BOG Dinner or Lunch

[Tfgreig]

So, I can't seem to get a reservation to Be Our Guest for our upcoming trip in November. I think I am Going to have to break down and get dining buddy or some other service to secure a reservation. Because I will have to pay for each alert I am wondering if I should try to secure one or the other. Have you guys been more pleased with the experience of dining during lunch or dinner? TIA

 

[westfield13]

I understand that it's very frustrating - but I followed the advice on these boards - checking online at several different times during the day - only takes a few minutes. I also had the flexibility of several dates - we decided that if we could get a BOG reservation, then we would go to MK for part of that day - so I know that increased my chances.

I started my quest three weeks ago, searching most days - but not every day - and then suddenly a lunch reservation appeared for the Sunday of our Oct trip! I was so startled that it took me a few moments to realize it was "real". I quickly grabbed it.

There are only 2 of us, so I don't know if that made it easier or harder. But, since you have some time before your Nov trip, I would encourage you to keep trying. Good luck!!

 

[krc99080]

I enjoyed both lunch and dinner at BOG for different reasons.

Lunch: The variety of foods you don't typically see at a CS location was a huge plus. I had the Braised Pork and it was absolutely delicious and a huge serving for lunch. It was also nice to get to pick our own seats in one of the 3 rooms. We had also preordered our meal which sped up the process. While your food is brought to your table you must get your own beverage (unless you ordered a bottled one) and own silverware. It is also an excellent use of a CS credit if on the dining plan.

Dinner: The atmosphere is simply magical and slightly less rushed than lunch feels. For dinner I had the steak which was well seasoned and cooked like I ordered. We had an excellent waitress who when we were finished encouraged us to explore the castle and stop by and say hi to the Beast. The Beast walks through the dining rooms periodically throughout the evening then stands in his study to greet the guests. Here is an opportunity to meet and have pictures taken with the Beast.

Ultimately I would have a difficult time picking one over the other because I enjoyed both experiences a great deal.

I would suggest taking a look at the menu's and deciding which meal would appeal to your group more. Unless of course you must meet the Beast, then your meal of choice should be dinner.

 

[Aerinha]

IMO lunch has better food options, but I find searching for a table while trying to gater up utensils and drinks stressful. Dinner is nice because they seat you and courses come out one at a time, but the food isn't as tasty and the choices aren't that great. Desserts are the same at both.

That said, if you really want to eat there take any adr you can get.

 

[dmc6469]

I think that lunch has a better menu but we wanted dinner because The Beast is there at dinner so that made our choice

As for an ADR, don't give up. It took me sooooo long to get one. Thanks to these boards, I finally got one. someone posted that Disney just put TONS of ADRs for my month up and I logged on and ended up getting 3. I posted the other 2 that we didn't want on the boards and made someone else happy so that can always happen for you. Good luck

 

[PoohsFan1]

My family loves dinner because we all love the food (I am in love with the seafood in a puffed pastry dish) and the fact that Beast is there. We also like having a waitress/waiter wait on us, plus DH likes to have a beer and I like to have a glass of wine with our meals, you can't get that at lunch. With that said, my 2 DDs and I tried the lunch in January and we really enjoyed it. We liked it so much that I have reservations for both lunch and dinner for our upcoming October trip. In fact, we are also trying breakfast when we are there too .

As for getting an ADR, like others have said, don't give up trying. I like to "stalk" the system where you check the dining website multiple times a day, and if you are in the mood, call wdw dining too, like another PP said, it helps if you are flexible with your dates and times. People are always changing their minds on where they are eating or how they are going to tour the parks, something is bound to show up. I would also suggest you subscribe to the November dining cancellation thread, a fellow DISer may be getting rid of a reservation that you need. Good luck!!!!

 

[Tfgreig]

Thank you all for your words of encouragement on getting an ADR. I was online at the 180 day mark and there was nothing then was periodically checking. I missed the early release date of the breakfast last week. I guess I'll just keep stalking the website and calling Disney. I do believe that it will all work out and that I will get a reservation but I'm worried about how it will affect my plans I am already making.
Sounds like both lunch and dinner are great choices so I will be happy to get either one.

 

[IndyRnRfan]

We did lunch last time and never again. Lunch is a cluster f$&@ if I ever saw one. This is the worst place to eat lunch unless you have an hour to hour and half to kill. It took us 30 minutes from check in to placing our order. Dinner every time from now on.

 

[Tfgreig]

Good to know! Thank you!

 

[Lynzer4]

Keep checking the cancel thread on here. That is where I was able to get the date and time I wanted. A Halloween party night!

I did dinning buddies and the one time I got an alert it was gone before I could click and I hit the button as soon as I got the text message. Not saying it wasn't worth the money but I didn't need it in the end.

Also keep checking. It was only in the last week that I have been able to find multiple different times for multiple days checking a few times a day.

I didn't need have any BOG scheduled when I booked my trip when free dining was released at like 130 days but now I have B, L and Dinner booked (on different days)

 

[ny0090]

Don't give up. It took me 3 months but I finally got a BOG lunch reservation for November. I think you should wait before paying a service to find a reservation. A lot of people on this forum say that around the 45 day mark, times start to open up because there are families that aren't able to pay the final payment of their WDW package and have to cancel their ADRs.

 

[krc99080]

I did forget to mention in my previous post that when I went to BOG for dinner last fall it was because we managed to score a reservation the day before, so like people have said don't give up. I had one of the FastPasses they were testing at the time for lunch and my friend and I had convinced ourselves as long as we got to eat there we were happy. Then we saw it from the outside and had to try dinner there too... So we would check the App while waiting in line a couple times a day and found one during our trip for the next day, snatched it up and cancelled the previously made ADR for the next days dinner.

We enjoyed the entire experience so much we managed to snag breakfast, lunch and dinner at BOG on our upcoming trip. Now our lunch and dinner are going to be on the same day because it was our last day of the trip and the only day there was any availability at 180+ but we aren't complaining.

 

[karrit2000]

I was constantly checking for ADR's for my trip in June. I never seem to make any reservations 180 days out even if I already have my hotel booked. Anyway the June trip was only scheduled about 2 months out. I wasn't able to schedule anything ahead of time. While @ WDW I was checking every morning & night hoping something would open up. A few times I saw availability pop up for 9:30 or later at night. Finally the morning before my b-day a 6pm opened up for my birthday so I snagged it. I was a very happy camper! So even if nothing opens up before you get there keep checking every day while you are there. I did manage to get the breakfast adr for my November trip but I'm still trying to get a lunch and/or dinner. I've done both & find the menus at both a welcome variation on the usual park offerings.