Dining differences between Garden Grill and Liberty Tree Tavern

[smjj]

We just got back from yet another great vacation with family. We ate at both Garden Grill and Liberty Tree Tavern, two of our all time favorites. We prefer Garden Grill over Liberty Tree for one reason, the characters at Garden Grill. I wish they would bring back Liberty Tree Tavern as a character meal. We prefer the food there over Garden Grill but the lack of characters makes it now our second favorite. Anyone else wish this??...smjj

 

[dizneedoll]

Yes! And I want the characters in their colonial costumes!

 

[Merlin's Magic]

I think that would be a nightmare, honestly. The bathrooms in LTT are upstairs and smaller than usual, making for long lines. Character meals tend to attract families with younger children. All that's going to happen is that families end up taking screaming children out of the restaurant to the nearest facilities and end up missing seeing characters at their table.

Maybe if they redid the entire restaurant to be more accessible it would work to have characters there, but I would definitely not encourage anyone to pursue that option given the current set up.

 

[piccolopat]

Not everyone loves characters while dining. We love LTT but wish lunch would go back to the a la carte menu. We also wish Akershus would have a few dinners each week that was without characters. We miss the more authentic Norwegian experience. Disney should accommodate both preferences.

 

[Skippyboo]

There is plenty of character meet opportunities in MK. GG setup makes it super easy for the characters to go through. It would take much longer at LTT and that would encourage people to stay longer to see the characters. I did Crystal Palace last year, it took 2 hrs and never got Tigger at my table.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Absolutely not. Characters jack up the price of the meal and as a sometimes solo traveler I feel so awkward at character meals. I love LTT, characters would ruin it.

Practically speaking there is no space for them at LTT. They could modify the meal at Diamond Horseshoe for a character version of LTT as it has space for that.

 

[smjj]

I think that would be a nightmare, honestly. The bathrooms in LTT are upstairs and smaller than usual, making for long lines. Character meals tend to attract families with younger children. All that's going to happen is that families end up taking screaming children out of the restaurant to the nearest facilities and end up missing seeing characters at their table.

Maybe if they redid the entire restaurant to be more accessible it would work to have characters there, but I would definitely not encourage anyone to pursue that option given the current set up.

We ate there several times when our kids were young and it was a character meal and do not ever remember that being an issue...smjj

 

[smjj]

I think that would be a nightmare, honestly. The bathrooms in LTT are upstairs and smaller than usual, making for long lines. Character meals tend to attract families with younger children. All that's going to happen is that families end up taking screaming children out of the restaurant to the nearest facilities and end up missing seeing characters at their table.

Maybe if they redid the entire restaurant to be more accessible it would work to have characters there, but I would definitely not encourage anyone to pursue that option given the current set up.

We ate there several times when our kids were young and I do not remember that being a issue.

 

[Merlin's Magic]

We ate there several times when our kids were young and it was a character meal and do not ever remember that being an issue...smjj

Okay. I'm sure your experience is the same as everyone else's, so any concerns to the contrary should immediately be negated.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

Okay. I'm sure your experience is the same as everyone else's, so any concerns to the contrary should immediately be negated.

First; I like LTT like it is now, BUT we went there a few times when they did have characters and it wasn't even close to a "nightmare" (over exaggeration), not to mention that it was not any louder than a lot of other WDW restuarants.

 

[smjj]

Okay. I'm sure your experience is the same as everyone else's, so any concerns to the contrary should immediately be negated.

I think you over exaggerated your claims(assumptions) just a bit of a nightmare. I just stated that when we ate there this was not an issue. You can read anything into that statement you want. A statement of our experience is just that, a statement of our experience while we ate there...smjj

 

[momtwoboys]

Ltt was our sons first character meal back in 1998 and it was amazing! I wish they brought back lunch ala carte and dinner character meal!

 

[Mle8308]

I enjoy character meals but I also enjoy dining without characters. I prefer LTT be left as a non character meal. As LTT is now, I do think it would be hard for the characters to maneuver between the tables, there's not a lot of space. I think they would have to remove some tables to make it work, and I'm not sure they would want to lose that revenue. Yes, they could (and would) charge more, but with less tables (and I also agree people would stay longer), it may not be as profitable. I do agree on the a-la-carte lunch, would be nice to have that option back.

 

[momtwoboys]

thw characters moved around just fine when it was a character meal. Esp because it was served family style

 

[Mle8308]

thw characters moved around just fine when it was a character meal. Esp because it was served family style

How recently have you been in LTT? The servers have a hard time navigating. Our server, in September, was venting about the lack of space and he was not a large person. He did it in a joking manner, but he serious. It was after another server accidentally knocked a drink off a table when she was passing by.

 

[Scalemaster34]

Yeah a lot would depend on the dining capacity then and now. Today's table layout might be very different from what it was over a decade ago??

Surprised that Disney hasn't reworked this area of the park. Seems like there is space behind the building that could be utilized a little better. And then there is the Diamond Horseshoe next door that could be more than just seasonal overflow. And for sure they could allow for sufficient space to allow the characters to make it back...

 

[Mle8308]

Yeah a lot would depend on the dining capacity then and now. Today's table layout might be very different from what it was over a decade ago??

Surprised that Disney hasn't reworked this area of the park. Seems like there is space behind the building that could be utilized a little better. And then there is the Diamond Horseshoe next door that could be more than just seasonal overflow. And for sure they could allow for sufficient space to allow the characters to make it back...

Someone else mentioned using the Diamond Horseshoe for a character dining location. I think that would work, same food, and leave the choice as to whether you want characters (go to DH) or not (LTT). Might also get more people to want to eat at DH.

 

[momtwoboys]

How recently have you been in LTT? The servers have a hard time navigating. Our server, in September, was venting about the lack of space and he was not a large person. He did it in a joking manner, but he serious. It was after another server accidentally knocked a drink off a table when she was passing by.

yikes, we just ate there april 2023. we go usually 2x a year to wdw.

 

[gottalovepluto]

How recently have you been in LTT? The servers have a hard time navigating. Our server, in September, was venting about the lack of space and he was not a large person. He did it in a joking manner, but he serious. It was after another server accidentally knocked a drink off a table when she was passing by.

A year or two ago I spilled my water and I was so close to the people seated next to me that it splashed all over the (very kind and understanding) lady.

 

[smjj]

How recently have you been in LTT? The servers have a hard time navigating. Our server, in September, was venting about the lack of space and he was not a large person. He did it in a joking manner, but he serious. It was after another server accidentally knocked a drink off a table when she was passing by.

We were there just last week right before MNSSHP and there was no issues with our server moving around and the place had several empty tables and thought that was odd.