Post Covid - Be Our Guest Dinner Experience

[Thomasboys]

We had the QS lunch at BOG in 2019 and thought it was awful. My son loved eating in the West Wing and so now for our March 2021 trip he really wants to eat at BOG for the experience of the room. We will be there for nine days and have some other pricier meals planned (Biergarten, Topolinos, Whispering Canyon, and Hollywood and Vine (which I will likely be cutting)), and so I'm on the fence now about a $200 meal for four people at BOG. For anyone who has been since re-opening:
1. How is the food/experience? Do you feel the value is worth the price?
2. Did you see any characters?

 

[helenb]

We had lunch at BoG in the second week of January (which is now the dinner menu). We were seated in the room with the portrait and the rose. We thought the food quality was good. I had the steak and it was a high quality piece of meat... very tender. But to get the full value, you will have to be able to eat all 3 courses. We enjoyed everything we had. Service was good, and everything came fast, but not so fast that you felt that it was just sitting under a heat lamp.

Technically there are no characters, but during out 60 minute visit, Beast came out twice. He walked into the room, stood by the entrance, and bowed to the tables for about 15 seconds, then he left. So very minimal interaction, but you could get a photo.

 

[Yinn]

We had the QS lunch at BOG in 2019 and thought it was awful. My son loved eating in the West Wing and so now for our March 2021 trip he really wants to eat at BOG for the experience of the room. We will be there for nine days and have some other pricier meals planned (Biergarten, Topolinos, Whispering Canyon, and Hollywood and Vine (which I will likely be cutting)), and so I'm on the fence now about a $200 meal for four people at BOG. For anyone who has been since re-opening:
1. How is the food/experience? Do you feel the value is worth the price?
2. Did you see any characters?

We used to go to BoG all the time with the dining plan and found breakfast to be the best. But that was because we got early park access. If we had to pay out of pocket, we actually felt the QS lunch was the best bet. Our one dinner experience was a good experience and we're glad we did it, but we didn't feel like it was worth $200.

PS. Topolinos was excellent, we really enjoyed that a month ago.

 

[Pixie Dusted Snow]

Nothing against OP personally but it drives me nuts when people say "post-covid".
Post-covid makes it sound like its no longer an issue.
A trip in March would be a DURING Covid trip.

Anyways... If the menu is appealing to you then you'll likely enjoy the food.
My guess is you found the food "awful" when it was a QS lunch because the menu was less appealing.
Personally I loved the QS menu and found it well worth going because it was not a cray price, I liked the food, and it was a unique experience at a QS location.
As a previous poster said Beast walks around socially distanced. I'm sure some day the more normal experience where you actually meet him and get a photo will return once Covid truly is under control.

 

[1GoldenSun]

We have reservations later this month just because I want my nieces to get to eat lunch in the castle. I’ve always enjoyed the food here, too; but I think it’s the experience that you pay for.

 

[Thomasboys]

We used to go to BoG all the time with the dining plan and found breakfast to be the best. But that was because we got early park access. If we had to pay out of pocket, we actually felt the QS lunch was the best bet. Our one dinner experience was a good experience and we're glad we did it, but we didn't feel like it was worth $200.

PS. Topolinos was excellent, we really enjoyed that a month ago.

I was bummed they did away with the QS! That would have really been the best option for us..

 

[hp_lovecraft]

I was bummed they did away with the QS! That would have really been the best option for us..

Our best experience was the brief time they experimented with its quick service fast pass system. You show up, skip the whole line, sit down and eat. I liked the odd QS menu, but most of my 6 kids did not, so we would say "here for the experience". Everyone liked the quirky west wing, though it only had 1 large table, so it was a matter of timing.

 

[Pixie Dusted Snow]

Our best experience was the brief time they experimented with its quick service fast pass system. You show up, skip the whole line, sit down and eat. I liked the odd QS menu, but most of my 6 kids did not, so we would say "here for the experience". Everyone liked the quirky west wing, though it only had 1 large table, so it was a matter of timing.

That's basically h0w it worked from 2015 to 2020 as long as your pre-ordered.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Nothing against OP personally but it drives me nuts when people say "post-covid".
Post-covid makes it sound like its no longer an issue.
A trip in March would be a DURING Covid trip.

I think everyone knows it’s still an issue. Not sure why people feel the need to argue semantics on here

OP, this meal isn’t all that much different from the pre Covid experience. Dinner had been fixed price for awhile. I’d say the food quality is pretty good, but probably not up to par with some of the signatures. You’re paying more for the atmosphere than the food. The only real change due to Covid is the Beast making an appearance in the dining hall versus the quick meet and greet they had before. I think it’s worth doing once, but there are better meals to be had for the price.

 

[Yinn]

Our best experience was the brief time they experimented with its quick service fast pass system. You show up, skip the whole line, sit down and eat. I liked the odd QS menu, but most of my 6 kids did not, so we would say "here for the experience". Everyone liked the quirky west wing, though it only had 1 large table, so it was a matter of timing.

That was exactly it. It was a quick in and out. The prices were much more reasonable, and you got to experience the castle.

I was bummed they did away with the QS! That would have really been the best option for us..

I know, it's tough. It's a cool experience that I think everyone should try at least once but we haven't gone back since they did away with it simply because we didn't feel it was worth what we were paying.

Also one thing to note, some restaurants get severely backed up. We had a 5:45pm Crystal Palace reservation, by 7:45pm we were still waiting. It was popcorn for dinner that night. In general we found breakfast and lunch in park to be fine, but by dinner time the delays from the day were a little piled up. There was zero delays eating outside of the park (but still on property) while we were there last month. That might be a factor for when/if you go as well since BoG dinners can be quite backed up as it was before social distancing.

