What do people dislike about BOG??

[DisBuckMan]

For the included drinks we get chocolate milk and milks in bottles but save them for later. We then drink out of the fountain drinks at the restaurant.

Yeah, that's not really supposed to be allowed.

 

[GillianP1301]

I'm not a big fan of BOG, but I don't think it's bad either. I've done dinner twice and breakfast once. One dinner was sub-par quality wise, the 2nd dinner was better but still not great. The breakfast was just okay, but underwhelming. I would eat there again if the opportunity came up, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it. I think sometimes I feel like my opinions of BOG come across as negative because I'm contradicting all the rave reviews. Regardless of my experience with the food there, I have always claimed that the atmosphere is amazing and it is worth dining there at least once just to check it out, if nothing else.

 

[jacknsally19]

I think that its mediocre.... which given the price for QS and the difficulty of being able to get 'reservations' lead to complaints. I don't think that the dinner prices are much higher than other other TS but the QS seems quite a bit higher.

I think that MK has the worst food of all the parks. But Skipper Canteen has been a huge win IMHO.

 

[Rowlf the Dog]

So, just my 2cents:
I visited BOG 5 times, always in middle-late December (so around Christmas), last time 12/27/2016 - one time for lunch, 4 times for dinner. I have to say, I love the movie, but I really adore the Beast. Lunch I found very loud and chaotic, could also not hear any music, and the food was meh. So there was a lack of the really good atmosphere for me. But I never had a bad dinner, not only because I was able to meet him: I always had a great meal (2xSteak - better than the one in LeCelleir I had before, 1xPasta with Scallops, 1xChicken), I like the Grey Stuff after it, I had excellent servers and it wasn't so loud and hectic, so I could hear the music (although I always was sitted in the ballroom) and of course my heart beats every time I me(e)t the Beast and also have good interactions with him.
But I also have to admit, these experiences were before the costume-change of him (I adore the Classic - "comic" - One instead of the new -real movie - one, which just doesn't look like the original) and also before the opening of the third-room for dinner.
Besides I really love the theming...

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

The noise in the main hall is certainly an issue. It feels like you are eating at a food court in a mall sometimes. We find the breakfast food ok and the dinner decent. We wish the breakfast was as good as CRT.

It costs us about $50 more to eat breakfast at BOG than the resort. It is worth it to us. We get an early reservation and walk on to 7D. We take a couple zip lock bag with us to throw the pastries in for a snack later. For the included drinks we get chocolate milk and milks in bottles but save them for later. We then drink out of the fountain drinks at the restaurant. With the early reservation we can get to the west wing and noise is not too bad.

So you steal soda? Not sure if I was doing that, that I would admit to it.

 

[loves to dive]

We felt the food was just o.k. but not worth the high price for was is a QS meal for breakfast and lunch when you can get better and for less elsewhere. We've never done dinner there but we don't book our ADRs any further in advance than the night before and there are so many other places to eat on property it's just not high on our list.

 

[Average Joes]

So you steal soda? Not sure if I was doing that, that I would admit to it.

Easy there. We asked the waitress if we could use the fountain drinks after getting a couple milks and she said yes. Same waitress that served us. I was surprised the first time. Happened at two breakfasts. Drinks are included in your meal at breakfast. The exact definition of what drinks are included and under what circumstances I leave to the restaurant. It is definitely NOT stealing. They are aware and can charge us $ if they deem it necessary.

 

[Moliphino]

We felt the food was just o.k. but not worth the high price for was is a QS meal for breakfast and lunch when you can get better and for less elsewhere. We've never done dinner there but we don't book our ADRs any further in advance than the night before and there are so many other places to eat on property it's just not high on our list.

I agree that the breakfast price is ridiculous (I would never pay for breakfast here out of pocket), but the lunch and dinner prices are pretty average.

 

[rg35]

We've done lunch there a few times. The food is fine, nothing special. I can't say I've ever been really underwhelmed by anything. My expectations are always moderated appropriately for theme park dining unless it's a place like Tiffins where I expect more.

I guess it's loud but I can't say that that has ever bothered us.

 

[DisBuckMan]

Easy there. We asked the waitress if we could use the fountain drinks after getting a couple milks and she said yes. Same waitress that served us. I was surprised the first time. Happened at two breakfasts. Drinks are included in your meal at breakfast. The exact definition of what drinks are included and under what circumstances I leave to the restaurant. It is definitely NOT stealing. They are aware and can charge us $ if they deem it necessary.

