Liberty Tree Tavern is Great - WHY Change it??

[Goes4FastPass]

We returned to LTT last week and had a great meal delivered by an energetic server.

The food at LTT isn't fancy but this time it was served hot and tasted 'recently made'.

Near us was one of those extended families where 16 people are split across 3 tables. One of the tables included a baby about a year old who squeeled with delight every time a character appeared. She had to kiss each character on the nose. Everybody in that group took pictures. Everybody in that part of the restaurant was entertained.

Another family near us was 2 teenagers and their parents. They were photo snapping each other in groups of 2-3 and my wife asked if they'd like her to take their picture together. "Yes. but wait 'til Goofy comes! The thing we want is our family with Goofy!"

I realize some beancounter over at bean central determined the MK can keep LTT booked and full open to close with or without characters.

Do we really think when those families remember their experience at LTT they'll remember the macroni and cheese??

I hope this experiment is as successful as 'New Coke'. Maybe we'll later see a press release: Disney Announces the Return of Liberty Tree Tavern Classic.

[SBETigg]

I've never been to LTT and it's not one that's high on my priority list, but I can't imagine it makes much sense to cut the characters out of it. This one seems to be a real crowd-pleaser as far as the character interaction, and it is usually well-reviewed by families who enjoy the character meals, and probably by some who don't. With the dearth of outstanding table service dining in the MK, I imagine it will still be booked and a popular choice with or without characters, but it is a disappointing change.

[Ian]

Before I comment on the actual content of your post, were you by any chance there on December 2nd? We were there, too, and I swear the two families you describe sound very familiar ...

Anyway, I completely agree, but we better get used to it. I thought the cutbacks were very evident last week and the rumors are they're going to get much worse before they get better. Disney firmly (and wrongly, IMO) believes they have to dramatically cut back on expenses since bookings are so far down for 2009.

Me personally, I'm more of the mindset that when you're working hard to attract folks to your business you do it by offering them more for less ... not less for more ...

[Hammer]

I'm sorry for your disappointment, but I'm not sad to see it go. I am going to like that there will be another non-character meal inside MK. As of right now, if you want to eat a sit down meal in the MK and not eat with characters, you either have to eat the average food at Tony's or the limited sandwich menu of the Plaza. We almost always have to leave the MK to eat dinner.

Now, I'm also hoping for an expansion of the menu , too. The meal offering at LTT really does not appeal to me. I can heat up a Stouffer's meal at home.

[JPL]

While agree the LTT had some great character interaction. The food is terrible :sick: The only reason I would go was because of the characters.
There was a time before it became Character Dining Location where it was an "authentic" Colonial Tavern minus the alcohol of course. You chose selections from a menu based on New England Fare and they had some of the best Clam Chowder on property. While I am sad to see the characters go I hope they go back to thier old menu or at least something closer to it.
If they serve the same food minus the characters it will be a complete dissater.

[princessesmom]

I too am very sad to see the characters leaving. This was one of my family's favorite meals the last time we visited. Everyone wanted to go back, so we are returning in February. But I'm worried it won't be the same without the characters. We personally enjoyed the food very much, so that isn't an issue.

I've read that Disney was taking the characters away because people wanted more sit down choices without characters. IMO if you don't want characters and you want a nice sit down restaurant you should head to one of the resorts on the monorail loop.

[illini]

The characters were the only thing LTT had going for it. The food (at dinner) was just short of horrifying. I can buy boxes of stuffing and mac and cheese and do that at home. The characters, on the other hand, were fantastic-- some of the best interaction we've had anywhere. Not quite enough to overcome the horrific food, but amazing all the same.

With the characters gone, I can just hope that they fix the menu. I know Disney can do much better than that.

[joanna71985]

I am really sad the characters are leaving. LTT was my favorite character meal.:(

[Belster]

I went to LTT this past October for the first time. I did not go with high expectations, but I will say that this would have been the one place that I would revisit again and again. I loved the food, and loved the character interactions.

My family and I are very sad to see it go.

I love the rolls and butter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tbelle1976]

I agree, the character experience is one of the best at LTT. I am one who will no longer dine here w/o the characters.

We will be going back down in February and have chosen CP instead. We have dined at both, and would much prefer LTT. I think the food is pretty godd actually. I'm another that will be sad to see the character experience gone as well!

[Ian]

I'm completely shocked to see people bad-mouthing the food at LTT. We just at there last week and it was one of the best meals we had. I mean granted it's not haute cuisine, but if that's what you're looking for go someplace else. It's a meat and potatoes kind of meal and a darn good one, if you ask me (and the other 7 people I ate with).

