.
8. Place third tortilla on top and spread with remaining cheese. Cover with foil (spray nonshiny side of foil with nonstick cooking spray to keep from sticking).
9. Bake 40 minutes; remove foil and brown an additional 15 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
10. Let stand 15 minutes, before cutting. Slice into 8 wedges.

reviews

This is Shannon and I'm gonna give my review of this dish. First off I was a little nervous because it seemed weird for lasagna. I also tend to pick lasagna with meat, but you really didn't need it. I'm sure you could adapt it if you wanted to add some meat though. In preparation you might also think its going to be really dried out because there's barely any sauce, but it was nice and cheesy except that bottom tortillas. My suggestion is add a little more pesto on the bottom so it doesn't get harder than the rest. Everything together made a really delicious dish and now I think I'll have to start making this one a lot! If you like cheese and vegetables you'll probably love this goofy lasagna!

With Goofy being my favorite classic Disney character, I (Ashleigh was very excited to try Goofy's Goofy Lasagna. The recipe truly embodies Goofy since isn't so much a lasagna as a vegetable casserole to me. I personally love veggies so I thought this dish was delicious! I thought it was quite filling for a lighter dish and didn't give you that overly stuffed feeling. I would definitely make this dish again and would recommend it as a healthy alternative to traditional lasagna. And it's plenty for the whole family and fun to make. Enjoy!

Le Cellier Steakhouse at Epcot

For Father's Day, my parents, my boyfriend, and I (Anna) went to Disney to celebrate my dad. I have mentioned before that Epcot is his favorite park to go and explore, so that is where we headed first. I had made a reservation at Le Cellier Steakhouse during the week knowing that most dads love steak and that would be a popular destination for theme park goers hoping to give their dad a special treat.

We made it into the park about 30 minutes before our reservation, so we decided to explore Canada a little bit. We decided to watch the Circle-Vision 360 film, "O Canada!".The film gave the audience different views of our neighbors to the north. I have never been to the actual country, so the show was very educational and fun as it was narrated by comedian and Canadian, Martin Short.

By the time the film was over, it was perfect timing to head to dinner. The restaurant was nestled in a cellar of a Canadian chateau. The atmosphere was very beautiful, but very dim. To make up for the dimness of the area, the menus lit up. I had never seen this before, so I was a little overly excited about it.

Our waitress, brought us a basket of bread that contained different kinds from the different regions in Canada. The bread was very fresh and so delicious. My personal favorite was the pretzel bread. We ordered the Charcuterie as an appetizer which contained the chef's handcrafted meat selection, prosciutto, flagship, cheddar, and accompaniments. For my entree, I got the "Le Cellier" Mushroom Filet Mignon which came with wild mushroom risotto, pickled pearl onions, and white truffle-butter sauce.

Even though everyone was stuffed at the table, we still ordered a dessert to share which was the Maple Crème Brûlée. It was the perfect ending to our delicious meal. Being the great daughter that I am, I picked up the tab. That being said, I know this restaurant isn't cheap, but if you are looking for a place worth the splurge you will find it in Le Cellier Steakhouse.

After stuffing our stomaches to the max, we looked for a place to relax and digest. We headed to The Mill Stage. If you are into kilt wearing, bagpipe playing rockers then you need to check out Off Kilter. Even if you're not... check it out once... seriously.

Biergarten Restaurant at Epcot

Last week, I (Anna) along with Matt and my parents went to Epcot. My dad works out of town a lot, but was home for the week, so he got to pick which Disney theme park we'd go to. His favorite is Epcot. After being stationed in Germany for four years, German is one of his favorite cuisines (and one of mine too).

On the way to the park, I suggested that we try to make reservations at the German buffet there, but there seemed to be plenty of open spots, so we just went without. When we arrived, we found out that you actually have to have a reservation in order to eat there. There was a misleading sign that said "All walk-ins to the left" implying that you could just "walk in", but evidently a false assumption. Lesson learned: always make reservations at the "nice sit down" restaurants in Epcot.

These can be made on their website:
disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/#/reservations-accepted
or using their free app, My Disney Experience.

When we finally made the reservation and came back to the restaurant that night, we had a great time. We were lucky to make it during one of the shows and the music and singing were amazing. I would definitely recommend that. The buffet had a lot of my favorite German dishes and the atmosphere reminded me of Germany. We had an awesome waiter named Robert. He was very entertaining and even attempted to teach my boyfriend some German. Overall a great experience, just make sure to make a reservation!