Liberty Tree Tavern Review
Liberty Tree Tavern is a Thanksgiving-style and table service restaurant in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, with a colonial American theme. By Thanksgiving-style, I mean that dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern is served family style, and the foods served in the “Patriot’s Platter” are what was consumed for the first Thanksgiving. Liberty Tree Tavern is a fairly popular restaurant, and a top choice for guests around the holidays who want to have a family meal for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Liberty Tree Tavern participates in the Disney Dining Plan as a one credit table service meal. It also accepts the Tables in Wonderland card for a 20% discount. Unfortunately for guests on the Dining Plan, Liberty Tree Tavern is not a good value on the Disney Dining Plan (click to see top restaurants for maximizing your bang for buck on the Dining Plan). Not that it’s an awful value on the Disney Dining Plan, it’s just not great, thanks to its generally middle of the road menu prices. However, that does typically make it a good value when paying out of pocket!
One caveat about this review is that I’m not really sure how to approach it. It’s really more of a story than it is a proper review. Sarah and I last dined at Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner a while ago (back when it had characters!) and had an excellent time. So much fun, along with a solid meal, that I’m not sure why we hadn’t made it back in so long. Perhaps bitterness over the lack of characters.
We had reservations during our recent May trip, but we had to cancel because she wasn’t feeling well. Then, I went down for a weekend solo trip in August, and decided to eat here by myself on a whim when I saw an empty lobby and was told I could be seated within 5 minutes. My plan was to get a full meal, and then return with Sarah on a future trip so we could have enough of the menu to allow us to fully review the restaurant.
Suffice to say, after my meal here, I will not be back anytime soon. Rather than just not review it due to only trying a couple items, I thought I’d at least share the experience with an anecdotal review….
In terms of ambiance, Liberty Tree Tavern is deceptively strong. On a superficial level, it almost looks like a mix of colonial Williamsburg and maybe your grandparents’ house that hasn’t been updated since the 1960s.
Once you inspect things a bit further, you’ll notice some great details, including dining rooms that are each themed to a different Founding Father of the United States.
The decor in general feels charming and quaint, and this is probably both a result of the periods it’s trying to capture, and it having been relatively untouched since it opened.
While some period-designed locations in Walt Disney World still feel new, Liberty Tree Tavern feels distinctly old.
This isn’t a criticism–I truthfully don’t know what it is–but I know I like the feel of Liberty Tree Tavern.
Much like Columbia Harbour House, it reminds me of old-school Walt Disney World. That is a good thing!
Now, as for my recent meal…that’s where the wheels fall off. Shortly after being seated, a server came by to take my order. Wanting to sample as much of the menu as possible, I opted to start with the Crab and Lobster Dip for Two followed by New England Pot Roast.
I was going to order the Tavern Fried Cheese, but as I arrived I saw that being taken to another table and it looked like literally nothing more than frozen mozzarella sticks. I was already eyeing the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake for dessert. What can I say…I have a voracious appetite. That, or I’m a pig.
No sooner than I stepped up to take a couple photos of the decor of the restaurant after ordering did my Crab and Lobster Dip for Two come out. This literally was no more than 3 minutes after I placed the order.
I understand the dynamics of theme park food preparation, and it’s not as if I expected them to hunt down the crab and lobster after I placed the order, and prepare everything from scratch beginning right then. I just didn’t expect the food to arrive 3 minutes after ordering it.
Would you be shocked if I told you this dip wasn’t very good? Well, it wasn’t very good. The bread was rubbery and over-buttered, and the dip…I can’t even begin to describe what that was. It was thick, rich, and although it had the flavor of seafood, it didn’t exactly have large chunks of crab or lobster. (I didn’t ask to find out if it was real crab or krab.)
The prevailing tastes were, essentially, butter and processed cheese. For a $15 appetizer (even keeping in mind it was billed as being for two), it was a letdown.
