Disney World is reopening more attractions, resorts, and restaurants nearly every week or so these days!

We’ve had a lot of new things to check out (like additions to EPCOT), but we’ve also been excited to return to some old favorites. Recently, we got a chance to stop by Magic Kingdom to become reacquainted with a restaurant we’ve been missing for a long time!

On September 12th, The Diamond Horseshoe FINALLY reopened in Liberty Square! We were there on the reopening day to check it out, and we’re ready to share our thoughts on the whole experience, including the thing we’re really here to talk about — the food.

Atmosphere

When we arrived, there was a sign outside the restaurant letting guests know that there was still availability to dine throughout the day. September 2021 has had some seriously low crowds in general, so this wasn’t too surprising, although it IS unusual to see this sign out on a restaurant’s reopening day!

There’s also a menu posted outside of the restaurant, detailing everything offered at the family-style meal. Adults are $39 and kids under 10 are $21. 

If you want to dine here, it’ll cost you $39 per adult and $21 per child. This doesn’t include tax or gratuity, so make sure to factor that into your budget. (Although an 18% service charge is automatically added for parties of 6 or more.)

This is one of the more…unique dining spots in Magic Kingdom. If you haven’t been here to eat or simply walked by the spot about 2 billion times in the past without ever giving it a second glance, you wouldn’t be alone. It’s typically…closed.

The spot usually operates (during the “normal” times) seasonally. So basically, at the busiest times of year, you’d find this open and serving food to help with the major influx of guests. We’ve seen everything from quick-service lunch to plated a la carte meals to a family style meal served here.

If you get déjà vu looking around the space, you’re not alone (again!). Disneyland has its sister location — the Golden Horseshoe. (And yes, we might have typed “golden” instead of “diamond” about 8 zillion times in this review and had to fix it. They are eerily the same from a visual standpoint!)

The inside is actually quite small, considering. Smaller than you’d think. It’s reminiscent of a Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue type situation with the big stage and multi-level setup but there’s no live entertainment to be had here. An old-fashioned piano lives on the stage and that’s about it.

We’ll say if any spot in Disney World feels like Walt Disney himself could appear on the balcony up top taking in the sights…it would be here.

We headed in via the front entrance to the check-in podium. The pic below gives you a good sense of the scale here. There’s room, but not a LOT of room.

Tables have a cloth napkin and utensils along with a plate.

A QR code menu was on hand for scanning but we didn’t really need it to know the menu. We’ve HAD THIS MENU BEFORE (dun dun DUN!).

Eats

Like we mentioned above, this restaurant serves your meal up family-style at this time! On the menu, you’ll first be served a Tossed Salad, followed by your main course. The entrees and sides include Roasted Turkey Breast, Oven-Roasted Pork with Mashed Potatoes, Herb Stuffing, Pot Roast, Seasonal Vegetables, and House-made Macaroni & Cheese.

The meal wraps up with the signature Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake. Standard beverages come included in the cost, like coffee, milk, tea, and Coca-Cola products. And if you are a plant-based eater, an Impossible Meatloaf is available on request.

Sound familiar?? YEP. It’s the same menu you’ll find nearby at Liberty Tree Tavern! We’re not complaining though cause we just so happen to LOVE Thanksgiving all day e’ryday like you’ll find over there!!! The price here is the exact same as Liberty Tree Tavern as well.

Alright, now it’s officially time to dig in! We’re kicking things off with the Tossed Salad which (SURPRISE!) came with an order of dinner rolls and butter on the side.

The salad was really lightly dressed, but we enjoyed the combination of different kinds of lettuce. It was simple, but for a pre-mixed salad, we thought that simple was best! Couple tomato slices, cucumber, radish. Boom. Veggie requirement: completed.

The dinner rolls were simply “fine.” They weren’t anything particularly over-the-top or special, just your basic pre-dinner bread option. But who can complain about bread with butter, amirite?

After the “appetizers,” they brought out the whole spread. And when we say spread…we mean SPREAD. It’s like Grandma’s house on Thanksgiving up in here, y’all.

They’ve got it all, from the comforting sides…

…to the hearty meats! It was difficult to resist nibbling a little while taking pictures.

First of all, we tried out the mashed potatoes. (If you aren’t starting with the potatoes, are you even doing it right?! ) These taters were buttery, creamy, and well-seasoned, which is pretty much everything we were hoping for!

They still had a few chunks, so be warned that they’re not thoroughly whipped. We didn’t mind at all (let’s call em “rustic” mashed potatoes. We’re eatin’ back in the frontier, y’all!!), but for those with very particular potato standards, we thought we’d let you know.

