Liberty Tree Menu Is Changing This Week

[garada3]

Well, to be fair, they can't necessarily make capacity exist elsewhere when it's already booked and/or overbooked.

I agree, they cannot and I did not ask them to.

But they did not even acknowledge our ADR situation, created by the menu change, that was one of the points of my email. A simple " sorry you were personally impacted" would at least make me feel like they read my entire email.

I know that not eating pot roast at one meal will not ruin the vacation. But I am frustrated that my plans for that specific day, made on their 180 and 60 day schedule, are now messed up because of their change.

This same frustration is experienced by many planners and expressed in many threads in these forums.

 

[disneydreamer781]

I also cancelled my ADR for LTT. I didn't so much because of adding the Platter for lunch but because I don't think my husband would eat the Prime Rib. He's not a big eater of red meat but he MAY have enjoyed the pot roast. Of course we could always book PTC for their pot roast so that doesn't bother me all that much. It's more the fact that it may not be worth the price to just have the turkey and maybe a little of the pork roast. He also prefers ham over pork roast and that is also now gone. I also prefer my main meal earlier in the day anyway and something lighter in the evening, so that isn't an issue for me.

 

[Mousetopia]

°°°°°°POT ROAST & TURKEY Side note...
A mere monorail ride to the contemporary and you have Contempo Cafe which currently has a grilled turkey lunch sandwich and pot roast both for under $12 and hey you get a little break from the park without going too far away. Disney Food Blog has some great reviews of these..

 

[CraigInPA]

As a follow up... I sent an email (through "contact us" on the WDW site) expressing my dissatisfaction with the change in menu. I specifically stated that I had first gone to LTT in 1973, and have dined there every time I've gone to the World since, more than 20 times. While driving home from work on Friday, I got a call from a very pleasant woman who wanted to speak to me. She said that my letter had been passed to her to call, instead of sending an email response. Apparently, people read these emails. She was from food and beverage. She said that LTT has had a larger than expected "feedback" on the menu change, and wanted to get my perspective, as a long time WDW visitor. I explained that, in 1973, there were not many sit down restaurants at WDW. Lunch or dinner at LTT became a tradition. Over time, it became lunch, due to the larger variety of offerings. I spoke eloquently about how pot roast, fish, and turkey fit the early American experience, but burgers do not. I railed against the stupidity of AYCTE for lunch, the decision to have a kids meal of pot roast but not an adult size, and taking the regular turkey platter off the menu in order to force people into the AYCTE version. She said "With every change of a menu, there will be people unhappy, but this one has really taken us by surprise." She then added: "I wouldn't suggest changing your ADR for February at this point. There is a possibility that the menu will be changed to put back those things you've come to enjoy."

If you don't like the direction of the menu, I suggest you email Disney and let them know. We've seen changes to Skipper's Cantina menu occur several times to address complaints by visitors and to appeal to a larger audience. There's no reason why LTT couldn't be persuaded to do the same.

 

[Mousetopia]

Thank you for sharing ! I would not have suggested people write if I didnt truly believe they care about feedback..Yaaa!

 

[n2mm]

I too sent my feedback out yesterday. Like CraignInPA we too are long time visitors of LTT. I tried to outline how this change impacts us. This actually is just the straw for us. We have watched menus change over the years and tried to adjust, but it really got to us when lunch menus at so many of our favorites became dinner menus throughout the entire day. We miss our lunch menus and the places we eat are very few now. We don't do buffets at all. I did leave my phone number so hopefully they will call me too. I pointed out that we like to take a break and have a sit down meal, but don't want a huge meal for all. Families come in all sizes with different dining needs and choices. We seem to have less and less choices.

 

[Lisa F]

As a follow up... I sent an email (through "contact us" on the WDW site) expressing my dissatisfaction with the change in menu. I specifically stated that I had first gone to LTT in 1973, and have dined there every time I've gone to the World since, more than 20 times. While driving home from work on Friday, I got a call from a very pleasant woman who wanted to speak to me. She said that my letter had been passed to her to call, instead of sending an email response. Apparently, people read these emails. She was from food and beverage. She said that LTT has had a larger than expected "feedback" on the menu change, and wanted to get my perspective, as a long time WDW visitor. I explained that, in 1973, there were not many sit down restaurants at WDW. Lunch or dinner at LTT became a tradition. Over time, it became lunch, due to the larger variety of offerings. I spoke eloquently about how pot roast, fish, and turkey fit the early American experience, but burgers do not. I railed against the stupidity of AYCTE for lunch, the decision to have a kids meal of pot roast but not an adult size, and taking the regular turkey platter off the menu in order to force people into the AYCTE version. She said "With every change of a menu, there will be people unhappy, but this one has really taken us by surprise." She then added: "I wouldn't suggest changing your ADR for February at this point. There is a possibility that the menu will be changed to put back those things you've come to enjoy."