 

[Thomasboys]

I think everyone knows it’s still an issue. Not sure why people feel the need to argue semantics on here

OP, this meal isn’t all that much different from the pre Covid experience. Dinner had been fixed price for awhile. I’d say the food quality is pretty good, but probably not up to par with some of the signatures. You’re paying more for the atmosphere than the food. The only real change due to Covid is the Beast making an appearance in the dining hall versus the quick meet and greet they had before. I think it’s worth doing once, but there are better meals to be had for the price.

Amen!!!!!!!!

 

[Thomasboys]

I think everyone knows it’s still an issue. Not sure why people feel the need to argue semantics on here

OP, this meal isn’t all that much different from the pre Covid experience. Dinner had been fixed price for awhile. I’d say the food quality is pretty good, but probably not up to par with some of the signatures. You’re paying more for the atmosphere than the food. The only real change due to Covid is the Beast making an appearance in the dining hall versus the quick meet and greet they had before. I think it’s worth doing once, but there are better meals to be had for the price.

We've done it once when it was a QS. The experience was fun then, but the food awful. That is why I'm a little hesitant to spend $200. But, I also have heard of a lot of restaurants that have gotten a lot better since re-opening so I'm careful not to discount it either.

 

[hp_lovecraft]

Also one thing to note, some restaurants get severely backed up. We had a 5:45pm Crystal Palace reservation, by 7:45pm we were still waiting.

The first couple years for Be Our Guest might have been the worse. The line would snake back all the way to the Little Mermaid entrance. Despite being "quick service", you might enter the line for lunch, but get there at dinner time! That said, we do our best to be flexible. We usually have a party of 10+. All a ADR does is tell the staff that once we show up, we will get the next table that can accommodate us. Sometimes, it is an hour or longer. Sometimes its quicker, but we like to all have at least one meal together everyday before we split up. Thats something that I look forward to.

 

[Dakota731]

Also one thing to note, some restaurants get severely backed up. We had a 5:45pm Crystal Palace reservation, by 7:45pm we were still waiting. It was popcorn for dinner that night.

Oh wow that will be tough with a toddler in tow. Maybe we will do quick service for dinners then. Was that most peoples’s experience as well?

 

[nw6675]

Bog =yuck

 

[Heather07438]

I was bummed they did away with the QS! That would have really been the best option for us..

Me too! BoG lunch is now $62pp plus tax and tip. $300 or more for 4 people.

Some of our most fun meals were at BoG. Back when lunch was 1 QS credit (it's now TWO TS credits), pre-order was available. Was easy to get food and have a very pleasant memorable meal without spending hundreds of dollars. Even when the French Dip went from $12 to $17 it still felt a decent value for the experience.

The WDW food game used to be very fun and exciting to us. Now it just gets more disappointing each trip. What WDW likes to do is offer something good at a relatively decent cost until it gets tons of great feedback online, then jack up the price and slim down quality thru reduced selections, portion, or ingredients.

Went from "take our money" for food to strategically focusing on not being taken for a sucker. Going forward will only go to stuff that is new because after that WDW will decimate it once they get enough good reviews. Even Festival Booths have lost their shine and no longer exciting to us. Let somebody else pay $10 for 3 tablespoons of cold risotto or $12 for 1oz of arancini.

 

[Yinn]

Me too! BoG lunch is now $62pp plus tax and tip. $300 or more for 4 people.

Some of our most fun meals were at BoG. Back when lunch was 1 QS credit (it's now TWO TS credits), pre-order was available. Was easy to get food and have a very pleasant memorable meal without spending hundreds of dollars. Even when the French Dip went from $12 to $17 it still felt a decent value for the experience.

The WDW food game used to be very fun and exciting to us. Now it just gets more disappointing each trip. What WDW likes to do is offer something good at a relatively decent cost until it gets tons of great feedback online, then jack up the price and slim down quality thru reduced selections, portion, or ingredients.

Went from "take our money" for food to strategically focusing on not being taken for a sucker. Going forward will only go to stuff that is new because after that WDW will decimate it once they get enough good reviews. Even Festival Booths have lost their shine and no longer exciting to us. Let somebody else pay $10 for 3 tablespoons of cold risotto or $12 for 1oz of arancini.

There's a couple of hidden gems here and there. We had Yak & Yetti for the first time last month. For 3 adults, 2 kids. We all got a drink, shared an appetizer (it was big enough) and had enough food that we packed leftovers. It ran us roughly $75. I had to double check the bill and commented that "Wow, a quick service would have cost the same". The theming is ok, the menu didn't sound too appealing to me, but I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the food. The value for being in park is tough to beat though.

 

[crazytoshop]

We had dinner there in October and had a great experience! The food was really good and the service was perfect. This was not our first visit, but was probably our best. We can’t wait to visit again (in 18 days!!!).

 

[PrincessBelle39]

We've done it once when it was a QS. The experience was fun then, but the food awful. That is why I'm a little hesitant to spend $200. But, I also have heard of a lot of restaurants that have gotten a lot better since re-opening so I'm careful not to discount it either.

We didn't like the quick service either. We felt it ordinary for the price. We all ordered cupcakes as well which we found almost inedible due to how sweet they were. We haven't done the set menu but did dinner before it went to that, so admittedly it was a while ago. But we really enjoyed the food and atmosphere at that stage.

 

[Timandalicia]

Post Covid? Will there ever be such a thing?
I know what you mean but it just makes me sad that it may never come to be.
With that. I think bank the bucks for a more “normal” time. Sounds like you are leaning that way.