And ditto for if you're looking for non-character dining ... I mean if you're eating in the Magic Kingdom and expecting non-character meals you're probably in the wrong place. That's what Epcot is for. Let the kids have somewhere they can eat and not be bothered by a bunch of stuffy, uptight adults for heaven's sake. ;)

[Goes4FastPass]

... were you by any chance there on December 2nd? We were there, too, and I swear the two families you describe sound very familiar ...

We were there during MVMCP Dec 4 but your post makes and interesting point. Two different nights at LTT but we saw 'scenes' so similar they seemed like the same night.

I think many families are having similar experiences at LTT every night.

[Ian]

Yeah, that's actually really surprising it wasn't the same night, because I'm telling you ... we saw an extended family that almost exactly matches your description.

Maybe they liked it so much on Tuesday, they went back Thursday! :thumbsup:

[SurferStitch]

I'm completely shocked to see people bad-mouthing the food at LTT. We just at there last week and it was one of the best meals we had. I mean granted it's not haute cuisine, but if that's what you're looking for go someplace else. It's a meat and potatoes kind of meal and a darn good one, if you ask me (and the other 7 people I ate with).

And ditto for if you're looking for non-character dining ... I mean if you're eating in the Magic Kingdom and expecting non-character meals you're probably in the wrong place. That's what Epcot is for. Let the kids have somewhere they can eat and not be bothered by a bunch of stuffy, uptight adults for heaven's sake. ;)

I have to totally agree here. DH and I love LTT, and more for the food than the characters. Don't get me wrong, we love character meals, and loved the characters at LTT, but it was the food that drew us in.

Now, DH and I love haute cuisine (and we're definitely not stuffy, uptight adults ;). We love V&A, and others not-so-haute like Cali Grill and Narcoossee's, and we STILL love LTT. The food is always hot, fresh, and very tasty. We will probably still go back from time to time, but we loved going there before MNSSHP or MVMCP and seeing the characters....it just won't be the same. :(

I think Disney is making a huge mistake here.

[LandFan]

Was just there on 11/28 and while we love it too, the food this time was overly dried out. THe steak was great and cooked perfectly but the turkey and ham were very overdone. I am sure this is not normally the case (as it was great last time we were there) but it was a bit annoying. The mac and cheese is just always bad :sick: but that is part of the charm and you know it going in:D

[Pigtunia]

I always love the meal at LTT: true comfort food -- like a Thanksgiving meal!

The characters are great, but they've always been just an added bonus.

We always have been concerned, however, about the tight spaces and the ability of the characters to move around in LTT. (It's possible there was an OSHA issue at play).

[Goes4FastPass]

... (It's possible there was an OSHA issue at play)...

Nah, this wasn't OSHA and it wasn't confusion about why does Goofy wear clothes and Pluto doesn't.

It was about saving on character related costs and flipping tables as fast as possible.

[DDuck66]

Nah, this wasn't OSHA and it wasn't confusion about why does Goofy wear clothes and Pluto doesn't.

It was about saving on character related costs and flipping tables as fast as possible.

Well, we are one family that they will not have to worry about flipping. We have always loved the food and it had the best character interaction (IMHO). I just do not see us going back unless there are drastic changes to the menu. The prices are pretty high without the characters as a bonus.

[GreenBeetle]

:cry: My heart is broken. I've been off Intercot for some time (health/personal issues) and the first time I sit down to see what I've been missing I read that one of my favorite places is closing! LTT has been a family favorite for years. The character interaction and reliable comfort food are always the perfect ending to an exhausting day at the Magic Kingdom.

So what's the real story here? What is Disney replacing this meal with? Is it closing down during a transition?

How sad.

[DizneyRox]

So what's the real story here? What is Disney replacing this meal with? Is it closing down during a transition?

How sad.
LTT is just going to a NON character based meal. I would expect them to cram the tables together ala Le Cellier and that's about it. Try to milk as much as they can out of the restaurant before people figure out what happend.

LTT was a meal that we didn't "find" until recently and it quickly made out must do list. Sadly, there is now one less reason to go to MK.

I agree with Ian, less for more doesn't attract crowds. More for less! MORE FOR LESS!

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Disney has created too many character meals.
2) They needed a place in MK that people could just dine.
3) We don't always feel like screaming kids and circulating characters.
4) Based upon the food and service, this could be a good place for supper.
5) Why do we have to leave the parks for a good meal?
6) I think this was a good choice.

[Gator]

1) Disney has created too many character meals.
5) Why do we have to leave the parks for a good meal?
6) I think this was a good choice.