I was largely distracted from enjoying the appetizer by the fact that 5 minutes after the appetizer came out, a Cast Member brought out my New England Pot Roast.
When he saw that I was maybe 25% done with the appetizer, he asked if I wanted it brought out later. I responded yes. When my server came out 5 minutes after that and asked if I’d like it yet, I replied ‘no,’ probably a little more irritated this time. Five minutes later, as I had just finished my appetizer, the pot roast arrived on the table.
I guess the pot roast was fine (the meat was reasonably tender although the vegetables around it were on the bland side); I’d say it was a middle-of-the-road pot roast. By this point I was so annoyed that even the best pot roast in the history of pot roasts could not save that meal.
I’m not sure if they were trying to rush me through since I was a party of one or if they just had a bunch of pre-made food in the kitchen they were trying to unload, but there was no excuse for my experience. You don’t bring out an appetizer 3 minutes after its ordered, and you certainly don’t try to bring out the main course almost immediately on top of the appetizer. I think these things go without saying, so I won’t belabor these points.
I elected not to order dessert for obvious reasons. Instead, I left the restaurant after paying my ~$45 bill and about only around 35 minutes at the meal.
In hindsight, I should have asked to speak with the manager or gone to Guest Relations later in the day, but I didn’t really want the hassle at the time, especially being by myself.
On the other hand, our last meal at Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner was enjoyable. As mentioned at the outset of this post, that was back in the days of character dining at Liberty Tree Tavern.
Although the menu has not changed since then, I view that meal as too remote in the past to really be the basis of a review at this point (lots of menu items at Walt Disney World have stayed the same, while quality has fluctuated).
Nevertheless, I wanted to share a few photos of the old character dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern because we absolutely loved it.
Then, the service was good and the character interactions (with Chip, Dale, and Goofy “fighting” over Sarah) were the absolute best we’ve experienced at any Walt Disney World restaurant.
In terms of food, it was a lot like Garden Grill in terms of quality–pretty basic food items but well-prepared.
Nothing mind-blowing, but a tasty meal if you wanted some American comfort food. I know it’s viewed as one of the best locations in Walt Disney World for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, and I can’t necessarily argue with that.
Almost everyone raves about Liberty Tree Tavern. Heck, for a while, even we raved about our experience at the dinner.
Given our recent, excellent experiences at The Plaza Restaurant and Cinderella’s Royal Table, plus improved counter service pretty much across the board, I thought maybe the Magic Kingdom was in the midst of a dining renaissance for counter service options. This meal caused me to rethink that possibility.
Overall, though, I’m still not sure how to review Liberty Tree Tavern. I have insufficient (current) information to give the thumbs up or thumbs down to the family style Thanksgiving dinner. As for lunch, I tried only two menu items, and a good portion of my complaints are based upon service.
Normally, I intentionally do not consider service when reviewing Walt Disney World restaurants, because it is so inconsistent everywhere. People dining there at the exact same time as me might very well have experienced stellar service. What that basically leaves me with is my anecdote of probably my worst Walt Disney World dining experience, but even the best restaurants have their ‘anomaly’ experiences.
With that said, I will not be returning to Liberty Tree Tavern anytime soon. My experience has soured me on the place, and even the menu items I saw brought to other tables didn’t have me salivating. It looked like pretty basic fare, and I won’t chance it again for the type of food that can readily be found elsewhere at Walt Disney World. Take this “review” for what it’s worth…which may not be much depending upon how much weight you give to service in dining reviews, as well as your own experiences at Liberty Tree Tavern.
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Your Thoughts…
Have you dined at Liberty Tree Tavern? If so, how were your experiences with the cuisine and service? Do you think my experience was an anomaly, or is Liberty Tree Tavern overrated? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Hey everyone, I see we have some mixed reviews here, and yes, this makes me nervous! Our first trip to WDW will be the last week of October. This was a last minute, kinda spur of the moment trip we did’t start planning unit July. But as a first time visitor, I have followed due diligence and have researched and planned our trip (I’m hoping) like many seasoned vets of WDW. Liberty Tree Tavern made it to our short list then definite list for dinner based on the Unofficial Guide…and disneytouristblog, and disney food blog, and touringplan.com. I was able to secure an ADR and was very excited about that. But this post has left me very sad! Do I forgo our reservations and attempt another location? Your thoughts and suggestion would greatly be appreciated.
