Be Our Guest opened in Magic Kingdom in Nov. 2012 without the one dessert everybody came for. Fans complained, a chef caved, and the Grey Stuff went on the menu a year later at $3.19. Here’s what it actually is.
Be Our Guest Restaurant opened its doors in Magic Kingdom’s New Fantasyland on Nov. 19, 2012, with a grand opening on Dec. 6. It had the Beast’s ballroom, snow falling outside the windows, a West Wing with a wilting rose.
It did not have the Grey Stuff.
The most famous dessert in Disney’s most famous dinner song, the one Lumiere tells you to try because “it’s delicious,” wasn’t on the printed menu. That lasted about ten months.
Why wasn’t the Grey Stuff on the original Be Our Guest menu?
Nobody thought to put it there; fans and the internet noticed right away. Executive chef Michael Deardorff told Inside the Magic in late 2012 that “the blogs lit up about the Grey Stuff,” so the kitchen whipped up a mousse and quietly started handing it out to guests celebrating a birthday or anniversary.
For most of the first year it was an off-menu perk. If you didn’t know to ask, you didn’t get it.
On Sept. 25, 2013, Disney Food Blog reported the fix: a “Master’s Cupcake” topped with the Grey Stuff at lunch for $3.19, and a standalone Grey Stuff dessert added to the dinner menu for everyone at $3.99.
What is the Grey Stuff made of?
Cookies and cream, mostly. The restaurant version is a cookies-and-cream panna cotta whipped into a light mousse. It’s gray because of the crushed chocolate cookies, and that’s the whole trick.
Disney published a home recipe on the Disney Parks Blog in May 2020.
Grey Stuff Recipe
Makes 12 servings
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cold whole milk
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
15 chocolate sandwich cookies
1 (8 ounce) container whipped topping, thawed
3 tablespoons instant chocolate pudding mix
12 scalloped sugar cookies
edible sugar pearls
Instructions
Pour milk into large mixing bowl. Add instant vanilla pudding mix and whisk for 2 minutes until smooth and slightly thickened. Place in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours, until firm.
Place chocolate sandwich cookies in food processor and pulse until puréed.
Fold puréed cookies into pudding mix. Stir until fully mixed.
Add whipped topping and instant chocolate pudding. Stir until fully mixed.
Place in refrigerator and chill for one hour.
Spoon grey stuff into piping bag fitted with desired tip. Pipe grey stuff onto cookies. Top with sugar pearls.
Is the Grey Stuff still at Be Our Guest in 2026?
Yes.
Be Our Guest switched dinner to a prix fixe menu on July 27, 2018, and the dessert became part of a trio: a white-chocolate cup shaped like Chip, filled with Grey Stuff and topped with a chocolate pearl.
In July 2025 Disney overhauled the menu again. The current dessert is called The Blooming Rose, a chocolate cake topped with the Grey Stuff, with a plant-based version available. The prix fixe runs $72 for adults and $43 for kids, per Disney Food Blog’s July 2025 review, and Be Our Guest remains one of the hardest reservations in Magic Kingdom.
The Chip cup is gone. The Grey Stuff isn’t going anywhere.
Where else can you get the Grey Stuff at Disney?
Two places, both cheaper than a $72 dinner.
Gaston’s Tavern, has the Grey Stuff Cupcake for $6.49
Red Rose Taverne at Disneyland does serve it from time to time as well, but it is currently not on the menu.
You can still get it at the parks, but your best bet is to make it yourself. I’ve done it, and it’s really easy.
Then you can have it whenever you want!
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Hat Tips:
Disney Parks Blog (May 2020), the official at-home Grey Stuff recipe
Walt Disney World (Be Our Guest Restaurant page), the room names
Inside the Magic (Nov. 30, 2012), the opening dates, seating, the Deardorff quote and the off-menu celebration dessert
Disney Food Blog (Sept. 25, 2013), the Master’s Cupcake and standalone dessert prices and the panna cotta description
Disney Food Blog (March 2018 and July 2025), the prix fixe launch, the Chip cup and the 2025 menu and prices
WDWNT (April 2023 and July 2025), the Gaston’s Tavern cupcake return and The Blooming Rose
MouseInfo (Feb. 2017), the Red Rose Taverne Grey Stuff Gateau
Disney Food Blog (July 2024), the Beast meet-and-greet return and departure
Disney Tourist Blog, the reservation difficulty and dining-plan status
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