Not bashing, but common sense would dictate that ONE drink is included with your meal. Free refills on soft drinks, tea, coffee....just like every other place.

 

[rg35]

Easy there. We asked the waitress if we could use the fountain drinks after getting a couple milks and she said yes. Same waitress that served us. I was surprised the first time. Happened at two breakfasts. Drinks are included in your meal at breakfast. The exact definition of what drinks are included and under what circumstances I leave to the restaurant. It is definitely NOT stealing. They are aware and can charge us $ if they deem it necessary.

Perhaps not stealing, but rather "taking advantage." You yourself say you were "surprised" it was allowed, so some part of you must have thought that you shouldn't be asking for bottled milk in addition to drinking unlimited fountain beverages.

This is a perfect example of why things are taken away and Disney has to put hard and fast rules and restrictions in place.

 

[SuperShredder]

It's the quality of the food. They seem to use sub par ingredients, lower grade beef, stuff like that. The profit margins on the food must make Disney a killing since it's priced closer to a signature like California Grill but without nearly the same quality and definitely not the same level of kitchen or wait staff. My thoughts on Be Our Guest evolved over time.

First visit, first time going to Disney World in years, I loved it. I was overwhelmed with the theming, service was great. I enjoyed my food. This was 2014, so I don't know if the quality went down since, but since I hadn't been to Disney in years I didn't notice the small things.

I went back around 8 month later, loved Be Our Guest so much and they had just started Breakfast and Lunch. I made a reservation for all three during a 10 day trip. Breakfast and Lunch were just OK, expensive for what it was but the presentation was nice. Was still enamored enough that Dinner was a very positive experience. Still thought it was expensive but a "must do" experience.

Went on a trip around 6 months after the last and was able to get a Lunch and Dinner reservation. Here's where my opinion of Be Our Guest started to turn from "must do" to never do again. The lunch reservation was rushed, tables were dirty, wait staff basically overworked to the point of being no help (staffing issues, not the fault of the individual wait staff). The lunch food looked like it came from a school cafeteria, everything was all over the place. It was a far cry from the nice presentations I had received when lunch service first started at the restaurant. I still held on to the idea that Dinner service was still worth it. Since I had been to Disney several times within a couple years, I had started branching out to the better signature restaurants on property - California Grill, Jiko, Citrico's etc. I have had excellent and consistent experience at these restaurants. When I went to dinner at Be Our Guest this time, I realized the restaurant was still kind of dirty, service had fallen off a little since my first visit and the quality of the food was poor. If I'm paying $35+ for a steak, I at least expect it to be a decent quality piece of beef (for those that are steak lovers, I'd expect a USDA Choice type steak, like what you'd find at your local grocery store. The grade of the steak at Be Our Guest is more like USDA Select, typically found at restaurants like Golden Corral and the budget meat at Wal-Mart). I don't expect high end steakhouse type food, but I do expect at least that my food is decent quality ingredients and cooked well. Be Our Guest uses cheap ingredients, likely cooks the cafeteria style even during Dinner and brings out food that is not worth the price. I did try Be Our Guest one more time for dinner on my next trip before swearing it off for good, I had exactly the same experience and concluded that it's just how it is now.

TLR - Moral of the story here... Unless I'm with someone who has never been to Be Our Guest and just wants to experience it, I'll never eat there again. You can get much better food on property prepared by skilled chefs for around the same amount of money. Go to California Grill, go to Jiko, go to Flying Fish. I promise you'll get a better meal and feel better when the check comes.

Also, I've only ever paid for a maximum of 4 adults at Be Our Guest. If I had a big family and received a $1000+ bill, I'd probably have felt totally ripped off. Way better places to spend your money on property.

People who have been there once or twice: Probably loved it.
People who have been there 3-4 times: Probably think its OK.
People who have been there 4+ times: Probably have the same opinion as me.

 

[Average Joes]

Not bashing, but common sense would dictate that ONE drink is included with your meal. Free refills on soft drinks, tea, coffee....just like every other place.