Hey Dawn. My husband and I have eaten dinner at Liberty Tree something like five times over the course of the last four years and have always had a good experience. It’s actually a must-do dinner for us when we go to Disney. The food is exactly what you would expect at a family Thanksgiving feast – nothing fancy or special, but good comfort food. We’ve also always had good service and have never felt rushed. They really will bring you as much food as you want. Once we went with my parents and the four of us went through a ton of food and we were probably in there for a good hour or so! The atmosphere is also great; if you like the colonial theme, you will love it! I would take all the reviews with a gain of salt and then try it for myself. Have an amazing trip!! October is an awesome time to be at Disney.
Jessica, Thank you so much for the words of encouragement! I am so looking forward to the family style meal as well as the atmosphere, those were the main reasons we chose LTT. My son is especially excited about the colonial atmosphere and “history” of LTT. Thanks again, and really appreciate your feedback!
I have only eaten there once but I had a good experience. Funny enough, I literally wrote up a Liberty Tree Tavern Review on my blog 3 days before you posted this, too. Small world (pun intended). 🙂
Wow! I’m definitely the odd one here as I LOVE having all my food brought out at the same time. There’s something about seeing all the courses in front of me that makes for gluttony satisfaction!
Glad I’m not the only one. Our family of 7 ate here in early Dec last year and it was decidedly ‘meh’. Nearly everything was bland. We ate those frozen mozzarella sticks, the pot roast, freedom pasta, pilgrims feast and the ooey gooey cake. The only thing I’d recommend was the pasta. Even the ooey gooey cake was just ok and I’d heard such good things about it. Big disappointment. Maybe dinner is better? Oh and our service was bad too. But with 5 kids our service is often bad so I didn’t really count it.
Only been there once, and agree service was so-so, but I think if you go into it for some comfort food, then it usually hits the spot.
We had the same problem. We were in and out of there in 40 minutes. The food was good but it is crazy when your food comes out right away after ordering it. It is sad when a counter service meal would be longer. Paying for a table service should at least get you an hour off of your feet!
Agreed. I can understand that some people want to be in and out quickly to experience the park, but the wait staff should be able to gauge whether that’s the case and only rush guests through if that’s what they demonstrate that they want.
It sucks that you had a bad experience Tom! I understand the desire not to revisit a restaurant after having a bad time, but I would encourage you to give Liberty Tree another try for dinner. We go there every trip for dinner. We really enjoy the food. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s good American comfort food. I’ve never had any issues with it coming too fast or too slow and it always tastes great. I agree that the atmosphere is awesome. We’ve also always had good service. We actually had the same waitress the last two visits and she was great! We only did lunch once a few years back. It was fine, but nothing special. I don’t think I would do lunch again, but we do dinner every time!
I agree with giving it a 2nd try. For comfort food, I think it’s great.
Aw, sad to hear you had a bad experience. We were there in 2012 when it was still a-la-carte, and again this past winter 2013 when they switched back to family style. Both times the food was great. My dad really loves the turkey dinner.
We’ve also never had trouble doing a walk-up. I’ll be interested to hear if you decide to go back and try again with Sarah. Maybe you got them on an off night?
We have only eaten at LTT once and we had a similar experience. We went for dinner which is family service, so there was no ordering. As such, I think it is a little more acceptable that the food comes out at a rapid clip.
As it turns out, we weren’t all that hungry when we arrived. But we had scheduled the meal and were on the dining plan. Since it was already paid for, we went ahead and kept our reservation. Our youngest fell asleep while we were waiting to be seated. So I held her while we ate.
