Be Our Guest!

Put our service to the test 
Tie your napkin 'round your neck cherie, 
And we'll provide the rest 

-Be Our Guest

I decided to review Be Our Guest first not because it was the best but because this is the parks most popular restaurant, to get a dinner seat you usually have to book the full 180 days in advance, sure some people will wait and still manage to get in but it's a real gamble. I woke up at 6am, 180 days in advance and made all my ADRs my best friend woke up at 8 the same day or day after and could not get in for dinner, she either did lunch or and early dinner I don't remember but for me dinner has to be after 5pm . 

Our ADR (Advanced Dining Reservation) was for 7:35pm one thing we did that isn't in direct relation to dining but I cannot recommend enough is we planned to do enchanted tales with Belle just before our dinner and I highly recommend doing the same if your a Beauty and The Beast fan regardless of if you have children or not. Before my trip most sites were very vague on Enchanted Tales With Belle so the whole thing was a really big surprise to me so I wont go into detail I don't want to ruin it but I will say this is a great way to meet Belle and adults don't feel awkward jump into the magic.

Even the exterior to this restaurant is breath taking. Its a really an impressive optical illusion, it looks like you are at the gates at the bottom of a mountain with the castle at the top of the mountain in the distance and when you enter through the doors in the bottom of this mount it genuinely feels as though you've entered the castle you were just admiring.

When you enter the foyer you have been transported through space and time into a real life fairy tale you can see a head of you the grand ballroom you grew up envisioning right out of the film. I really cannot adequately describe how perfect the decor is. To add to the splendor we went at Christmas so there was a beautiful tree topped with Angelica from an Enchanted Christmas. The back wall of the ballroom is walled with floor to ceiling windows that allow you to look out into the enchanted forest I don't know what the weather is usually like in the forest but while we were there is was snowing. We were guided to our seats in the ballroom.
There are three dinning rooms you can choose from when making an ADR at Be Our Guest, The West Wing, The Ballroom and The Castle Gallery. When looking online I had a hard time choosing between The West Wing and The Ballroom and thought The Gallery was really lacking and I would not want to sit there. We ended up choosing the ballroom and I am glad we did it is glorious. That said after exploring the whole place the other two rooms are also lovely. Next time I am able to go I will choose the West Wing it's quieter and apart from the tables closest to the enchanted rose much more private, also you still get to walk through and see the ballroom without being right in the hustle and bustle. The Gallery in my opinion does have more of a lunch feel to it, however it is much, much nicer in person than the pictures online suggest. The photos online make it appear very plain and while it is less embellished than the other two rooms it does have its own charm to it and the painting on the walls tell you more about the relationship between Belle and the Beast. All of the rooms are good choices so if you don't get your first choice don't be upset it will still be just as enchanting I assure you.
Be Our Guest is worth visiting if only for the decor, that said the food is lackluster. We started with bread and vegan butter with onion soup I am told that sometimes they will have vegan cheese but they did not when we went still this was the best part of the meal, which is kind of sad. For the main we both had the only vegan option which was ratatouille, we both hated it. To make matters worse, and this is our fault really, we were confused about what the Disney dining plan covered so we had to pay for our soups which we wouldn't have ordered had we known. Although I am glad we got the soup because that was basically my meal. From others I have heard mixed reviews on the ratatouille so I am not sure if we just aren't ratatouille people or if it really was that bad, but in my personal opinion despite looking beautiful it was not appetizing at all. I have heard you can get pasta with pasta sauce ( just regular tomato but in Australia& New Zealand tomato sauce means ketchup and I don't want anyone being confused and thinking they will get ketchup noodles). In future visits I'd request the pasta or stick to the soup. Dessert the only option is sorbert unfortunately.

