We’re HUGE fans of some of the classic dining spots around Disney World, and Magic Kingdom is home to some old favorites! Between the classic rides, classic characters, and classic restaurants at this park, there’s plenty to keep us busy at Magic Kingdom. But one of our favorite things to do is sit down for a nice, filling meal. And that’s exactly what we’re doing today!

In our continuous journey to visit every single Disney World restaurant, we’ve had some real winners and some that didn’t leave much of a lasting impression on us at all. So, that gave us an idea — would a beloved Magic Kingdom restaurant STILL stand up to the test of time?

Liberty Tree Tavern is usually one of those restaurants at Magic Kingdom that rarely leaves us questioning our choices when it comes to Disney World food. So, when we found ourselves starving and looking to get out of the blazing sun for a little while, there was no question about where we were headed next.

We’ve returned to this family-style meal repeatedly, and we were hopeful that this Colonial-themed restaurant would impress us one more time!

Atmosphere

The vibe here is very much old colonial and meant to make you feel like you’re truly stepping back in time. You’ll find rustic and wooden touches throughout the entire restaurant, and the exterior is built like a stately colonial mansion.

As you enter through the steps, you’ll be invited into the waiting area, where a fireplace and balcony await you. Notice the chandelier built to mimic candlelights when there was no electricity!

When our table was ready, we were guided up a few steps and led over to a smaller section of the dining room with lots of Betsy Ross-like touches, such as quilts and folksy artwork. Plus, this restaurant is home to TOMATO BABY! He means everything to us.

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♬ Old Disney Swing Jazz – Nico

While there is table seating throughout, there are also booth-type seating setups, but we were seated at a standalone table.

Once we were seated, we were offered menus.

Menu

The menu here includes all the food you care to enjoy, served right to your table! You’ll start with the Declaration Salad and bread with butter, followed by the Patriot’s Platter of your main foods, and you’ll wrap things up with the famous Oooey Gooey Toffee Cake dessert.

You can also purchase a selection of specialty wines and non-alcoholic beverages separately to add to your meal.

Plus, there are plenty of fountain sodas, milk, teas, and juices.

Drinks

To start us off, we decided to order a few drinks to get in the spirit. We opted for the Tavern Punch as a non-alcoholic option and the Gold Rush to try something with alcohol in it! To keep it simple, though, let’s talk about the most interesting first — the Tavern Punch. This drink is made of frozen lemon-flavored Dole Whip and Sprite and cost us $9.

If you’re already interested in how it looks, it tastes even better! Before it melted into a full liquid, the lemon Dole Whip and fizzy Sprite combo tasted almost like lemon Italian Ice. We found it to be delightful and a solid bet if you find yourself on the fence about ordering it, especially if you’re into trying out different Dole Whip flavors.

Then, we turned our attention to the Gold Rush. This spirit is made of Elijah Craig 12yr Kentucky Straight Bourbon, lemon juice, and honey garnished with crystalized ginger and cost us $17.

Admittedly, our initial thoughts about it were that we were about to pay a hefty price tag for a measly drink with a little bit of alcohol, but boy, were we wrong! This is no wimpy drink by any stretch of the imagination, and if you’re an avid bourbon enthusiast who likes a more commanding taste, this is a great option!

Eats

Now, it’s time to get started chowing down. As we mentioned before, the main dining options for the meal have already been preselected for you. To dine here, the meal itself will cost you $42 for adults and $23 for kids ages 3-9. For appetizers, we were offered the Declaration Salad and house-made rolls. 

The salad is made of mixed greens, apples, cranberries, and shredded cheese tossed with the restaurant’s house-made dressing!

We loved this salad, and for a house-made dressing, it really hit the spot. The mixed greens were what we’ve come to expect from Disney World, and on their own, they wouldn’t have been much to describe, but when they were woken up with the added flavors from the fruity apple and cranberry, the flavor really popped!

The rolls were divine! If you’re familiar with a Parker House-style roll, that’s basically what these were, with some additional butter and spices rubbed on top.