And next to those potatoes was a heaping serving of green beans! There wasn’t a whole lot to say about these veggies except that they had a pretty good crunch to them.

Moving on to the meats, we’ve got the Roasted Turkey Breast next to try! It was a pretty decent turkey breast, nothing that stands out particularly strong. Is it your mom’s Thanksgiving turkey? Prob not, unless mom does “just OK” in the kitchen, but it was still solid and not too dry. However, it was a tad on the salty side.

The same went for the Oven-roasted Pork. We added a little gravy to the top to give it some extra depth, but the saltiness was the most notable thing about this item.

And speaking of salty, the Pot Roast was the saltiest of all. It reminded us more of a pulled pork in the flavor profile with the salty and juicy components. We don’t often confuse beef for pork, but here we are.

And in the middle of all those meats was the Herb Stuffing! It was pretty good but also, wait for it…SALTY. Salt seemed to be one of the big flavor profiles of this meal in general. We would eat the stuffing again though! If you’re a big Stove Top fan (which, honestly, aren’t we all??) you’ll dig this.

But our favorite part of the main course was the House-made Macaroni & Cheese (pretend you’re surprised!). There’s just something special about this heaping plate of cheese and noodles that brings people together, and it’s almost always a winner at the table. It’s gooey, flavorful, and a general crowd-pleaser. Can’t go wrong here!

But the true highlight of the entire meal comes at the final course — dessert! Here at Diamond Horseshoe, the signature treat is the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake, and it’s a hard finale to beat.

It comes topped with ice cream and the various temperatures and textures just all blend so well together. Warm caramel and chocolate, cold ice cream, hot cookie. We’d come back again and again just for this cake! Oh wait, that’s right — it’s basically always been our absolute favorite part of a meal at Liberty Tree Tavern! Seriously, we can’t understate how ROCK SOLID this slammin’ dessert is.

If you’re coming to Diamond Horseshoe with children, they don’t really have a traditional kids’ menu here. Since the family-style menu offers a little of something for everyone, children will likely be expected to enjoy the foods already on the table. However, if you have someone in your party with a special diet or who’s a picky eater, talk to your server — Disney is known for being especially accommodating!

Nosh or Not?

You should gather your family around this table if…

• You’re hoping to get a lot of food — since this is all-you-care-to-enjoy family-style, you can eat and eat and eat until you’re ready to pop! If you’re hoping for a hearty meal, this is a good bet. Want more? Simply ask your server for seconds!
• You’ve got some picky eaters in the group — with a Thanksgiving feast, this meal has a little of something for everyone. You can be more adventurous with the Herb Stuffing or the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake (and we use the term “adventurous” loosely here — all these foods are very approachable and simple), but you’ll also be able to play it safe with mac & cheese and mashed potatoes.
• You couldn’t score a table at Liberty Tree Tavern — this is quite literally the EXACT same meal in a different location!

Pass on by if…

• You want some unique fare — since this is a pretty simple Thanksgiving feast, there isn’t much for more adventurous eaters. Consider Jungle Navigation Co., Ltd.  Skipper Canteen nearby in Adventureland for some more unique eats.
• You’re on a tight budget — the cost is nearly $40 a person for adults, so this meal could be pricey if you have multiple guests in your party.
• You don’t want to waste park time — there’s a lot to do in Magic Kingdom, and all-you-care-to-eat meals can take a while. If you don’t want to use your park time, then choose a quick spot to dine instead.

Overall

Overall, it’s not a bad meal. It’s pretty much the exact same menu as Liberty Tree Tavern‘s All-You-Care-to-Enjoy Bill of Fare. The environment here is a bit more quaint with the piano and a smaller dining room, but it’s not anything unique or new. If you’ve never been inside this spot, this is a cool chance to check it out. It’s classic Disney at its best.

We enjoyed our dining experience at Diamond Horseshoe and nothing we ate was bad. The mac & cheese and Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake were the real standouts, and if you want to simply stuff yourself like you would on Thanksgiving — this is a great choice for that! Just remember to drink lots of water because those meat options were SALTY. This is likely the result of just a slightly overseasoned round of entrees, so we wouldn’t let that deter you if you’re interested in eating here. That said, the food is solid. So basically, your decision comes down to: want to eat this meal in a colonial setting or a frontier setting? Up to you!

That’s all for our review of Diamond Horseshoe! Stay tuned to DFB for more restaurant reviews and all the latest news from around Walt Disney World!

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Have you ever been to Diamond Horseshoe? Let us know in the comments!

The post REVIEW: Our Favorite Thanksgiving Feast Popped Up in a Rare Spot in Disney World! first appeared on the disney food blog.