Huh? If you don't like Disney characters, maybe you're going to the wrong place for vacation. WDW is about being drowned in Disney - which includes as much character interaction as possible.

It looks like we'll be going to the Crystal Palace in the future, which is too bad. The food isn't as good and the characters are part of the Fab Five. And I don't want to spend my retirement going to the Royal Table. They better bring the characters back or the MK is going to start looking like Six Flags.

[joanna71985]

1) Disney has created too many character meals.
2) They needed a place in MK that people could just dine.
3) We don't always feel like screaming kids and circulating characters.
4) Based upon the food and service, this could be a good place for supper.
5) Why do we have to leave the parks for a good meal?
6) I think this was a good choice.

There are other non-character meals in the MK (including LTT for lunch). They should have left it the way it was.

[Polynesian Dweller]

Me personally, I'm more of the mindset that when you're working hard to attract folks to your business you do it by offering them more for less ... not less for more ...
In a normal economy you would be absolutely right . The idea of more for less works when there are people to attract. In other words the assumption of this idea is that people are going some where other than your business and you want them to come to you. It assumes people are actually travelling.

BUT, this is no ordinary economy we are in right now. I live in a tourist area and we can see that there aren't people to attract. People are staying home not travelling to tourist destination. They may go to something local but they aren't travelling to the normal tourist destinations.

In other words, a large number sof people aren't travelling at all and so there aren't the numbers of people to attract. In this bad economy you can't attract people who aren't out there to attract so your options of preserving your bottom line business aren't numerous. Whether that's why Disney cut back LTT I don't know but I do know they are seeing the lack of travel in general that we are seeing here.

[Polynesian Dweller]

Huh? If you don't like Disney characters, maybe you're going to the wrong place for vacation. WDW is about being drowned in Disney - which includes as much character interaction as possible.
Going to jump in and support Rusty here (who needs no help of course) but wanting meals without Disney characters is not the same as non liking Disney characters. We like the characters but want meals without them.

We would agree that Disney has probably overshot the proper balance point of the correct number of character dining spots. You can have too few (which we also have seen in 19 years) and too many.

[DizneyRox]

I think the bigger problem is a lack of TS locations in MK, not too many character based meals. But, with bookings down, I guess it does make more sense to take away characters than to open a new TS location.

Sadly, the price isn't going down for the meal. So they have managed to kill two birds with one stone. More non character based food locations AND a price increase.

[Cinderelley]

In a normal economy you would be absolutely right . The idea of more for less works when there are people to attract. In other words the assumption of this idea is that people are going some where other than your business and you want them to come to you. It assumes people are actually travelling.

BUT, this is no ordinary economy we are in right now. I live in a tourist area and we can see that there aren't people to attract. People are staying home not travelling to tourist destination. They may go to something local but they aren't travelling to the normal tourist destinations.

In other words, a large number sof people aren't travelling at all and so there aren't the numbers of people to attract. In this bad economy you can't attract people who aren't out there to attract so your options of preserving your bottom line business aren't numerous. Whether that's why Disney cut back LTT I don't know but I do know they are seeing the lack of travel in general that we are seeing here.

I don't necessarily agree with this sentiment. We're still going on vacation this year, but not to WDW. I'm very disgruntled with the cutbacks they made (LTT & Adventurer's Club to name the top 2)on top of the price increase, so we're travelling elsewhere for our family reunion trip. We'll be spending more money on an Alaskan cruise than we would have at WDW, but so be it. We also had our "girls only" trips that won't be occurring at WDW now, and the family reunion for DH's side of the family is up in the air. Less for more is definitely making us skip WDW. If it was more for less I would be there in a heartbeat. Even if it was the same for a little more, I would be there. Less for more doesn't cut it.

[Cinderelley]

1) Disney has created too many character meals.
2) They needed a place in MK that people could just dine.
3) We don't always feel like screaming kids and circulating characters.
4) Based upon the food and service, this could be a good place for supper.
5) Why do we have to leave the parks for a good meal?
6) I think this was a good choice.

I agree with your some of your points (2, 3 & 5) Rusty, but I don't think taking LTT away was the answer. No one should have to leave the park for a good meal, but there are other places to put a good TS meal without characters. For example, why not put in a Blue Bayou type restaurant? When Pirates was down for renovations for so long, they could've done it. Why wasn't anyone thinking ahead then?

[DizneyRox]

Bravo on taking your vacation money elsewhere! This is what I like to hear, so many complain but then continue to play. We are looking into cruises as well, they have always been a great value. Unfortunately, we have this DVC membership... We're looking at renting our points out, but that doesn't help things, someone would still be going there on vacation.

