We are back for another visit to Magic Kingdom’s Liberty Tree Tavern — and this time, it’s for dinner.
What’s the difference between lunch and dinner? Well, it’s major, actually. Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern is an a la carte offering — you order what you want off the menu. I’ll often go for their Angus Chuck Cheeseburger. And the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake is one of the best desserts on property. (Here’s the recipe.)
But dinner is a completely different deal — and still quite good. You’re treated to a family style feast consisting of roasted meats and all the trimmings.
I haven’t covered dinner at LTT here on the blog for a long time…for two reasons: 1.) It’s always the same. The food rarely changes, and everyone gets the same thing, so our previous reviews are still totally valid when it comes to the food. 2.) For some reason, every time I’ve been there for dinner in the past year, something has happened to keep me from getting the photos I need to blog the post. Either a member of my party gets sick or one of the kids has a meltdown…or we’re with a huge group and the food is decimated before I can take a picture.
So, I made it a focus on my last trip to get over there and make it happen! Here we go!
Atmosphere
Liberty Tree Tavern is a Magic Kingdom icon. It’s been there since the Park opened, and there are many Disney fans who count a meal here among their earliest Disney memories. It’s located on Liberty Square, near the Hall of Presidents and other exhibits celebrating Colonial American History.
Liberty Tree Tavern Entrance
Liberty Tree Tavern offers seating in six different rooms, each themed to a notable historical figure. They include Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Paul Jones, Paul Revere, Betsy Ross, and George Washington. You can see a more in-depth atmosphere review here.
A door in the John Paul Jones Room
Model Ship and John Paul Jones Portrait
If your kiddos are studying American history, it’s fun to take a look around each of the rooms to see some of the more well-known stories come to life. Ben Franklin’s kite and George Washington’s wooden teeth appear in their respective rooms.
Kite in Ben Franklin Room
And if there are any invasions or revolutions that require your help, you’re all set. Grab your cloak and three corner hat, and you’re off!
Coats and Hat Hanging at the Ready
Seating throughout the vast network of rooms is made up of booths and tables. Primarily you’ll find ladder back chairs that are fairly comfortable surrounding rectangular and round tables.
Seating
Seating
If you prefer some natural light, be sure to request a seat in one of the outer facing dining rooms. But don’t plan on parade- or people-watching. The glass is bubbled and wavy, so you’ll just see blobs of color.
Seating and View
Eats
As I mentioned before, if you dine at Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner, you’ll be partaking in a prix fixe, family style meal. That means that each person in your party will pay a set price — one price for adults, and a lower price for children. (Children under 3 are free.)
Your meal includes everything listed below, including a standard beverage and dessert. The format is all-you-care-to-enjoy, so there’s no reason to ever leave a Liberty Tree Tavern dinner table hungry.
Liberty Tree Tavern Menu — Click to Enlarge
We began with a Bread Basket, which contained an assortment Breads, served with soft, whipped Butter.
Bread and Butter
When this comes to your table, be sure to dig down for the coveted Cornbread! Remember, if someone gets handsy and grabs all the CB, you can always ask for more.
Cornbread
Next, our server brought us a nice big Declaration Salad to share. While it’s nothing intriguing, it is a fresh, crisp way to get your veggies, and offers a nice balance with all of the hearty comfort food you’re about to indulge in.
Declaration Salad
And speaking of…here’s the full table of entrees and sides. The only real change here from my last review is that the restaurant has switched to some modern, wavy bowls and plates; and the corn is more of a Southwestern style.
The Full Spread!
Let’s take the dishes one by one. Keep in mind that we were a party of two; if your party is larger, you’ll receive a main course platter and side dishes that are larger than what we had.
A platter of various Roasted Meats and Stuffing anchor the meal. You receive cuts of carved Turkey Breast, Roasted Pork, and Flank Steak. The Flank Steak is usually our favorite, but the turkey is quite good as well. Note that the food here can be VERY salty, so if you’re sensitive to that, be prepared.