They were pillowy, soft, and curved when you smushed them, and you could see the golden color of the added butter baked into the edges. Pure bread perfection, and we know Disney World bread!

When our main course was ready, it was served all together. Allow us to introduce you to the Patriot’s Platter, made of roasted turkey, pot roast, and oven-roasted pork with herbed stuffing. 

Our plate also included mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables, which, in our case, were green beans.

We also got a house-made macaroni & cheese.

In addition to the platter, we were served a house-made gravy to accompany our meats.

If it doesn’t look like it by now, our table was full! We had several reporters helping to tackle this huge meal, and it took every single one of us by surprise at how much the food filled our table! Admittedly, this is where we had to bid the rest of the Declaration Salad goodbye and dig into our next eats.

We’re going to tell you about it all just like it’s served — at the same time! We found the meats to be well cooked, juicy, and have incredible flavor (we especially liked the pot roast and pork). Pairing it with the herbed stuffing, which was just sticky enough, and the cranberry sauce served on the side really made us feel like we were sitting down to eat a traditional Thanksgiving feast.

The veggies between the gravy-smothered mushrooms and the green beans were cooked just right to bring out the best of their flavors. We got to digging into the mashed potatoes so fast that we almost forgot to try the house-made gravy over them!

This was more like a turkey gravy than a beef-based gravy. It still had good flavor and paired very well with the stuffing.

The mac & cheese was super creamy and cheesy and probably the highlight of our meal (we know, don’t judge us, we’re obsessed with Disney World’s mac & cheese options). Honestly, this version has put other versions of plain ol’ mac & cheese to shame, and we could have eaten our weight’s worth. It’s too bad we couldn’t fit more in with this main meal because once we started slowing down, we realized we STILL needed to save a little bit of room for dessert!

The Oooey Gooey Toffee Cake is this restaurant’s staple dessert, and it’s not hard to see why. In short, it’s a toffee cake covered in vanilla ice cream, drizzled with warm chocolate and caramel, and topped with caramel chips.

You’ve really got to have a sweet tooth for this one because it divided our entire team! While we started off really strong, we fear those extra caramel chip toppings may have been our kryptonite — or was it the toffee pieces sticking to our back teeth?

Either way, this dessert is almost screaming to be shared because the one thing we all could agree on was that you’d have to be a brave, strong person to tackle it solo!

As the ice cream cascaded over the toffee cake and the chocolate drizzle melted into the toppings, we found ourselves in a whirlwind of warm chocolate and caramel flavors that just kept getting sweeter with each bite. If there ever was such a treat we absolutely had to walk away from because we just couldn’t take the sweetness overload, we fear this was our match.

Overall

We think this precious restaurant should be protected at all costs. The meal here is filling and delightful, and there’s hardly any way you’re leaving here with an empty stomach.

If you’ve not grabbed the side of your mouth as you’re leaving Liberty Tree Tavern, did you even eat any of the Oooey Gooey Toffee Cake? We think not!

Nosh or Not?

Declare yourself part of the feast at Liberty Tree Tavern if…

• You’re ready to taste a classic Thanksgiving in Disney World. This meal had all the flavors and familiarity of home, and we think that’s worth its weight in gold!
• Picky eaters — you’re safe here! Seriously, while it’s not a full buffet, the menu here isn’t terribly adventurous or kicked up a notch with extra spices and seasoning, making it a great fit for picky eaters.
• Your meal HAS to be worth the price. We had a hard time finding fault with this meal from the theming to the service to the quality of our food and drinks, and we think it’s a pretty solid bet for you to make too when choosing where you want to eat in Disney World next.

Respectfully decline the invitation to join in if…

• You prefer an a la carte or single entree. While you can certainly portion out your own meal into an individual plate, the main course is served family-style, so you might find food touching other food here.
• The menu here seems too boring. Sure, there’s an interesting dessert here (that tastes just as great), but if you’re not as impressed with the rest of the menu and find it a bit boring, well, there are other interesting eats at other restaurants.
• Eating a super filling meal and then returning to the heat just doesn’t sound appealing. This is pretty self-explanatory, but we’ve gotten feedback from readers before who choose not to eat heavy meals while visiting the parks and prefer to snack or pick up lighter bites in the heat.