But, your other point, as I mentioned above. Adding another restaurant probably isn't a good idea right now, with attendence dropping, the last thing they need is to staff another place that isn't filling up. Personally I would prefer they stopped the characters at Crystal Palace. That would have attracted me to give that place a chance. Who the characters are at a character meal is a deal breaker for me.

[Cinderelley]

Bravo on taking your vacation money elsewhere! This is what I like to hear, so many complain but then continue to play. We are looking into cruises as well, they have always been a great value. Unfortunately, we have this DVC membership... We're looking at renting our points out, but that doesn't help things, someone would still be going there on vacation.

But, your other point, as I mentioned above. Adding another restaurant probably isn't a good idea right now, with attendence dropping, the last thing they need is to staff another place that isn't filling up. Personally I would prefer they stopped the characters at Crystal Palace. That would have attracted me to give that place a chance. Who the characters are at a character meal is a deal breaker for me.


I don't know too much about DVC. (I was never interested in it, because it seemed like you are just paying for Disney to build a hotel. Then once you paid for it, Disney would take it back.) But, we can use our timeshares for cruises. If you're interested in that, maybe you should see if you can do that with DVC.

As far as staffing a new restaurant nowadays, they recently opened the TRex restaurant which seems to be doing well. If Disney is responding to their guest suggestions as they say, it would fill up quickly and be worth their time. If they're not really doing it based on guest desires, they may have a big problem.

[DizneyRox]

Cruises with DVC are an option, but not a good value either. The best use of DVC is to stay at DVC resorts. Using yor points even at a moderate or other deluxe quickly erodes the value of the plan. I can stay at a studio for almost a week on what it costs for one weekend at the Grand.

FYI - TRex is not owned and operated by Disney to the best of my knowledge, so they don't care about the costs of staffing. They get money for providing the location regardless...

[PirateLover]

I'm completely shocked to see people bad-mouthing the food at LTT. We just at there last week and it was one of the best meals we had. I mean granted it's not haute cuisine, but if that's what you're looking for go someplace else.
We have dined at LTT three times. One trip our meal was fabulous, the other times they were GOOD. We never had a bad meal and the character interaction was always some of the best I've experienced. If you want to eat here and don't like characters, than go for lunch. Actually, for those whom the dinner doesn't appeal to I've always heard that lunch was a better option anyway.


And ditto for if you're looking for non-character dining ... I mean if you're eating in the Magic Kingdom and expecting non-character meals you're probably in the wrong place. That's what Epcot is for. Let the kids have somewhere they can eat and not be bothered by a bunch of stuffy, uptight adults for heaven's sake. ;)

Agreed again. I know that there are a lot of adults without kids who enjoy Disney but don't want to go to Character dinners all the time. I myself am currently a childless adult. But we are talking about MK here. This is the park that is supposed to be the most "Disney" of them all, and now you won't even be able to dine with any of the main classic characters here (This place had Chip and Dale, Pluto, Minnie, and Goofy). And lets be honest, MK dining isn't up to par with the other parks to begin with. Characters or not, I don't think there is one table service dinner that really truly appeals to foodies. I mean, are you really going to eat standard buffet fare at Crystal Palace? It's already been mentioned that LTT dinner isn't very appealing to some but they would like to go if the menu changed. It's been noted that Plaza and Tony's are sub par and while I've never had a meal at CRT, from reading years of reviews it seems that dinner can be very hit or miss as well. Sorry for rambling but this is one tradition we are really going to miss. I've never seen anyone have a bad time at this meal...

[big blue and hairy]

Going to jump in and support Rusty here (who needs no help of course) but wanting meals without Disney characters is not the same as non liking Disney characters. We like the characters but want meals without them.

We would agree that Disney has probably overshot the proper balance point of the correct number of character dining spots. You can have too few (which we also have seen in 19 years) and too many.I agree. In my opinion MK has the best character dining location, Crystal Palace. MK also doesn't have enough non-character sitdowns, so it was one or the other. Personally, I look forward to trying LTT without the characters.

The characters are fun, but sometimes a relatively quiet dinner is nice. And no, I shouldn't have to leave the park to get it.

If I am in the great minority, we'll find out, the characters will come back. Either way, whatever works. :D

:sulley:

[Perdita]

I too, have to agree with Hammer. Because of the crazy, unappetizing dining at the MK, my group usually brings in snacks and eats off property. It would be nice to have just one restaurant with palatable food instead of burgers and mac and cheese. I loved it when they had clam chowder, etc...:mickey:

[Cinderelley]

Cruises with DVC are an option, but not a good value either. The best use of DVC is to stay at DVC resorts. Using yor points even at a moderate or other deluxe quickly erodes the value of the plan. I can stay at a studio for almost a week on what it costs for one weekend at the Grand.

