Garden Grill Lunch Ends 10/08 & Liberty Tree Tavern Character Dinner Ends 1/09

[ElenitaB]

So is it only for lunches at LT and GG or are dinners also being effected? Sorry to ask this question but there is conflicting information within the thread.

No characters at lunch at the Garden Grill; no characters at dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern (which translates into no characters at all there).

Personally, neither I nor DS are terribly happy about this. Seems that there's a lot of "taking away" these days with very little "new offerings" in return.

[kadesha]

Personally, neither I nor DS are terribly happy about this. Seems that there's a lot of "taking away" these days with very little "new offerings" in return.

I TOTALLY agree.

[MauiMouse]

Not too happy with this either, but at least I get one more dinner at Liberty Tree before the changes. Uuuggghhhh.

[Goes4FastPass]

Frankly, we've been to LTT a few times when you couldn't pick up a fork because here comes Chip. Again. For the 4th time.

They should give you a little tent card or something to indicate "characters please visit".

LTT is a nice respite from the MK and sometimes you just can't face another CS meal.

But sometimes the best part of LTT is visiting with characters,

[Gator]

There are plenty of non-character restaurants. It's called Downtown Disney. I can't believe they're taking the characters out of LTT. This is my favorite place to eat at WDW. The character interaction is great. Now I have the choice to overpay to eat with a princess or be beaten up by Tigger. Sounds like a raw deal to me. Just when you think Disney is done doing dumb things, they do this.

Why don't they stop having fireworks so that guest can have a fun-free night.

[Crow]

I ate at GG last trip for the first time & liked it. Im not a character meal person, but respect them having some, no prob (well except when they change Akershus buffet for it)
yes, I would assume the prices wont change....less CMs to pay = more profit
Wow maybe they will leave a character, sounds like Eisner in disguise

[DizneyRox]

This is bad news, although I do agree with the lack of TS dining options in MK. We don't go to MK much if at all, but when we do, finding a place to eat is always a problem. LTT is usually high on the list of places to go though.

Honestly, I think the problem is more about not enough TS choices, and not about not enough non character meal choices. How many TS locations are there in MK? 4? LTT is fairly small too IMHO, my guess is without the characters, they will squeeze the tables together (ala Le Cellier) and provide that oh so intimate dining experience everyone loves!

[like2workout]

i can't even imagine ltt without the characters. they've always been there since i've been going to disneyworld. and garden grill has quickly become a new family favorite. does anyone know if they are maybe just going to replace them with different characters?

[mouseketeer mom]

Frankly, we've been to LTT a few times when you couldn't pick up a fork because here comes Chip. Again. For the 4th time.

They should give you a little tent card or something to indicate "characters please visit".

LTT is a nice respite from the MK and sometimes you just can't face another CS meal.

But sometimes the best part of LTT is visiting with characters,

This made me laugh because we've had the experience quite a few times of not even being able to pick up a fork and eat because here comes Minnie, or Chip or whoever again!!!
We have GG booked for a character lunch in August and then LTT for Thanksgiving dinner in November. I will be very sad to see them both go. GG dinner is one of our very favorite character interactions ever. Something about the set up feels more private. We love it there.

[yjgirl715]

I think that really stinks that people are complaining about having too many character meals. I have seen so much joy on kid's faces including my own son's face when he got to meet the characters one on one. I feel they have just taken out a little of the magic.

[Mickey91]

Well, I for one am very upset with this. I cannot believe that Disney is yet again catering to the nonDisney crowd. There may not be many TS restaurants at MK, but there are plenty around the monorail. LTT is our one place we NEVER miss having dinner. We have eaten there every trip that we eat a TS meal. If you add up all the restaurants, there are still very few that offer character dining. There may be one or two additions for 2008, though I highly doubt it since the family doesn't seem to be on Disney's priority list anymore, there are only 10 out of 61(give or take) restaurants in all of Disney World that are character dining restaurants.

