It was SOP prior to the covid closures, actually. When you were seated they let you know that following the meal you were invited to the Beast’s study for an audience with him, and then you could wander around the rooms at leisure taking pics. It was really cool and a great way to cap off our dinner there (especially since we ate in the West Wing our first time).
This lame doing drive bys in the ballroom stuff is an artifact of the weird reopening period when characters couldn’t meet because of distancing protocols, but the fact that they’re still doing it years later after every other character situation is back to normal is frankly disgraceful. People still keep packing that place in though, so.