Patriot’s Platter — Roast Beef, Pork, Turkey, and Stuffing
The Stuffing is reminiscent of the Thanksgiving table staple, with onion, celery, and herbs.
Turkey, Pork, and Stuffing — Up Close
Gravy seems scratch-made to me, and is served on the side, so you can enjoy as much or as little as you like.
Gravy
But what about the Cranberry Sauce, you ask? It’s not on the menu, but rest assured, you can get it! Just ask your server for a side. While they don’t serve it automatically (a DFB staffer was told on a previous visit that it often goes unconsumed and is wasted), it’s always available for guests who just can’t fathom enjoying this meal without it. (This is actually one of my favorite Tips from the DFB Guide. Check out this post for others!)
Cranberry Sauce
The Mashed Potatoes are creamy and homestyle, with potato skins adding a nice texture.
Mashed Potatoes
And the Macaroni and Cheese is often a favorite at the table. While it certainly pushes the envelope of authenticity, it’s usually a crowd pleaser — especially if there are kids dining with you. There’s nothing gourmet about this version; it’s basically Stouffer’s brand (Stouffer’s used to “sponsor” Liberty Tree Tavern). And sometimes, that’s exactly what you want.
Macaroni and Cheese
Our meal also comes with a couple of Seasonal Vegetables, and these tend to change from time to time. On the day we dined here, we were served Green Beans as our first vegetable. Keep in mind that these are sauteed to a bright green, crisp consistency with garlic, rather than being cooked for a long time with seasonings. I prefer this method, so I appreciated this veggie choice.
Seasonal Vegetable — Sauteed Green Beans
We were also served Corn, which was roasted and mixed with peppers and onions. Very good.
Seasonal Vegetable — Corn
After that huge meal, we still had dessert to look forward to. Because Liberty Tree Tavern is NOW sponsored by Ocean Spray, the dessert here features Craisins. Johnny Appleseed’s Cake is a White Cake filled with Apples and the dried Cranberries. Topped with Ice Cream and a sweet Cranberry glaze kind of thing, it doesn’t totally measure up to Liberty Tree’s previous legendary dessert, the Apple Cobbler.
Johnny Appleseed’s Cake
With that, dinner was a wrap, and we were ready to hit the Park for more fun.
Overall
One thing I didn’t mention during the review was the service here. On my past three dinner visits, which all have taken place during the last six months, the service has been…just bad.
I know, I know — I’ve been complaining a lot about service lately, but we watched three groups of people sit next to us, eat, and leave, before we were done signing our check. Our drink glasses were never full. When we needed more of certain dishes we had to wait an average of 15-20 minutes to get replacements (which is appalling considering Disney servers often seem to have a goal of turning tables over at least once per hour in moderately-priced restaurants like this one) while all of our other food got cold. Maybe it’s just us? Who knows, but service has been consistently bad here for all of my recent visits for dinner (not for lunch, mind you, just dinner). Strange.
The food, though standard, is decent, and this is always a fun restaurant to visit on holidays, or when you’re with big groups of family and friends. As usual, though, I do recommend going for lunch rather than dinner when you can. I just think it’s a better meal overall.
Now I wanna hear from you guys! Is Liberty Tree Tavern one of your favorites, too? Leave a comment and let me know whether you prefer lunch or dinner in this historic Disney spot!
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Hey AJ! Thanks for the hot tip about the cranberry sauce. We read this tip in an earlier post you wrote and asked for it on our last trip. My Mom LOVES cranberry sauce and was super excited we knew about this insider tip. Looks like reading your blog every day has paid off. Thanks again!
I like LTT for Lunch better. Because I can get the Pot Roast. It is by far the best anywhere.
Brooke — Hooray! We LOVE to hear that you find our tips and posts helpful! Thanks so much for reading!
Joni — For sure — it’s definitely one of our favorites, and I totally agree about lunch!
We went during Thanksgiving week a few years back and I loved atmosphere and would probably try lunch just for that…we really weren’t that impressed with the food. The prices were a bit much too (I’m sure holiday pricing was in effect).