And all I can say to those of you complaining about the irritation of the characters coming out again and again and not being able to enjoy your meal because of them is DON'T GO TO A CHARACTER MEAL! You know going in that the characters are the main attraction. If you don't like it, go someplace else.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I am heartbroken about the changes at LTT! It was the first meal we ever had at MK, and it has been tradition for us to eat dinner there on our last night of every trip!

DD's favourite is Dale (and she likes Chip OK too), so it was a perfect ending to our trip. We always had awesome character interaction...we will really miss the characters

[DDuck66]

Well, I guess we will not be eating at LTT anymore and GG will become a dinner only option. For the price we pay, I expect to get some great Character Interaction. If the prices are not adjusted accordingly (Which I doubt will happen), then we probably will not be eating there.
Goodbye Chip, Dale, Goofy, Pluto, and Minnie.

[Disneyatic]

Wow, this absolutely stinks! LTT is our favorite character meal and it will definitely leave a whole in our trip having it unavailable after this year

I can see having "non character" offerings at the resorts and even Epcot, but you would think that the Magic Kingdom of all places, would be full of character meals! It is the most family/children geared park!

We have a DD, but she isn't a princess fan and I hate to see the lack of variety that is starting to occur. This will only leave a few meals that aren't princess.
I agree with Kyle's Mom that hopefully some of the new restaurants in DTD will include characters, but you would think that they would "tease" that.

I think they will actually lose revenue on the LTT change, at least initially because the families that went for the character interaction will go elsewhere.
This is just going to make it even harder to get into Chef Mickey's or O'hana's or any of the other in demand character meals.

[Deesdisney]

I am not happy with this at all. I love the meals with characters. We try to eat at as many as possible so I do not have to wait in line for pictures. I always thought that they should have the characters out in front of the restaurant so you could get the pictures and autographs before sitting down at those rest. That way people that want a good dinning exp. without the characters could just pass the entrance and sit down or even the card on the table saying that they have already been visited. We had a couple of dinners where the characters came by at least 4 times. We enjoyed it cause they would play with you and your kids but some of the other people around us were complaining.

[Stickey]

These proposed changes are a bad idea. Could this be another example of "dumbing down" meal options as a result of the expansion of the DDP?

1) Some people will complain about anything.
2) Complaints about too many character meals are baseless.
3) MK has always been weak for TS.
4) Additional TS restaurants will be necessary if Disney continues to push the DDP.

[joanna71985]

Not LTT!!! That is one of my favorites!

[BritCody]

I agree LTT won't be the same. LTT is one of my families favorite restaurants. At least we will have one more opportunity to eat there on our next trip before the change.

[wendy*darling]

Internally it has been justified as addressing Guest complaints that there are too few non-character, table service dining options inside the parks.

I can see that for MK. Tony's and the miniscule Plaza Restaurant are the only dinner options without characters. And Tony's is not a stellar place to dine (unfortunately). Their service and food need a big upgrade!!

But for Epcot??? Garden Grill is one of only 2 places you can dine with characters in all of Epcot! Outside of Norway and Garden Grill, you have 10 TS restaurants in World Showcase (none in America, 2 in France), and another TS in the Seas pavilion.
How could anyone say they can't find a non-character meal in Epcot??

Sometimes I have to wonder where they come up with the "Guest preferences."

[Nascfan]

I can see that for MK. Tony's and the miniscule Plaza Restaurant are the only dinner options without characters. And Tony's is not a stellar place to dine (unfortunately). Their service and food need a big upgrade!!

But for Epcot??? Garden Grill is one of only 2 places you can dine with characters in all of Epcot! Outside of Norway and Garden Grill, you have 10 TS restaurants in World Showcase (none in America, 2 in France), and another TS in the Seas pavilion.
How could anyone say they can't find a non-character meal in Epcot??

Thank you Linda, that's pretty much what I was thinking, although I didn't have the numbers at hand like you posted. And although I can't speak for Tony's, having never eaten there, it seems the real lack at MK is TS in total.
I'm not sure I understand the concept of complaining about enough non-character TS at Epcot at all. Pretty soon there won't be any options for those of us who do like a character meal here and there except a few of the resorts. Joy, what fun to try and transfer hither and yonder to get from resort to resort to have a character meal.