PHOTOS - We go inside Be Our Guest Restaurant

[jdmdisney99]

You're joking, right? Please tell me this is sarcasm.

People don't plan vacations or buy annual passes because of the restaurants at a theme park, they buy them for the attractions. While this is a very nice restaurant, it's still a restaurant.

I know, they should have still had a ride. Should have both actually.

 

[awoogala]

about a domed roof and acoustics. The acoustics at crystal palace are horrific. In fact, we have spoken to servers there that told us it has actually damaged some of the cast members hearing!

Perhaps the acoustics are why the dome was left out?

 

[JungleTrekFan]

Well dam, they kept telling me it was big, (It is the largest restaurant in Disney history), but thats huge. and its only 1 of the 3 dining rooms.

It really is gourgous,not matter how nit picky you are, you can’t deny it’s beautiful and to a level of detail that Disney has never been put in the Magic Kingdom before.

 

[Rescue Ranger]

Isn't there supposed to be a Lumiere anamatronic or Lumiere "something" in here as well?

 

[lazyboy97o]

I will not confess to know a ton about acoustics, but wouldn't a large domed room with high ceilings filled with as many families (kids) as they will be putting in here for QS meals turn into a huge noisy nightmare? Maybe I am wrong about that, but it seems like it would have been an issue.
Anyone know enough about acoustics to tell me how far off base I am on that?

Acoustics with a full size done and hard surfaces could be an issue, but it is not something that could have been handled through design. Like I said previously, there is not even evidence at a serious attempt to use tromp-l'œil to create/enhance an illusion.

I could be wrong but I doubt Hogwarts at Universal is an exact replica of the film version and yet we're constantly being told that is the standard to match.

I believe Hogwarts itself was a model, but the interiors and Hogsmead are very much built in the same scale as seen in the films. It is why everything is so small despite the expected crowds. Universal Creative brought in the films' set designers to get everything close to as it was shown. And where the scale has changed, the impression of the scale remains. This is not the are here. The Ballroom is neither massive in scale nor is the illusion of a massive scale readily present.

 

[GoofGoof]

I was loving it until i saw inside the dining area itself. Large feeling of dressed up high school cafeteria. Hopefully when I eat there in a month and a half my feelings change on that.

What kind of high school did you go to? Must have been pretty impressive

 

[Disneykidder]

Remember, Harry Potter is an actual live movie with people. B&tB is an animated movie. Scales are quite different. I think Disney thought of everything everyone is saying. They know how to create authentic scenery. If there isn't a dome, i'm sure there is a reason why. The pictures probably don't do the actual place justice.

 

[GoofGoof]

In case anyone wasn't sure, Beauty and the Beast was a CARTOON. Not real life. Of course they can't make it look exactly like the movie.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Remember, Harry Potter is an actual live movie with people. B&tB is an animated movie. Scales are quite different. I think Disney thought of everything everyone is saying. They know how to create authentic scenery. If there isn't a dome, i'm sure there is a reason why. The pictures probably don't do the actual place justice.

While I cannot speak for Beauty and the Beast, animated films and even video games do often have people trained in architecture working on the designs to help make sure the scale and forms looks convincing. There are actual spaces like the Ballroom in the real world. Nothing about what I know about Disney today has me thinking it was an insurmountable hurdle preventing the scale from appearing more massive.

 

[doctornick]

Isn't there supposed to be a Lumiere anamatronic or Lumiere "something" in here as well?

I don't think it's been clear what will happen, but the concept art had Lumiere on a cart much like Remy at Chefs.

 

[JungleTrekFan]

I could be wrong but I doubt Hogwarts at Universal is an exact replica of the film version and yet we're constantly being told that is the standard to match.

It doesn’t help that the two directors had two different layouts for Hogwarts and even JK herself never really made a complete model of the whole school because their was never a need to.

Isn't there supposed to be a Lumiere anamatronic or Lumiere "something" in here as well?

Even though concept art first hinted at something like that appearing once opened, it appears more likely that it will not come to fruition. But personally i think the EtwB Lumiere is truly amazing enough but would not work in a remy type setting a la Le Chefs de France.

 

[bhodge]

I wonder if the problem is that they never ATE in the ballroom in the film. I think had they made the ballroom smaller and had it function as a transitional area, or foyer type space it would have functioned better. The entire space could have a smaller footprint and that would have forced the vertical to look taller. When they elongated the space to accommodate seating and tables, it threw off the proportional balance. The fact that they had to add two chandeliers points out that the room is much linear than in the film.
I think a grand DINING room would have been better and still have the beautiful ballroom be where the music box with Beast and Belle is located. Have that space be an inner waiting area and the issues with proportion and implied function of the space would have been solved.

 

[MissM]

I saw it today. In person, I think the lighting is somewhere inbetween the harsh flash and the warm color of the other one posted. It's not quite either of them; the warmer one looks like it has a filter on it. It's subdued lighting but not dark. The chandeliers in person look HUGE and very impressive. Though I will say because they only let you see small parts of the restaurant, it felt small overall to me. I felt like I was missing a lot. (And, I'm sure I was since you don't see the other two rooms at all.) I thought it looked nice for sure but it wasn't the most amazing thing I've ever seen either. *shrugs*

 

[Captain Neo]

The ballroom really does look horrible. Would it have killed them to make the ceiling alittle higher? Good lord

 

[TRONorail10]

The ballroom really does look horrible. Would it have killed them to make the ceiling alittle higher? Good lord

Are you the imagineer, architect or engineer that designed the building? No. Have you even stood in the dead center of the ballroom and felt the entire scale of the room in real life? No. Have you eaten at a Disney restaurant in the Magic Kingdom with more detail built into a single location? No. If you don't like it, then move along. There's a chili dog waiting for you at Casey's Corner. Have a Magical Day!

 

[TRONorail10]

Isn't there supposed to be a Lumiere anamatronic or Lumiere "something" in here as well?

No. The concept art everyone has seen was literally the very first artist rendition of the Ballroom. Imagineers used it to pitch the concept to executives and within minutes, they were sold on the idea. The imagineers only used that artist rendition as a stepping stone for designing the entire restaurant. This is why most of the elements from the picture are different in real life or non-existent at all.

 

[ctxak98]

This Ballroom is amazing...For the people who cant see that I am sorry but This is pretty spectacular! none of Disneys rides or Universals for that matter exactly capture the surroundings to a T....The whole New fantasyland looks great and makes WDW's fantasyland one of the greatest just by its looks. awesome job imagineers!

 

[flynnibus]

I believe Hogwarts itself was a model, but the interiors and Hogsmead are very much built in the same scale as seen in the films. It is why everything is so small despite the expected crowds. Universal Creative brought in the films' set designers to get everything close to as it was shown. And where the scale has changed, the impression of the scale remains. This is not the are here. The Ballroom is neither massive in scale nor is the illusion of a massive scale readily present.

that's a very selective memory...

Almost nothing in the castle in FJ is to full scale... the staircase hallway being the most obscene 'violation'

 

[Jose]

I think they experimented with people eating standing up, but that didn't work out so well

I mean that it's full of chairs and tables, perhaps less number of them would be better

 

[jjthx1138]

It looks great to me. I do not care what style they used or that it is not a exact replica of the film. Very excited to take my daughters there. They won't be so dissappointed.