Our favorite thanksgiving meal that week was 50s prime time…
Can’t wait to try lunch sometime and try that pot roast!
We ate here reluctantly after hearing bad reviews of all nights Valentine’s Day Dinner 2015. We so surprised. We loved it. It was a great meal. We loved the beef. Our service was terrific. Best meal we have had in WDW.
The only thing I have never heard or mentioned before. The bathrooms are very old (like 70s style) and is a very small bathroom, waited in line for a while. If you have to go, go to Rapunzel’s bathroom before Liberty Tree Tavern.
Great write up, we can’t wait to try it on out next trip!
If you go to the French Market (and other places) at Disneyland the seasonal vegetables is always CORN (we hate corn) all year round!
Does it appear to be the same way at WDW?
First of all, it’s a crime that you can’t Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake at dinner. Second, I have to agree with you about the service, and we went for lunch. We were definitely there a bit longer than we should have been, but didn’t mind too much as we were ready for a break. We were sitting at the table for quite some time before we saw our server, and after that we didn’t see her hardly at all. I can understand not getting back right away to refill our drinks- my husband’s was gone within about 2 minutes of receiving it, lol- but we weren’t able to get a refill until after our entrees were delivered.
We also went for dinner. Our server was attentive but very busy. Some of the food items were excellent such as the corn bread, and the salad but some items were dry and salty. I might go back to try the lunch but dinner will not be repeated any time soon
Thanks for the tip about cranberry sauce! We had a meal at Liberty Tree Tavern one Christmas eve and I sure did miss the cranberry sauce, I always add it to my stuffing. I haven’t been back for dinner since it ceased to be a character meal, maybe I’ll give it another try in the future.
Love the Colony Salad for lunch!
I haven’t been to LTT for dinner since they got rid of the characters. Glad to see I haven’t been missing much! It still is one of my FAVORITE places on property for lunch, though!
We had a great meal at Liberty Tree Tavern last month! We enjoyed it all. I think the pork was our least favorite but it was still good. We liked the food better than Garden Grill as we also ate there last month. Liberty Tree Tavern is cheaper but no characters and it’s not a moving restaurant with view of Living with the Land. Instead of pork you get fish at Garden Grill. As others have already mentioned the bathrooms are small an are upstairs at Liberty Tree Tavern. Its been years since I had lunch but I too enjoyed the pot roast and the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake. Our service was fine and we were an all adult party of 4.
Also thank you AJ for the cranberry sauce tip! It was really yummy and we all enjoyed it even though some people in my party are usually not a fan of the stuff.
I think the food here is absolutely delicious, but I agree about the service. Veeeeery slow. It definitely takes a while to get drink and food refills. And with little kids, that’s especially stressful! Fortunately, the quality of the food helped make up for the lackluster service.
Often in the park alone. Do you think it might be possible to do as a single?
We just ate at LTT last week and enjoyed it so much! My husband loves thanksgiving dinner…I only wish I had known your tip about the cranberry sauce! Upon returning home, I immediately looked up the recipe for the johnny applebee cake. Our waitress had told us that some people were unenthusiastic about the cake before trying it, but loved it after giving it a try. We fit that description! I think the only sit down meal we liked more on this last trip was Boma! We would highly recommend LTT!
For lunch, you have to ask for bread. I believe you can still get apple butter, too.
I believe the teeny, tiny bathrooms will soon be a thing of the past. The refurbishment it’s about to undergo is supposed to be bringing them into the 21st century. I was so shocked when I walked into that bathroom, it felt like another time warp – from Colonial times straight to the 1950’s! Jim Hill said some very interesting things about what they’ll be doing with the kitchens in his last podcast with Len Testa. Worth a listen.
Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed our only experience of Liberty Tree when we were at the World in 2012 and I’m trying very hard to get an ADR for our visit in December, but they don’t seem to have opened up the bookings, despite a finish date of 20th November. Fingers crossed!
