87: My Honest Review of Beak & Barrel AND Garden View Lounge
The Laid-Back Magic® Way: A Disney World Planning Podcast
Host Dana Stanley provides an in-depth, parent-focused review of two popular Disney World dining experiences: Beak & Barrel in Magic Kingdom
Key takeaways
- Dana visited Beak & Barrel with her three kids (ages ~2, 6, 10), noting the strict 45-minute time limit and two-drink maximum make it a quick pirate-themed snack rather than a full dinner.
- The Garden View Lounge afternoon tea costs around $160 for one adult and child, featuring an Alice in Wonderland theme with a three-tier tower of savory and sweet items.
Main topics
- Disney World dining reviews
- Kid-friendly experiences at Magic Kingdom and Grand Floridian
Notable quotes
"It's really just like an appetizer. It's like a break with a cocktail."
Conclusion
The episode provides practical, experience-based guidance for parents weighing premium Disney
Transcript preview
Speaker 2 (0:00) Welcome back to the Laidback Magic Way podcast. Today I am giving you my honest review of two slightly newer slash my most asked about experiences in Disney World right now, which are Beacon Barrel and Magic Kingdom and the afternoon tea experience at the Garden View Lounge at the Grand Floridian. Whew, that was a mouthful. But I'm answering the questions that I get asked about both of them pretty consistently. which is, are these good for kids? So if you listened to my past trip recap, which ended up being three parts from this past summer, you know I pulled the quote, full review coming soon card, like, I don't know, probably 15 times. And two of those times were for Beacon Barrel and the afternoon tea at Garden View Lounge. Both of these actually come up really consistently in my DMs and also with my members. But then when I was starting to talk about them in the recap, I realized I had way too much to say to kind of squeeze it in. But at the same time, it's not enough to say individual episodes for each. So I'm just kind of clumping them together. They actually have a lot in common. They're both on the newer-ish side. They both have that feeling of being like a little bit harder to get. You need the advanced reservations for them. They both lean a little bit more grown up. where like Beacon Barrel is more cocktails and then Garden View Lounge, you're maybe having champagne instead. But as parents, we have that question of, is this something that I am willing to spend money on with my kids? Should it be like a date night thing? Should I skip it or should I give it a shot? And like all things when it comes to Disney World. The answer is going to depend, which I know is the most annoying answer. But what I'm going to do is be really specific about our experience at both with kids. Beacon barrel I did with our whole family of five, so with three kids. And then the tea experience I did just one-on-one with my daughter, Sailor, who was almost six. So I have two different angles to give you for these. How I'm going to do this episode is I'll give you a little bit of the details first of what this even is, where it is, what's on the menu, some of the rules that you'll need to know, and then I'll give you just my personal experience with some details and my review. And then at the end, I will tell you a little bit about a free resource that I have that I think will help you figure out if either of these will actually fit into your family before you go ahead and book it. and spend the money. Speaker 2 (2:50) Hello, and welcome to the Laidback Magic Way podcast. I'm your host, Dana Stanley, creator of Laidback Magic. As a mom of three, I know how tough it can be to find time to plan a Disney World trip that doesn't leave you feeling stressed or overwhelmed. That's why I'm here, to help moms like you create Disney vacations that feel even better than they look on paper. Here, we're not chasing perfection, but creating our next favorite memories. So whether you're brand new to Disney or looking to go deeper into the details, This podcast is your go-to for simple tips, mindset shifts, real-life trip recaps, and expert insights Speaker 1 (3:25) to make your trip magical and manageable. Speaker 2 (3:27) New episodes drop every Monday, so be sure to subscribe so you never miss a moment. Okay, let's dive in. Speaker 2 (3:39) So let's start off with Beacon Barrel. So Beacon Barrel is a Pirates of the Caribbean themed tavern slash lounge in Magic Kingdom in Adventureland. It's actually right in the Pirates of the Caribbean area. It took over the old like Pirate League space, which was kind of like the exit of the gift shop. If you've been going for years, you'll remember this area. Now it's a lounge and they take reservations. They can go. pretty quick depending on obviously the time of year and the time of day that you're shooting for the reservation for. I booked mine right at the 60 day mark and something that I noticed was definitely the timing. And we're going to get into this a little bit and it'll make sense, but it was very difficult to get a time right before dinner. So like that three to five mark was booking up faster than other times. At Beacon Barrel, there... is a kind of rule or rules that there is a 45 minute time limit per table slash group. And there's also a two drink maximum per adult, like a alcoholic beverage. So it's not the kind of place that you're going to sit down and chat for a date or something and like linger. You're going to check in outside. And then when you go into the actual lounge, you'll see first that it's pretty small. And then you'll also see that there's different kind of spaces, rooms inside. So the main room, which is where we sat, has those long communal tables, kind of like picnic benches. Then on the left, you'll see a bar that's shaped kind of like a skull. Then in the back, there's a couple booths. I think it's called the Captain's Quarters. And then there's also a mapmaker's room. And then on the right, is another room which I believe is either high tops or standing room. And I've had friends that have gone to Beacon Barrel and even with kids were giving a standing only table, which is crazy to me. I believe they are doing that less and less and adding like bar stools and high tops. But I wanted to mention that because if that happened and you had kids with you, I would essentially... beg to not do that, even if I had to wait longer for a table, which in my experience, when I've been at Disney and I've requested a table, or maybe I had two groups that I needed to merge, or I wanted to be next to a window, I've never had a problem getting that. But you do have to be willing to give a little bit of extra time and leeway for them to make Speaker 1 (6:28) that happen. Speaker 2 (6:29) But just something to keep in mind that technically, like if you go to Disney World's website and you go to Beacon Barrel, it tells you straight up that Beacon Barrel accommodates standing room and seating. However, seating is not guaranteed upon entry. We also might combine unrelated parties or seat larger groups separately. So this was the other thing is where we sat was in that mess room, which is right when you walk in. And we were seated at a communal table. I know this bothers some people, and I don't know if I said this on the podcast or maybe I'm thinking of one of our live planning calls, but for us personally, we don't mind that. A lot of restaurants in our area have these communal tables. Just this past weekend, we had breakfast in a similar situation, and there was an older couple next to us. And I don't know, it doesn't bother us. And most of the time, I find people are pretty friendly. And who knows, maybe you'll be seated next to somebody that you have something in common with, or they also have children and your kids play. I don't know. I would just keep an open mind if you are seated next to somebody. Speaker 2 (7:40) Now, while we're just talking about seating, I will just say we were right next to the front door and the lounge is very dark and moody, which is fun because you're meant to feel like you're in a pirate's tavern. But every time they opened the door, which was approximately every two seconds, it was like a huge flash of light, like almost like a bolt of lightning, like open the door and then close the door. Open the door. and then close the door. It was also really hot outside and we were like trying to stay as cool as possible. So then every time the door opened, you would feel like that waft of Florida air. And I know a lot of these experiences can be tainted by your mood and also just where you sit. So while we were at the end of this communal table, which I should mention, I called them like picnic benches because I'm... thinking of just like in general, but at Beacon Barrel, they're individual chairs. So you're not like sharing a bench with anybody. Just thought I'd mention that. But because I was at the head or foot of the table, depending on how you want to view it, it did bother me a little bit that we were like super close to the door, but there was also other seats that I could see being more of a downer. I personally liked being in the main room and I didn't explore. too much when I was in Beacon Barrel. Something to mention too is that there is no bathroom at Beacon Barrel. So you'll have to exit and go kind of next to the gift shop. There's a bathroom that way, which is fine. Just something to know is that it's not actually in the building. And I don't want to spoil anything,