Now that Magic Kingdom has officially welcomed back guests, we’re making our way through the park to see what’s  changed.

One place that is definitely different than our last visit is Be Our Guest Restaurant. Prior to reopening, we reported that the restaurant would no longer offer quick service breakfast or lunch, and the menu options saw some changes.

But once we actually dined there, we found the BIGGEST surprise of ALL!

So, what’s it REALLY like inside the reopened Be Our Guest Restaurant? Let’s take a look!

When we stopped by the host stand for Be Our Guest Restaurant this morning, they were actually taking limited same-day reservations. The Cast Member told us that later in the afternoon, they would be operating more on a first-come, first-served basis. Do keep in mind, we’re here during Passholder previews, so the situation may be different come Saturday.

On the way into the restaurant, we spotted some directional markings on the bridge to make sure that guests keep to their side of the path.

There are distancing markers throughout for when there are more guests in the hallways too.

On our way in, we spotted a Cast Member cleaning the entrance area! He said he sprays down all the surfaces in this area several times per day, and was VERY kind to answer all of our questions about it.

Once seated, we were able to access our menu via the QR code on the table. Remember, Be Our Guest has a prix fixe menu for lunch and dinner (the only available mealtimes right now). For adults, it’s $62 and for kids, it’s $37.

But we’ll talk about food AFTER WE TELL YOU THE BIG NEWS! We actually got to see a character (and a pretty darn rare one at that) while we were here! Though it was not previously announced that Be Our Guest would have a modified character experience, we got to wave at Beast while we ate! Sure enough, our big buddy wandered the restaurant about every 30 minutes or so throughout our meal. You can’t see him at ANY other character experience (before OR after closures!), so this is a huge deal for your Beauty and the Beast fans.

The Beast usually greets guests at this restaurant during dinner ONLY (pre-closure, guests were able to meet him in his study when they were finished with their meals). But Disney did not make a statement about him coming back after re-opening, and they certainly didn’t say he would be at LUNCH! Now that lunch is prix-fixe, like dinner, the Beast came along with the menu! We loved it!

Here’s how it went down: after a fanfare and introduction, the Beast walks throughout the dining rooms and tables in the restaurant, waving at guests and bowing. He didn’t pause for selfies like we’ve seen our Disney pals do in other modified meals like Topolino’s Terrace, but it was still a treat to have him here.

In the West Wing, he spent a good amount of time checking on the Enchanted Rose! (Wouldn’t YOU if it determined whether or not you would stay a Beast for the rest of your life?) This was seriously a sweet surprise considering characters are a little bit less of a known commodity in a reopened Disney World.

After we were finished freaking out about Beast, we decided to tuck into our nice meal.

For our appetizer, we nabbed a few options. One was the French Onion Soup with toasted crouton, gruyere, and provolone. It was honestly great; just look at that melty cheese!

We also opted for the Assorted Meats and Artisanal Cheese Selection which had a nice variety.

Did you know you can get and Fruit and Cheese Plate for kiddos too?

For one entree, we picked the Herb-salted Pork Tenderloin, served with crispy pork belly, seasonal vegetables-two ways, pork jus, and candied pecan.

The pork belly was awesome…but the tenderloin was tough and pretty meh on flavor. The sweet potato puree was silky and gorgeous — so much flavor and very well done.

Our other grown-up entree was the Center-cut Filet Mignon with Robuchon Yukon potatoes, seasonal vegetables, cipollini marmalade, and a red wine glaze. This was quite good, and the cipollini marmalade was packed with flavor.

But this is kind of a heavy dish for mid-day at the Magic Kingdom, so keep that in mind if you’ve got another half park day in the 90+ degree heat and humidity comin’ atcha!

For a kids’ meal, we tried out the House-made Mac & Cheese which was quite good! It’s served with a choice of two selections on the side. We went for steamed green beans and sweet potato wedges.

Honestly, this is a HUGE portion for a kiddo. It would be a HUGE portion for an adult tbh. But the mac was well put together — the cheese seemed authentic (versus processed or pre-packaged) and the textures were spot-on.

When I asked for salt (I always need salt with my mac), they brought me salt packets. This is common now at Disney restaurants — no more communal salt shakers!

The sweet potatoes were awesome here as well. And the beans were…meh…but a good portion of green stuff!

The Dessert Trio (a Lemon Jam Macaron, a White Chocolate “Chip” Cup with Grey Stuff, and a Dark Chocolate Truffle) was adorable and delicious.

Plus, you know we love that Grey Stuff! It’s always so surprisingly good! There’s a creamy flavor to it — like there’s a ton of heavy cream in there giving it its heft — that can’t be beat.

The lemon macaron was very tart and super yummy! There was a little “jelly” thing in the middle that must have been condensed lemon flavor ’cause WOW.

The truffle was delicious, but v. v. RICH!

There’s a super sweet version of the Dessert Trio for kids too! It gives them the opportunity to eat some sweets AND play with their food. What more could a little one want? This one combined grey stuff, a cake pop, and a white chocolate Chip cup that the kids could decorate with the edible paints provided. There was also a macaron here, but it was more sweet than tart for sure.

When our meal wrapped up, we were brought our check in one of the now-familiar disposable paper check holders.

AND, since this is (apparently) a modified character experience, we received a special souvenir card…

…with an autograph from the Beast!

So it was totally adorable and fun and a good break from the crazy heat in the Magic Kingdom. The food was decent (not signature restaurant quality really, but good). The service was impeccable. And you can’t beat the BEAST!

But overall, we definitely still feel like Be Our Guest — as a signature restaurant — is way overpriced. (Quick service lunch here used to be a GREAT deal, but now that we’ve switched to a signature lunch…not so much.) Without the quick service breakfast option and with lunch changed to signature table-service, it’s a serious bummer that there’s no way to get in and experience the theming of Be Our Guest without dishing out some serious dough.

If you have mega Beauty and the Beast fans in your party, it can be a good option for a mid-day break. But because this is a prix-fixe meal now, note that you likely won’t be able to split meals or manage the budget as much as you could at an a la carte restaurant. A family of four is gonna drop $200 bucks here BEFORE tax and tip…and that could be another night in a Disney hotel. So it’ll take some thought to determine if this is where you want to splurge for your trip!

Still, our meal at Be Our Guest definitely had its surprises! It was made all the better by Beast’s presence in the dining room. Stay tuned to DFB as we cover EVERYTHING there is to see at the reopened Disney World theme parks!

Click here to see all of the Disney World restaurants that are reopening with the parks!

Would you still eat at Be Our Guest Restaurant with these changes in place? Let us know in the comments!