I can tell you for sure, the turkey gravy is made from scratch at the liberty tree Tavern daily. I have food allergies, specifically an allergy to chicken so therefore I must make sure there is no chicken broth in anything I eat. For the last several years, they have made it fresh in the house from the turkey drippings from the turkey they roast there.
Thanks for the review. Often thought about trying this place, but if service is that poor, we’ll give it a miss.
We ate here last week for the first time. I’ll agree that our server was lackluster, however the chef and the management blew us away. My son has a food allergy, and we usually avoid telling the restaurants if we can because it isn’t hard to tell what he can eat. Here, we didn’t have an option. The chef came out and was extremely helpful – he went out of his way to make my small child feel like his opinion mattered. It made our dining experience so much more memorable and the allergy food he prepared was amazing. (We’ve had many of the allergy food options prior to this, this was by far the best). The manager stopped by later in the evening and chatted with us for a while and was really wonderful. We had a great experience and loved our meal. It will be a new staple for our family!
I’ve never tried LTT and I’m still not inspired to go in. But thanks for the review!
Never tried and I think the flank steak is the only thing that would make me consider.
You’re a counter to my opinion why service at more and more locations seems to be getting worse and worse….My thoughts are the dining plan. Way too often have I sat down and the server seems to roll their eyes when they look on the ticket and see we are on the plan. Then they have to go into the entire dining plan can and cannot list.
Reason for my thoughts is they then seem to perk up once I mention I’d like to order some adult drinks. While I am NOT one, I wonder how many out there have that “I pay enough already, I don’t need to give a good tip,” attitude that hurts the rest of us.
Had some extra time to type…..got that off my chest.
I think Mike has hit the nail on the head. The Disney Dining Plan has raised prices for the rest of us and the staff I know hate getting stiffed on tips at the full service restaurants. Maybe they should raise the price of the plan to include service.
My wife and I are planning a trip to Disney and are hoping to spend about 10 days on property eating at QS and TS restaurants. Neither of us like any added salt to our food and eat mostly naturally raised meat and organic vegetables. Are we going to find enough to eat at Disney or does anyone have any recommendations for us.
Craig, I’ve done both dinner & lunch at LTT solo. About the only downside was when they call you for your table – yelling out “Smith Family party of 1” or your full name instead of “Family” is attention I really don’t like.
Lunch runs just like if you had a multiple person party. My service a couple days ago was just right. Just attentive enough to keep my ice tea filled, but not hovering.
Now I prefer dinner to lunch here. I <3 the beef & pork with stuffing & when the seasonal veg is assorted squashes. I always do the "happy food shimmy dance" here. But they don't have "single person" sized serving platters so you get bowls with enough for 2-3 people. And since it's "all you care to eat" you can't take the extra with you. I felt so bad for wasting so much food. I mentioned that to my server a couple years ago, & she assured me that all food wastes are collected & composted. But still…
Over the last 3 years I've eaten 4 times at LLT, and service was good all those times for both single & parties of 2. My mother is extremely bummed that they will be still closed when she visits for Food & Wine, she also adored the dinner. So for my last meal since I could only do lunch I got the salad & turkey to hold me over until the place is finally ADA compliant. 😎
The last time we were at Disney in 2013, we ate at Liberty Tree Tavern and loved it! We wanted to book it again this year for our Christmas trip, but the ADR are not available. The are scheduled for refurbishment until November. Do you know if they wait until after construction is done before they take reservations? When is a good time to check back? Thanks for your help!
@Laura. We are going to be there at the beginning of January and the ADR allowed us to make reservations there last month when we picked out our places and times. Maybe try calling the Disney dining reservations to see what the cast members say about making the reservations for December?
Also, thanks for the tip about the cranberry sauce. I am excited to try this place for the first time in January, and that is a great addition!
Disney Dining told us that they will not accept ADR’s for LTT through the end of 2015 until the refurb is complete. So, for reservations between November 20 and December 31, the earliest we can hope to make ADR’s is November 20
We love liberty tree, especially the pot roast, so we generally go for lunch. My husband would not visit magic kingdom without a meal at liberty tree.