 It's strange here in Canada it's easier to find vegan desserts than vegan meals but in the States it seems easier to find meals than desserts. When I visited the famous Erin Mckenna's in Disney Springs a local woman was talking about what a big deal she makes to come to the springs to visit the bakery because its so hard to find baked goods and here my fiance switched his desserts before anything else because they're easy to get and as he always said "better than the regular versions" and "vegans make up for their lack of meat by nailing baked goods!" . So the lack of desserts was sad especially not being able to have the grey stuff which would be so so so easy to veganize! In fact I am (eventually) going to do any entry on how to make the grey stuff at home and vegan, your welcome.
After dinner you receive a slip so you can meet the Beast on your way out, despite there not being a line when we left this part did feel a bit more rushed than other meet and greets we had throughout the trip.
Be Our Guest is probably one of the best Disney restaurants for experience and ambiance but in all honesty when it comes to the actual food this was the worst dining we experienced during our trip.
So I do recommend going, but order something cheap so you don't end up feeling cheated, soup or pasta if your vegan is my recommendation, if your brave and like when vegetables really taste like vegetables then maybe try to ratatouille.
I hope I haven't come off as too harsh I do still 100% recommend making time for this experience just use caution in your orders.

'Til you shout "Enough, I'm done!"

Then we'll sing you off to sleep as you digest 

Tonight you'll prop your feet up, 

But for now, let's eat up    

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

I'd say there's something 
magical in the air, wouldn't you?
Why it's the spirit of the season,
a season that sparkles with its own
magic and memories. -Holiday Wishes

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party also known in short form as MVMCP for those whom may not know, as I mentioned this event deserved it's own entry, so here we are. MVMCP is a hard ticket event, meaning that a regular park ticket will not get you in. People with party tickets can begin entering the park at 4pm and the party starts officially at 7pm. My bff Shell and I had already been in the parks all day, since about 10-11am minus a slight separation for separate dinners when we met up for the party a round 7 for the start. When I arrived it was already snowing on Main St. and WOW being from Canada the sight of snow in and off it's self really isn't that special. Yes it's beautiful watching the first snow of the year, or on Christmas eve,Christmas, even New Years but those are about the only times your happy too see it, because when it snows here its also around -20 degrees Celsius which for American readers would be about -4F so yea, it sucks. But walking down Main St. and looking at the castle lit up in ice through a light flurry while warm and in a t-shirt was more than magical it was awe worthy. 

      I was late so we hurried over back to Shell's family who were sitting in the viewing area waiting for the parade to start. Before the parade there was the Frozen lighting of the castle mini show, unfortunately due to the ABC filming our view was totally eclipsed by fake bushes( or at least temporary bushes) that were set up to hide the filming equipment. After the Frozen show it was time for the Christmas parade! Our spots for the parade were perfect, right on the curb, full view.
The parade was everything you'd expect bright colors, magical characters, fun themes and sounds, with a little extra Disney touch which was SCENT! The flouts were pumping out themed scents! This for sure took the parade too a whole other level, it's said that Disney also pumps certain scents throughout the park during the day, I personally tried really hard to notice it and couldn't but I do have a very weak sense of smell. All and all though I still would say Festival of Fantasy parade wins for best Disney parade.

  After Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas Parade we headed to Adventure land to meet my favorite Captain Jack Sparrow. We arrived quickly so the line was still quite short we probably waited around 10 minutes  not because of line length but because he spent so much time with each person. Personally I'd rather wait longer and actually get an interaction than get in quickly but only get a quick snap and then being hurried out. Jack was a hoot! After our turn we waited too watch the girl in line behind us go because we had talked in line and she was also hilarious! When you meet Jack it is on a little stage so people walking by can watch. After meeting Captain Jack we walked right on to The Jingle Cruise not only did we walk right on there were only 2 other people on our boat. Our skipper didn't let that stop him though! He gave a performance as if the boat was loaded. I wish I had gotten his name so I could give him a shout out because he was a riot! I rode it again a few days later and while my second skipper did use some of the same Jokes both did also add original material.
    After Jingle cruise we ran over to the Circus to meet Sandy Claws ( Jack Skellington) who is a special meet and greet only there during Christmas and Halloween parties. The wait for Sandy Claws was by far the longest meet and greet, probably the over all longest line I waited in the entire trip (understandably) I would say it was at least 35 minutes. By the time we meet Sandy Claws , who was also hilarious, we were extremely tired and sore it was about 11 pm so we abandoned ship and headed back to our resorts after that.
   I would probably do MVMCP again, I would definitely do it differently there were other shows and experiences I wanted to do and see but it wasn't my day so I didn't push and also having already been in the park all day I was in too much pain to really care. In the future a party day would definitely be a day when we stayed at the resort for the morning and headed over in the afternoon. We didn't capitalize on the free snacks but info for vegans the cookie stations have Enjoy Life chocolate chip cookies we can eat. They don't have a free vegan hot coco however if you want some you can order starbucks hot chocolate with soy and there ya go!
   All in all if you plan a head so you can make the most of special party events,meet and greets and goodies, I would say it's still worth the price too attend. If in the future the prices go up or you don't plan then it probably wont be worth it in all honesty. So consider that while deciding, the party is only as good as you make it.