We’re ALWAYS eating our way around Disney World (even if we’ve dined there before)! We’re working hard to update our reviews to help you make the best choices for dining options on your next Disney World trip! While you’re here, check out a few more of our reviews below and stay tuned with us at Disney Food Blog for even more!

REVIEW: Does This EPCOT Restaurant Really Deserve Its Poor Reputation? We Found Out!

Have you ever dined at Liberty Tree Tavern in Magic Kingdom? Tell us all about your experience in the comments below!

The post REVIEW: We Came to This Famous Magic Kingdom Restaurant for the Dessert, but STAYED for the Bizarre Tomato Baby first appeared on the disney food blog.

Deciding what to wear to Disney World is VERY difficult — we get it!

Trust us, we’ve been there. You’re tearing through your closet, trying to find the outfit pieces that will be cute yet functional for long days walking around the parks. However, sometimes you decide to take a risk, which can be great! …Or it may turn into a bit of a disaster. Many Disney World fans think these particular fashion choices are quite the faux pas, so here’s how you can avoid them!

Now, to preface, you wear whatever YOU would like to Disney World and whatever you’ll be comfortable in! However, there are some situations you need to prepare for, some of them that specifically stem from what you choose to wear, so we’re just giving you these as a heads-up!

Getting Soaked

If you’re in Disney World on a rainy day and don’t have any rain gear, it’s almost a guarantee that unless you take cover JUST in time and stay there, you very well may get soaked. And there’s nothing wrong with that…as long as your outfit can hold up when it’s soaking wet.

We’ve seen firsthand that people who have worn these adorable and elegant outfits to Disney World look incredible, but then they get wet, and things go downhill really fast. Now, we’re not telling you to NOT wear these outfits, but we are saying that if your outfit isn’t water-friendly, you need to bring some kind of rain gear with you to keep yourself dry without needing to hide inside for (potentially) hours. We personally love the Cosowe Ponchos!

This is a fantastic product to keep you dry all day as you walk through the parks, and it’s cheaper than buying a poncho in Disney World, which will rip easily and, therefore, ruin its effectiveness. Plus, you can grab the clear ones, so your outfit can still be seen!

Don’t miss it!

However, if you’re looking for something REALLY sturdy and don’t care as much about your outfit being seen, we also love the FROGG TOGGS Poncho!

This thing is AMAZING. Water practically rolls right off of it, and it’s dry almost the moment you step out of the rain!

Check it out!

Wearing Something That Chafes You

No need to be embarrassed! It’s happened to most of us out there. Chafing doesn’t just happen in one area either — it can happen almost anywhere on your body. Chafing often comes from the type of clothes you’re wearing in the parks, but the strap of your bag could also chafe your arms, OR your ears could chafe the sides of your head.

Again, we’re not necessarily saying to avoid wearing anything that could chafe you (because that’s a LOT of different items and hey, Disney World is hot and we totally get wanting to wear as few layers as possible sometimes), but this is where being prepared comes in handy. We absolutely recommend carrying around the Megababe Thigh Rescue Anti-Chafe Stick!

This stuff will SAVE YOU! We’ve had many members of our team swear by it. Even those of us who don’t typically chafe keep some on our bag for the off chance that something changes that day and our skin gets irritated. You just rub a little bit on wherever you need it, and you’re good to go!

Add it to your cart!

Wearing Fancy/Impractical Shoes For the WHOLE Day

We totally understand packing a pair of fancy heels or shoes for a special dining reservation you have in Disney World the evening of your trip, but make no mistake — wearing impractical shoes for your ENTIRE day is a major mistake.

You’ll be doing MILES of walking each day of your Disney World trip, and you won’t want to be doing it in heels or uncomfortable shoes. Again, we’ve been there and are BEGGING you to not make the same mistake we have, but if you do (or if you wear good shoes but your skin blisters anyway), it’s best to be prepared with some Moleskin.