I wasn’t hungry. I had a sleeping kid on my shoulder and the food was coming out like it was on a conveyor belt. We basically tasted everything, but a lot of food went to waste. Our server asked if we didn’t like it. We said it was fine, we just weren’t all that hungry. That was the last question our server asked. He dropped off dessert and then the bill and we were out of there in record time.
It wasn’t exactly a fair experience on which to judge the restaurant. So I have yet to form a strong opinion one way or another. I like the old school Disney theme you referenced, but I can get the same thing cheaper at Columbia Harbor House. I’m in no hurry to return to the LTT, but I’m not avoiding the place either. CHH seems to scratch the same itch without consuming a table service credit. If the characters returned, it would change the math.
I will say that we have had similar experiences to yours at a lot of Disney restaurants. We had pre-made food at several table service meals on our last trip. You can definitely feel Disney trying to turn over the tables some times.
I agree with you completely with regard to getting your fill of this atmosphere at Columbia Harbour House. In addition to being cheaper, if you go at the right time, the upstairs at CHH can be pretty much a ghost town, and I doubt LTT is ever *that* quiet.
When I’m alone in a restaurant I often notice that service is usually much quicker and in WDW it’s even more. I guess they think that being alone in a restaurant may feel awkward and they try to speed up the process as soon as possible.
While this may be true for many, they should’t rush someone how they did with you.
I can understand that to an extent, but not to the point when you try to deliver the main course on top of a partially consumed appetizer. They should know better.
The last time I ate there was about a year and a half ago. We had the same problem with the service. The food came out almost seconds after we ordered it. The quality of the food was still good but it felt like they were rushing us out of there. My only thought on this is that if you’re dining with kids, you probably do want to be in and out quickly. The one time I went to WDW with kids (4 and 6), they got bored very easily and didn’t like to wait for anything. Next time I eat there I would just ask the server to wait to bring out the food, see how that goes.
I guess the thing is that I understand most of these things are prepared in advance (you can’t cook a pot roast in a short period of time), but it’s a bit unexpected and jarring to have the food come out RIGHT after you order it. That’s not customary for table service restaurants in the real world or at Walt Disney World.
I’ve never been there, but I keep reading great things about that ooey gooey cake!
I love LTT! Last time we ate lunch there was April 2013. We had the soup and burger and johnny appleseed cake. Everything was delicious!! If something is not to your liking, always let them know. Things (or mgmt) can’t be improved unless you let guest services know there is a problem.
Interesting review. I’ve only been to LTT twice for dinner but I would have to put it close to the top of our list for in-park restaurants. The food has been very good both times but I do agree that the service has been only so-so. Not bad, but maybe not getting the full attention of our waiter each time. We ate at LTT back in March with our adult children and they loved it as well. So it seems that you mileage may vary, which unfortunately seems to be the case with so many restaurants in the parks.
I have super-fond memories of LTT being our favorite restaurant in WDW… back ~30 years ago when I was a kid. It’s obviously changed quite a bit since that time.
We ate the dinner in 2010 and it was nothing memorable. I’d would have put it a bit below Garden Grill, but not by all that much. I was interested in someday trying the lunch (mostly for the toffee cake…) but you probably saved me the effort.
If memory serves me correctly, I’d put the food quality of our last dinner there just below Garden Grill, too. Very comparable, but Garden Grill gets the slight edge.
This review worries me. My mom and I (who are leaving for WDW tomorrow!) always eat lunch at LTT specifically for pot roast at lunch. We have reservations on Friday, October 3. I hope we are not disappointed. Also, I can’t believe you left without the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake!
After the awful experience up until that point, I just wasn’t going to chance it. Now I wish I would have tried it!