Day 2: A Very Merry Unbirthday!

Now blow the candle out, my dear
And make your wish come true
A very merry unbirthday to you

 Day two was my best friends birthday, unlike my best friend I am a super planner. I started planning my vacation well before the 180 day mark while my friend would pick up some tips from me but barely plan at all other than booking a few ADR's (advanced dining reservations). So on this day I had too follow her lead and try not to stress over optimizing time. For her birthday we spent the day in her favourite park the Magic Kingdom. It also happened to be a Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party night which we both bought tickets for to make that her birthday party.

  On November 12th I woke up and after quick food court breakfast of vegan Mickey waffles, which are available upon request (and amazing btw) my bff was at the resort and ready to go. We both had more or less, matching Minnie themed outfits consisting of black tops, red skirts and our sparkly Minnie ears. On the bus to the Magic Kingdom the driver announced my friends birthday, told the bus to stare at her and then lead everyone in a Happy Birthday sing-a-long, Best.Bus ride.Ever. Shell was honoured yet traumatized and I was thoroughly entertained.

 

   I did have one minor plan for Shell's birthday, she hates surprises so it was very difficult to drag her along. I dragged her to the Bippity Boppity Boutique and got a quick terrified "You better not have booked us kid make overs, I wont!" After quickly assuring her I wouldnt spend 60+ dollars on a little girl make over I know she'd hate. What I did have planned was some magical pixie dust. I called over one of the fairy godmothers and explained that it was my best friends birthday and I just wanted some pixie dust. The fairy godmother happily abliged telling use both to close our eyes and make a wish in our hearts, then she waved her magic wand over us as pixie dust magically rained down over us.

   In the end Shell did love my surprise despite herself and we continued on to our fastpass too meet her favourite princess Rapunzel and one of mine Cinderella. Meeting face characters can be awkward, but honestly its usually only as awkward as you make it. If you let yourself believe in the character, believe in the magic then it wont be awkward at all. Meeting Rapunzel was adorable I embaressed Shell by talking her up to her hero , but inside I'm sure she loved it. Cinderella was a little awkward because we both blanked on what to say, I spent the whole time in line thinking of things to say to Rapunzel to make the experience special for my friend that I had nothing to say to Cinderella, poor Cinderella.

  After meeting the princesses rode the Tomorrowland People Mover with about a 5minute wait and then Stich's Great Escape also had about the same 5 minutes wait. After that we grabbed a quick lunch at Cosmic Rays Starlight Cafe I wasnt hungery so I didn't order anything myself I just ate some of Shell's fries but had I wanted too they do have a veggie burger, just double check its the vegan burger and bun they switch them up frequently.

After lunch we headed back towards the castle and were treated to a surprise to us Christmas concert from Ariana Grande (vegan!) and then over to The Haunted Mansion which we also had a fastpass for. We practically walked on and it was an amazing ride, if you havent been, go! The attention Disney pays to details is beyond perfectionism. Unfortunately the ride did stall and we were stuck for a couple minutes listening to their ghoulish show tune on repeat. Within 3 minutes or so the ride continued on with all its fun and soon we returned to the land of the living.

  After The Haunted Mansion we headed to the ride I was most excited for which was Pirates Of The Caribbean! Which for no apparent reason is my all time favourite movie which I've seen over 60 times (seriously I lost count after 60). The ride has been updated to include Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Barbosa but maintains its classic feel. After the ride we watched Jack's mini pirate tutorial show. By this time it was almost 4pm so we split up for dinner Shell going off with her family and me returning to my partner who had spent the day on The Boardwalk so we could go to our ADR at Trails End. I will do an entire entry on Trails End, so for now I'll just say WOW and move on.

  After dinner my partner Jamie, went back too The Boardwalk to watch sports at the ESPN bar and I returned to the Magic Kingdom to meet Shell for Mickeys Very Christmas Party. Despite being part of day 2 the Christmas party really does merrit its own entire and this one is getting long so I will leave it off here and hopefully you'll come back for more!