FYI - TRex is not owned and operated by Disney to the best of my knowledge, so they don't care about the costs of staffing. They get money for providing the location regardless...


Sorry to hear that you don't get a good deal on the cruises. Hopefully you can trade with RCI or find another good way to use it.

As far as TRex not being owned and operated by Disney, as long as the food and service are good, I wouldn't care who gets the money in the end. In fact, I find it somewhat disturbing that a smaller company has the wherewithal to open up a new restaurant with a bad economy, but a company as established as Disney doesn't. Someone at Disney wasn't saving up for a rainy day I guess.

[cindchan]

Were the characters only around for dinner? I ate there last time for lunch, and I know there weren't any characters. In fact, I was surprised to hear they're taking the characters away, because I didn't know there were chracters at TTL.

Too bad to hear about the cut-backs, but I really don't have much of an opinion about it one way or the other. :shrug:

[big blue and hairy]

Were the characters only around for dinner?
Yes, they were only at dinner.

:sulley:

[disneylovinmom]

We want last year and spent $106.00 for 3 people to eat there. I knew it was expensive when I made reservations and was ok with it because of the characters. The ONLY reason for my family to eat there was the characters. You can get that kind of food anytime at the freezer section of your grocery store. Don't get me wrong, the food was decent, just not worth the $$ for the dining experience with no characters. We won't eat there again if there are no characters.

[big blue and hairy]

We want last year and spent $106.00 for 3 people to eat there. I knew it was expensive when I made reservations and was ok with it because of the characters. The ONLY reason for my family to eat there was the characters. You can get that kind of food anytime at the freezer section of your grocery store. Don't get me wrong, the food was decent, just not worth the $$ for the dining experience with no characters. We won't eat there again if there are no characters.
I'm hoping, that the menu will also be adjusted. It's not bad, but it would be nice if since it's no longer a character meal, they spruced up the menu a little.

:sulley:

[SBETigg]

I'm hoping, that the menu will also be adjusted. It's not bad, but it would be nice if since it's no longer a character meal, they spruced up the menu a little.

:sulley:

It was once, and possibly still is, sponsored by Stouffer's, which accounts for the food offerings and frequent comparison to frozen food quality. If Stouffer's is still on board, I wouldn't expect a change of menu.

[DisneyBakers]

Wow, it has been a long time since I've been to Intercot. Good to be back!

My family is planning a big family vacation to WDW sometime in Oct. 2009. One place we are/had been planning to go was the Liberty Tree Tavern. This is a special place for us as my wife and I had our one nice meal here on our honeymoon. It is sad about the characters for us as we were planning on bringing our son there. We really loved the food, too, the prime rib, the potatoes, and all the rest of it (didn't have the mac n cheese, though!). It was served family style and everything was delicious. It seems that several people here who hate the food. Has the menu for dinner changed? If so, what is the place like now? Maybe we'll go to a different place if this one doesn't work out.

Thanks for your help!

[raider97]

I understand that many people wanted another non-character meal in MK. But another option would be to turn CP into non-character at dinner... they have a nice spread and may be able to make their current prices without the characters at dinner and then you could do breakfast or lunch if you wanted characters there and leaving LTT alone you could go to LTT for lunch without characters or dinner with characters. I think this would be a great solution.

Problem is -- lots of people don't like the dinner food at LTT. Those people will not pay the high prices for the food without the characters. Now if they reduced the prices or changed the menu I could see it. I personally didn't mind the food, but will not be going back this year because I think the current price for the food without the characters is crazy!!!

Now if the characters were still there we would be eating there twice on our next trip. We liked the food, but LOVED the character interation. Now we either be trying one of the other non-character sit down dinners or LTT for lunch. (We already have plans to do CRT and CP another day)

Just MHO!!

Stephanie

[raider97]

Plus I don't get it... for our trip in April 2007 we had trouble getting any ADR here for dinner for the 8 days we were there. (April 21st-28th) It was swamped the entire time we were there. Don't get why they would change something that was that popular too.

Stephanie

[katzctkpt]

We ate there for the 1st time this past Dec 31 to be exact and was quite impressed with our food. We had often looked at the menu and was like blah turkey etc... but boy was we ever shocked at how well the food was. The only reason we booked this was New Year's Eve and we knew it was gonna be a long day at the park and needed a break place and this was the only ressies left available for that day so we took it. I would have to say that this was probably one of the better meals we had. As for the characters we had lunch but, if they were there I would've been happier hate to see them go.