I wasn’t impressed with Liberty Tree Tavern. The food was okay, but I think the service was pretty bad. My sister and I ate there for my birthday back in March. We had a reservation but were seated maybe 15 or 20 minutes or so later. I can’t remember, but we ate at Hollywood Vine and Dine a couple of days earlier, and for being packed, they got us seated right on time. There was a family sitting in the waiting area next to us who seemed to have been waiting a MUCH longer time, and they weren’t too happy about that. Our server wasn’t very amicable either. I don’t remember her cracking a smile even once. And then of course, I was wearing a birthday button, but my sister had to ask (read: remind) the server if I would get a free dessert. I didn’t really care for the dessert, and I really couldn’t care less for anyone singing to me in a restaurant, but to be honest, for being a Disney restaurant, the birthday experience fell flat. I’ve only ever gone once, so I obviously don’t have much to go on, but I don’t think Liberty Tree Tavern is all that great. I won’t be going back any time soon, unless they bring back the characters. The character experience looks like it was a lot of fun!
I think being seated 15-20 minutes after your ADR time is fairly common. 20 minutes is pushing it, but 10-15 is pretty normal.
Sorry to hear about the rest of your experience, though.
We recently ate lunch at Liberty Tree this past August. It was awful. Server was absent minded and food was marginal. Trying to pay to leave was nearly impossible. Brought us the wrong bill. Then, failed to return our Tables in Wonderland card, then couldn’t find our Tables in Wonderland card. Turns out, she had swapped our bill with the table next to ours and I’m confident gave them the discount (though they didn’t say anything). How do I know, when she finally found our TiW card, it was in their receipt folio still sitting on the table. So, clearly they got the discount and left, no questions asked.
Haha, if Disney made the mistake of giving me a discount (and I didn’t have Tables in Wonderland) I wouldn’t question it, either!
We had dinner there on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. My wife and I NEVER had so much food at any restaurant in our lives. The food was great and the service was there too. We asked for a bit more ice cream, and the waitress came out with about a 1/2 gallon of vanilla!!! WOW!!
As annual passholders living close by, we have a lot of experience with Disney dining. Liberty Tree is the ONLY bad experience we have ever had. Several years ago, we had a great meal there. I am a vegetarian, and most of the restaurants provide several good options. Several years ago, they had a wonderful vegetable pot pie on the menu. They took that item off of the menu, and the only item they had the last time we were there that I could eat (about a year ago) was a veggie burger. We dined there during dinner, which was one price for all you can eat. As you know, the price for this is very steep for a veggie burger with a few sides. I asked to speak with the chef, thinking that he could prepare a vegetarian dish for me. I waited about 30 minutes for the chef to come out. When he finally came out, he was brusque and rude. He said, “What’s the problem?” I asked him if he could make me a vegetarian dish, and he said, “No, we don’t do that. You can have a veggie burger. That’s it.” We ended up just walking out. We were not going to pay the full meal price for a veggie burger that is similar to the $7 one at Cosmic Ray’s (that’s where we ended up eating dinner since we could not get a seat at any other table service restaurant). I have always found the Disney chefs to be friendly and accommodating, and this experience was a stark contrast! I should have gone to Guest Services, but I was so angry that I just wanted to move on with our evening. I don’t intend to go back anytime soon either.
Wow, that truly sounds awful. That sounds far worse than what I experienced.
We probably view Liberty Tree Tavern as our favorite restaurant in Disney. We have made it a point to go each time we are there. We have never been for lunch only for dinner. The dinner is fantastic comfort food – great turkey, pork and beef served family style. Fantastic stuffing and mac and cheese. They recently replaced the inedible root veggies with more appealing ones. There is also bread and salad which is very good. The dessert is basic but deceptively delicious – cake with ice cream. The last time we were there our waitress was terrible, but every once in a while that just happens. Most of the times we have had great service – but for us it is all about the comfort food served at a reasonable price without having characters around us. I recommend trying it for dinner!
That is pretty much in line with what we last experienced when we did dinner, and we enjoyed it a lot, but it was far from our favorite restaurant at Walt Disney World. Just a good dinner *for what it was.*