Join me in welcoming back guest author Aaron Crum as he takes us to the Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom for a family-style meal!
Imagine this: you are walking through Walt Disney World, and suddenly you find yourself immersed in colonial America.
Not only are you reliving some of American history, you discover that it’s Thanksgiving Day and a feast has been prepared for you to enjoy.
Welcome to Liberty Tree Tavern!
Atmosphere
Liberty Tree Tavern is located in the Liberty Square area of Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. The lobby has somewhat of a “lodge” feel to it. There is a lot of exposed wood and very open spaces.
Exterior
When we visited, the computers were down, causing several delays and the restaurant to be extremely crowded. After waiting outside for our table to be ready, we were summoned to the lobby and taken to our table.
Decor
There are several different dining rooms within Liberty Tree Tavern, all themed after historical figures from United States history. We happened to be seated in the first dining room off of the main lobby. (Check out some fun, little-known details about the themeing of Liberty Tree Tavern here!)
Dining Room
While the restaurant was still fairly crowded, we noticed that there wasn’t a whole lot of noise coming from the lobby, so that was nice.
Crowded Lobby
Decor
We were able to enjoy our meal without the distraction of the crowded lobby, or the ongoing parade outside.
Eats
After being seated, our waitress came to our table and delivered us some rolls with butter, and salad. The yeast rolls and honey butter could have been a meal for me. I could have eaten 10 of them.
The rolls were warm and soaked up the sweet butter making for a tasty way to start the meal.
Yeast Rolls and Butter
The salad was nothing special, although it was a nice change of pace from typical appetizers.
Salad
Upon finishing the bread and salad, our waitress asked us, “So are you ready for dinner?” I laughed and asked her, “Is that a serious question?”
Liberty Tree Tavern mug
One by one, dishes filled our table, and each dish looked better than the one that hit the table before. Our table was filled with green beans, carrots, mashed potatoes and gravy, mac and cheese, turkey, pork loin, beef, and stuffing.
The green beans were good, but I am from the south and like mine cooked with bacon, and tender. These green beans were a little “waxy” and had a very crisp texture. They were still very tasty, just not my preferred way to eat green beans.
Green Beans
The carrots were cooked just right, not too crisp and not too mushy!
Carrots
The mashed potatoes still had chunks of potatoes in them and were just as good as the kind you would have on Thanksgiving afternoon!
The mac and cheese looked like something that would come out of the box. However, I prefer the saucy and large noodle kind of mac and cheese, and that is exactly what I got. I thought the mac and cheese was one of the best dishes on the table.
Mac and Cheese
All of the meats were very good. None of them were over cooked, and each one was full of flavor.
The risk you run when you eat at a place like Liberty Tree Tavern is that because the food is mass produced, the details tend to get overlooked, which results in over-cooked food. This was NOT the case.
The stuffing was hidden beneath the plate of meat, but I am not quite sure why they wanted to hide it. This stuffing was some of the best I have ever had, and it honestly shocked me. It had a great herbal flavor and was very moist.
Tavern Dishes
As if we weren’t full already, our plates were cleared and dessert was set on our table. It was called, “Johnny Appleseed Cake.” It consisted of white cake, apples, craisins, and ice cream. It tasted very much like apple pie a la mode, but the craisins give it a nice little twist — and besides, you can’t really ever go wrong with apple pie and ice cream.
Dessert
Dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern is family-style, and all you care to eat, so we could have ordered more of any of these dishes.
Overall
If thanksgiving is what you love, or if you just love to eat, Liberty Tree Tavern is just what the doctor ordered.
The drawback is that because this restaurant is in the park, it tends to get crowded easily. Consider making reservations for non-peak dining times.
If you can find the time to squeeze this restaurant into your plans, I am fairly certain you won’t be disappointed. Remember this is a family style buffet, so eat until your heart is content and don’t be afraid to ask for seconds…or thirds.
What’s your favorite dish at Liberty Tree Tavern? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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I love Liberty Tree. I miss the characters, that seemed to put this one at the top of my ADR list. Wanted to try the lunch menu on our last trip, but a presidential visit made us change our plans.
One great thing about those mugs… you can buy them for $5.00. (at least last time i tried!)
heard the lunch burger is awesome…
I’ve only had lunch at LTT. I love the Pilgrim’s Feast.
I bought one of those mugs the last time I was there, I think it was indeed $5. I really like the lunch there. I had dinner there once, when it was still a character meal, but as I don’t eat red meat or poultry anymore, dinner isn’t a do for me anymore, though the food is good!
I haven’t eaten at Liberty Tree in yeeeeears! I think it’ll be the perfect spot to take my British in-laws to when they are here in July.
Jill D. — I miss the characters, too. And, yes, the lunch burger IS awesome! We also like the pot roast at lunch, and the current pasta dish is very good. Plus, how can you go wrong with Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake?!
JoAnn — Yes! Great choice!
Carolyn — $5 is a great price for one of those; they’re very substantial! What’s your menu pick for lunch?
Lenore — YES! You guys will have a blast.
I just wish they had a choice of desserts. I don’t like fruit, so I really dislike the dessert here (I don’t like ice cream either which I know is un-American, lol)- or at Garden Grill. Dessert is always my favorite part of any meal, so we’re skipping dinner there this trip. However, we are eating lunch there this time- I’ll miss all the different meats offered for dinner, but at least I can have a choice of desserts.