These are thick (but not too thick) bandages that come in multiple different sizes and shapes to best fit where you need it. It’ll protect your skin from further irritation which is VERY important!

Grab some here!

Wearing A Universal Shirt in Disney World

This one is a little silly, but it’s on this list for a reason. Many people who come to visit Disney World from far away, or who haven’t done a ton of research may be confused on what’s actually in the parks. We can’t tell you how many times we’ve overheard people wondering where Harry Potter land or Jurassic Park is in the parks, and the truth is that they’re nowhere — those are over at Universal Orlando.

While Universal Orlando is very close to Disney World in retrospect (only about half an hour away at most), they’re two completely different companies with different IP and attractions. So every time we see a Universal Orlando shirt, or a shirt based on their IP or attractions, in Disney World, we can’t help but cringe a little bit.

And now we know we’re not alone in this! A lot of our readers feel the same way and would feel the same if they saw a Disney World shirt in Universal Orlando.

We’re always here to help you prepare for your next Disney World trip, so stay tuned to DFB!

Check out our Amazon Storefront for more of our Disney World essentials!

What else would you add to this list? Tell us in the comments!

The post Over 60% of Disney Fans Agree this Outfit is a Theme Park Fashion Faux Pas first appeared on the disney food blog.

If you’re traveling through the Orlando International Airport soon, we’ve got an important update that could impact your plans.

From delays and cancellations to policy changes, there can be a lot to stay on top of when it comes to flying. That’s why we try to keep an eye out for any unexpected changes so you aren’t caught off guard when traveling for your vacation!

There are several different transportation options when traveling to and from the Orlando International Airport. Of course, there are options like Uber and car rentals. But if you’re looking for a more budget-friendly choice, you could take LYNX, the public transit provider for Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties.

The LYNX buses offer regular service to and from the Orlando International Airport with stops at major destinations around the city. In fact, in April, LYNX even added an express route between the airport and Disney Springs. But if you’re planning to use this service on an upcoming trip, we’ve got an important update about a temporary change!

Due to airport construction, the regular LYNX bus bays A38-A41 will be closed from Monday, July 29th, until noon on Wednesday, July 31st. During that time, LYNX will instead use the bays A35-A37. If the temporary bays are occupied when a bus arrives, it will loop back around to ensure safe passenger pickup.

If you are planning to use a LYNX bus to or from the airport during next week’s closure, be sure to keep this temporary change in mind so you’re heading to the correct bus bay!

We’ll continue to be on the lookout for more news that could impact your upcoming travel plans, so stay tuned to DFB for all of the latest updates!

Gen Z Is IGNORING This Travel Trend

What is your go-to transportation method for getting to and from the Orlando airport? Let us know in the comments!

The post WARNING: Airport Construction Could Impact Your Upcoming Disney World Trip! first appeared on the disney food blog.

Disney has already started gearing up for the 2024 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival and we can’t wait!

This summertime festival is the BIGGEST one of the year, bringing tons of food booths, a concert series, and all kinds of themed entertainment to the park. Disney has been keeping the full list of booths and menus a secret, but we’ve already gotta share some bad news about this year’s Food & Wine Festival!

The EPCOT Food & Wine Festival will be here before we know it and we can’t wait! But, if you’re planning a trip to this year’s festival, we do have some bad news we’ve gotta share with you — which doesn’t mean you can’t still have a good time, but it does mean you might want to be a bit more prepared. Let’s get into it!

It’s Shorter This Year

This year, the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival will officially begin on August 29th and run through November 23rd! This is shorter than we’ve seen in recent years — for example, in 2023, the festival dates were July 27th through November 18th. That’s a whole month shorter in 2024 than in 2023! But, this isn’t exactly all that surprising, and we’ll tell you why.

This festival timeline is more consistent with the timeline from before the COVID-19-related closures. In 2019, the Food and Wine Festival ran from August 29th through November 23rd, and the Flower and Garden Festival ran from March 6th to June 3rd. You might notice that the dates for this year are exactly the same as in 2019 — before Disney changed things up by extending the festival. This is something to keep in mind if you’re planning a trip, though!