I do not disagree. This is why I was surprised they told me to go ahead and use the fountain drinks for myself and my daughter. Is it really and different than a restaurant throwing in a free dessert or appetizer? I did not really like the implication of stealing by the other poster without knowing the facts. At least you were subtle about it.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

I do not disagree. This is why I was surprised they told me to go ahead and use the fountain drinks for myself and my daughter. Is it really and different than a restaurant throwing in a free dessert or appetizer? I did not really like the implication of stealing by the other poster without knowing the facts. At least you were subtle about it.

Taking something that you haven't paid for is stealing. It seems to be common sense.

Just wait for it, in a couple of years, you will receive your cup when you pay. If you don't pay for a drink, you won't get a cup.

 

[Average Joes]

This post is going to get closed I suspect.

Taking something that you haven't paid for is stealing. It seems to be common sense.

Just wait for it, in a couple of years, you will receive your cup when you pay. If you don't pay for a drink, you won't get a cup.

It is not taken when it was offered and purposely not charged by the restaurant. This goes back to 2015. I do not recall the exact nature of the interaction. I do recall thinking that this was the disney magic we sometimes received. From a free balloon, a Minnie doll given to my child by Minnie herself when she was crying, a free dessert brought out, an appetizer ordered but told it would not be charged. I was raised to never steal by a police officer and always follow the law as a lawyer. I would never put myself in a situation of theft and ruin my career for a few bucks. I am done talking about this. Think what you like.

 

[Moliphino]

I do not disagree. This is why I was surprised they told me to go ahead and use the fountain drinks for myself and my daughter. Is it really and different than a restaurant throwing in a free dessert or appetizer? I did not really like the implication of stealing by the other poster without knowing the facts. At least you were subtle about it.

Maybe she thought you just meant water?

 

[DisBuckMan]

This post is going to get closed I suspect.


It is not taken when it was offered and purposely not charged by the restaurant. This goes back to 2015. I do not recall the exact nature of the interaction. I do recall thinking that this was the disney magic we sometimes received. From a free balloon, a Minnie doll given to my child by Minnie herself when she was crying, a free dessert brought out, an appetizer ordered but told it would not be charged. I was raised to never steal by a police officer and always follow the law as a lawyer. I would never put myself in a situation of theft and ruin my career for a few bucks. I am done talking about this. Think what you like.

I think the perception is the way your original post was worded. If you go back and read it, it says nothing about asking if it were ok, but rather sounds like that's your standard plan every time you go there...kinda like, "well, here's how we do it".

 

[Momee]

I think this is all redundant at this point, but like other posters have mentioned-
It is a restaurant in Magic Kingdom so I expect higher prices for a par to subpar meal. What makes this restaurant special is 100% the theme. It is a lovely restaurant inside and out.
If you're making a one-time trip or a once-in-a-blue-moon trip, then book it. If you've been once or twice before and you think you want to give it another try to see if things have gotten better, then don't book it. It really has changed (and IMHO, not for the better).
About 3 months ago, my husband was in town for a meeting and the kids and I were in MK. My daughter wanted to try it out again, so I preordered our food for lunch. It took F-O-R-E-V-E-R to get our food and it wasn't even as busy as I've seen it before.
A lot of the empty tables were not cleared/clean and the cast members looked frazzled as they were trying to deliver food.
(Maybe understaffed?)
I wanted to love BOG, but unfortunately it's not what it has the potential to be.
Maybe if Disney revamped it as a signature restaurant without quick service, then they could up their game, but then there's Cinderella's Royal Table and that's a whole different disappointment for another thread.

 

[mrswillson]

Now, I'm going into this with the preface that I do love BOG - the ambiance is beautiful and I can't get over the fact it feels like you're living in the movie scene.

However, I definitely do not believe the food is worth the price (at least not the few dishes I've had). All of them have been lukewarm and taste was mediocre. Considering what a flagship BOG has become, I would think they would make a bit more of an effort to make the value match the price.

Oh... and it's beyond loud at all hours of the day. I have found that this makes eating a romantic dinner with your husband, or even carrying on a conversation using inside voices, a bit tricky.

 

[DisBuckMan]

Considering what a flagship BOG has become, I would think they would make a bit more of an effort to make the value match the price.

They don't have to. People are falling all over themselves to make reservations there. You see multiple people here every day seemingly near the point of tears over not being able to get a BoG reservation. Pure panic. Over BoG.