LTT is one of my favorite placed to eat in the Magic Kingdom. I love the food, even if its blatantly obvious it’s Stouffer’s. And the history buff in me loves the decor.
I never knew you could buy the mugs. I will have to get one next time.
Love your review! Just stumbled across this blog today and was so pleasantly surprised that you were talking about LTT, my favorite place to eat at WDW! I swear, I dream about their food! Our dessert was different when we went, I believe. We had more of an apple pie with ice cream where yours sounded more cake-like? For my favorite part of the meal there, I love the potatoes, rolls, and the beef! Yum. And I least liked the waxy green beans as well but maybe it’s a southern preference as you said because I’m from TN! 🙂 thanks for really making me feel back at WDW 🙂 I needed it today!
I used to like the Liberty Tree when they used to have a vegetarian option. They made a wonderful vegetable pot pie. The last time we went there, we heard that the pot pie was no longer on the menu, but we were assured that there would be “other suitable options.” Turns out, their “suitable option” was a veggie burger–the same one that was $7 at the counter service places. We left and had to scramble to find another place to eat.
It should be noted that the family style feast is for DINNER. If you go there for lunch, you get a traditional menu where you each can choose what you prefer to eat.
If you go for lunch, I strongly recommend the New England Pot Roast. It’s so tender you can break it with a fork, and fabulously delicious. Follow that up with the Ooey Gooey Toffee cake, so scrumptious you’ll want to lick the plate. The portions here are on the larger side. Unless you’re a big eater, this is likely to be your “big meal” of the day. I’m a big eater. Nine hours later, I sat down to dinner, and felt compelled to choose lighter options, since I wasn’t really hungry.
I had the delightful experience of having the manager of the LTT restaurant come to my table. Not because I asked for her, just because she makes it a point to talk to “unhurried guests” to get their impressions of the restaurant first hand. She told me she’s a regular reader of the various blogs and reviews, and takes it all in to make the experience better. Interestingly, she formerly managed Artist Point! You’d think that was a downgrade job, but it wasn’t. She actually sought out LTT when it became available. In her words, park dining in the MK was considered “second rate”, and she hoped to correct that misconception. Based upon the impeccable service, quality, presentation, and taste of the food, I would agree.
It’s funny, we used to eat here often twenty five years or so ago. It always reminded me of Colonial Williamsburg ‘s historic restaurants which we go to often. But the growth of WDW and the tremendous influx of great new restaurants have kind of replaced it in our choices. To me it is sort of the same things I cook at home. I think it’s time to pay another visit.
I love the decor at the restaurant. It’s a great place to get a great meal and get a break from walking. I do miss the characters.
We also love LTT, and make it part of our regular dining options. Back in the “Food and Fun” (or whatever the various pre-DDP options were called) we used to get the mugs for free! (Yup, something for nothing at WDW!!) Turns out we now have about eight of ’em.
Hi there. I have never been to the Liberty tree either. I see in the pics that the food looks HEAVENLY!!!!!!!!!!!! Is this food for ONE person????????????????????
I love the food my mom and I had for dinner. Sadly, there was just too much food and it was expensive. The amount wasted was emabarassing and my waiter was from Haiti so I felt double bad about not being able to eat it all. Drop the price $7 – give a more reasonable amount to eat which won’t be wasted and then it is win – win.
Atmosphere and food is delicious – glad I went but not likely to return.
This restaurant used to be sponsored by and feature Stouffers foods. Looks like it’s sponsored by Craisins now. Is the stuffing and mac-n-cheese still Stouffers? I’d always been warned not to book this restaurant because the food was overprocessed and salty but it’s nice to see a positive review.
we love liberty tree. i has been an annual tradition with us. when doing dining reservations every time i even consider one of the other restaurants in the magic kingdom my family wants to go to liberty tree. the food is delicious and i never had an issue with service. thank you for such a great review!
Thanks for the review and the pictures. Pictures are worth a thousand words or tastes. We have never been to the Liberty Tree Tavern but are going to try it on our next trip as part of a Christmas Theme. mmmm – Turkey and Mashed Potatoes.
OMG! I went there a few weeks ago and it was amazing! Those (s)mashed potatoes were magical. They melted in my mouth and I think I had 3 or even 4 servings. I just wish I had more room for everything.
I always end up out of town for thanksgiving (even tho we go to this same dinner for the turkey dinner special) i will come here when i get home to get that traditional turkey meal that I used to love from mom! Heck im coming here anytime of the year I just must remember not to eat for days beforehand to be able to eat as much as I wanted too.
Our family has made numerous visits to Disney World, and Liberty Tree Tavern has always been a favorite — until this year. They have changed the dinner menu and are cutting corners in the interest of saving money. The rolls were cold, from a package, and not particularly good. The pork roast is now ham. The beef steak is now pot roast, and the turkey was, at best, so so. When dessert came, we all sat stunned as the server placed something that was most definitely not the Johnny Apple seed cake we had come to expect. Overall, this meal was a disappointment, and we will certainly reconsider Liberty Tree Tavern as one of our selected restaurants next year.