It’s HOT!

We know — this isn’t shocking, and it certainly isn’t exclusive to the 2024 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival, either. But we think people seriously underestimate just how oppressively hot it can get at Disney World — especially if you’re planning on going right when the festival kicks off. You might be prepared for 95-degree weather, but are you prepared to eat hot cheese soup in 95-degree weather?

We always recommend sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen, plenty of water (don’t get dehydrated, people!), and taking breaks in the air conditioning or shade when you can. This is especially true if you plan on doing some imbibing of alcohol during your festival day!

Ride Closures Could Mean Long Lines

Test Track is currently closed for refurbishment! Disney hasn’t released too many details about what the ride experience will be like just yet, but, they did mention that it will take inspiration from World of Motion, the ride that was originally there when the park opened in 1982. But, as far as the Food and Wine Festival goes, this might have an impact on lines at food booths!

Since Test Track is one of the more popular parks at EPCOT, it usually garners quite a line — meaning it can hold a ton of park visitors at once. With this ride being closed, all those people are going to have to go somewhere and that might end up being the line for the booth you want.

Of course, the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival is a beloved tradition that keeps people coming back year after year, and for good reason! But, if you follow our tips and tricks you can still have the best time! Speaking of which…

If you’re planning your trip to the Food & Wine Festival and want to make sure you don’t miss out on any of the fun, make sure to check out our DFB Guide to the Food & Wine Festival! We’ve compiled all of our knowledge from decades of visiting this festival and included tons of helpful tips for you to use so you can plan the perfect trip.

We also have lots of fun Food & Wine Festival merch — like t-shirts, tank tops, and sweatshirts — on our DFB store online! Check those out here!

We’ll make sure to keep you in the loop with more festival news, so stay tuned to DFB for the latest! We’ll be there on the first day of the festival to try ALL the booths and share our reviews.

Learn More About the Food & Wine Festival Here!

Are you going to the Food & Wine Festival this year? Tell us in the comments.

The post We’ve Gotta Share Some BAD NEWS About the 2024 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival first appeared on the disney food blog.

Ahead of the ride’s reopening next week, the Haunted Mansion Holiday exterior theming has been installed.

Haunted Mansion Holiday Decor

Pumpkins, wreaths, strands of garland, and more now decorate the exterior of The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland Park. Though construction walls still encircle the property, the attraction is set to reopen to the public as Haunted Mansion Holiday on Monday, July 29, 2024.

A wreath surrounds a clock in the middle of the columns on the front of the mansion. Above the clock, a strand of skull-appointed garland stretches across the top of the columns. Jack-o’-Lanterns and candles outline the peaked roof above the other decor.

There are more pumpkins and candles on the roof at the main entrance of the building. In the corner of this roof is a garbage can next to an open green coffin with a long list coming out of it, which serves as Sandy Claws’ sleigh. It hangs down well past the garland that stretches around the green lattice on the second floor of the building.

Beneath the list, a large Jack-o’-Lantern wearing a Santa Claus hat peers down at the ground below.

We were also able to catch a glimpse of the metal arch that stretches over the entrance of the attraction’s queue. The intricately detailed arch is stationed between two brick columns.

The old arch can be seen above. It used to feature a solid green arc that stretched from one column to the other. Above it, the main entrance, Lightning Lane, and exit signs were each topped by an ornate design.

Construction equipment was present as construction crews continue to work on expanding the grounds around The Haunted Mansion. Because the queue’s construction is far from complete, Haunted Mansion Holiday will use a virtual queue when it reopens.

Are you excited to experience The Haunted Mansion Holiday early this year? Let us know in the comments.

For more Disneyland Resort news and info, follow Disneyland News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For Disney Parks news worldwide, visit WDWNT.

The post Haunted Mansion Holiday Theming Up at Disneyland Ahead of Ride’s Reopening appeared first on WDW News Today.