Be Our Guest vs. Cinderella's Royal Table: Which to Book?
Published September 9, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
Live now: Cinderella's Royal Table availability
The verdict: These two get lumped together because they’re both castle-set, bucket-list Magic Kingdom restaurants — but they’re not solving the same problem. Cinderella’s Royal Table is the one with the princess procession, so if a character meal is the point, that’s your booking. Be Our Guest carries a stronger 3.5/5 guest rating (Cinderella’s isn’t yet rated), has a quick-service lunch option that doesn’t require fighting for an advance reservation, and doesn’t have characters at all. Pick based on what you actually want from the meal, not just “which castle.”
Cinderella’s Royal Table — The Princess Bucket-List Meal
Cinderella’s Royal Table sits inside Cinderella Castle itself, and the whole experience is built around the character procession: Cinderella greets your table, joined by a rotating court that can include Aurora, Belle, Snow White, and others working through the dining room. It’s a prix-fixe meal — a set multi-course menu with dessert included, not an à la carte order — and it opens with the Fairy Godmother welcome photo in the gold-embossed chair on your way in.
This is the harder of the two to book. It’s consistently one of the most requested Magic Kingdom reservations on property, and it doesn’t yet carry a published guest rating.
Be Our Guest — No Characters, Stronger Food, Easier to Land
Be Our Guest sits inside a recreation of the Beast’s castle from Beauty and the Beast and carries a 3.5/5 guest rating. It serves French-inspired cuisine across two very different meal periods: lunch, which runs quick-service (order at a kiosk, no character interaction, no advance reservation stress), and dinner, which is a full table-service, prix-fixe-style meal.
The signature dish worth knowing about either way is The Grey Stuff — the cookies-and-cream dessert that’s become the restaurant’s calling card — alongside French onion soup and a Master’s Cupboard dessert trio at dinner.
There are no characters at Be Our Guest. The Beast doesn’t work the dining room the way Cinderella and her court do next door. That’s the trade you’re making for the stronger rating and the easier lunch option.
Head-to-Head
| Be Our Guest | Cinderella’s Royal Table | |
|---|---|---|
| Guest rating | 3.5 / 5 | Not yet rated |
| Characters | None | Cinderella + rotating princess court |
| Format | Quick-service lunch / table-service dinner | Table-service prix fixe, all meals |
| Price | $$$$ | $$$$ |
| Best for | Beauty and the Beast fans, easier lunch booking | Princess-focused families, bucket-list splurge |
The Honest Call
If a princess character meet-and-greet is why you’re booking a castle restaurant, Cinderella’s Royal Table is the only one of these two that delivers it — book it as early in your 60-day window as you can, and treat it as a top-three priority the second the window opens. If you want strong food inside a Magic Kingdom castle without needing a nailed-down reservation for every meal, Be Our Guest’s quick-service lunch is the more forgiving move, with dinner as the fallback if you want the fuller table-service version.
Planning Around Both
If your trip allows it, there’s no rule against doing both — a Be Our Guest quick-service lunch earlier in the day, then a Cinderella’s Royal Table dinner as the evening’s centerpiece, gives you the castle experience twice without doubling your reservation stress, since only one of the two requires an ADR. Just don’t count on walking up to Cinderella’s Royal Table same-day; it’s one of the first reservations to disappear when the 60-day window opens, so lock it in immediately if it’s the one you want most.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Be Our Guest have character meet-and-greets?
No. Be Our Guest is not a character dining experience at either lunch or dinner. If characters are the point, book Cinderella’s Royal Table instead.
Can I walk into either one without a reservation?
Be Our Guest’s lunch service is quick-service, so it doesn’t require an advance dining reservation the way Cinderella’s Royal Table and Be Our Guest dinner do — it’s the more flexible option if your plans are still in flux.
Which one is the better value?
Be Our Guest tends to be the stronger value on food quality alone, per its 3.5/5 guest rating. Cinderella’s Royal Table is priced more for the character experience and the castle setting than for the menu itself.
Be Our Guest or Cinderella’s Royal Table, which should I book?
They solve different problems. Cinderella’s Royal Table has the princess procession, so book it if a character meal is the point. Be Our Guest carries a stronger 3.5/5 guest rating (Cinderella’s isn’t yet rated), offers a quick-service lunch option that skips the advance-reservation fight, and has no characters at all. Pick based on what you actually want from the meal, not just which castle it’s in.
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Keep planning: Cinderella’s Royal Table · live dining reservation drops · is Lightning Lane worth it
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