If you don't like the direction of the menu, I suggest you email Disney and let them know. We've seen changes to Skipper's Cantina menu occur several times to address complaints by visitors and to appeal to a larger audience. There's no reason why LTT couldn't be persuaded to do the same.

Wow what a great response!

When I emailed to complain about MSEP going away I got a phone call from someone who was very haltingly reading from a script. She assured me that changes were made to the entertainment as a BENEFIT to guests and did I know all of the wonderful things that were coming to the MK very soon? "Let me give you a list. Elena of Avalor." and that was the entire list. Which is great for my 8 year old SON who I mentioned in the email as being heartbroken that they took it away. I would rather a canned email than a clearly clueless response that was more insulting than anything.

Seriously I'm glad that it was escalated to someone who really does seem to care and there is enough feedback for Disney to take notice.

 

[stayhomemom77]

My email...

Good morning,

I am writing to tell you how horribly disappointed and upset my family is at the recent change to the menu at Liberty Tree Tavern.

We have long been looking forward to dining there for lunch on our upcoming Christmas/New Year trip and the menu change has resulted in leaving nothing on the menu that our party of four would like to eat, except an overpriced burger meal and the toffee cake.

At this point, we are strongly considering cancelling our reservation...which would likely result in us having to dine at a Quick Service place, since it is rather late in the game to get a new Table Service reservation for our dates.

We would like to request that you consider reinstating at least SOME of the previous entrees and appetizers, so that more choice is available to those who do not like to gorge themselves on an expensive and heavy all-you-care-to-enjoy platter full of food for their midday meal.

Thank you for your attention in this matter.

Sincerely,

Stayhomemom77

**Obviously, I used my real name. I just sent it, but I'll post what I hear back from them.

 

[nursejackie]

I have followed all your leads and emailed the manager at Liberty Tree Tavern to express our disappointment as well. Maybe if they are inundated with negative feedback, they will consider changing it back to the original menu. Just look at what's happened with the handle-free refillable mugs? All the negative feedback has led to them now having both options available (according to refillable mug thread).

 

[ah10is]

This is the response I got from them from my email. I'm pretty disappointed and have cancelled both of my upcoming reservations in December there...

"Thank you for your message regarding the Walt Disney World Resort.

We're glad you have had enjoyable dining experiences at Liberty Tree Tavern at Magic Kingdom Park in the past. We periodically evaluate our offerings and make changes based on feedback from our Guests. Our goal is to provide new and unique items along with our Guests' favorites. As you may know, Liberty Tree Tavern will continue to offer Colony Salad but instead will be served with seared salmon. The New England Pot Roast will no longer be offered as a lunch entrée. Instead, the Patriot's Platter will now be offered as an all-you-care-to-enjoy entrée. We have also added Johnny Appleseed's Bread Pudding as a dessert option.

Again, our Guests' feedback as well as their continued enthusiasm for our products and services, is very important to us. Please know that your comments have been taken seriously and shared with the appropriate Leadership Team.

We genuinely appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts with us and hope you will return to try these new offerings.

Sincerely,


Michael MacArthur

Guest Experience Services

Walt Disney World Resort"

 

[Mousetopia]

This is the response I got from them from my email. I'm pretty disappointed and have cancelled both of my upcoming reservations in December there...

Don't be disappointed! This is the normal response. The important part is the feedback will be passed on. They
are listeningl I am not cancelling..yet for March trip. per a previous poster who got a call they are evaluating the changes and may makes changes. I'm hopeful

 

[CraigInPA]

This is the response I got from them from my email. I'm pretty disappointed and have cancelled both of my upcoming reservations in December there...

"Thank you for your message regarding the Walt Disney World Resort.

''''
We genuinely appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts with us and hope you will return to try these new offerings.
"

That is their "stock response" given by an over-worked first line customer service employee. As Mousetopia stated, the important thing is that food and beverage will get a copy of your email. It's F&B that makes decisions about changing menus. The more people who complain, the more likely it is that the menu will be revised.

 

[Donald - my hero]

I sent an email the day the new menu was released to voice my concerns over the lack of options it represents for our dietary issues. I was very clear with my points, didn't allow emotion to enter my words, and explained how this would now require us to leave the park to get a meal that is safe to eat. The only other table service that offers us the ability to eat "real" food is the Plaza and they no longer take ADR's (unless you want to eat between 11 and noon)

I had a wonderful 30 minute chat yesterday with a CM from Food and Beverage services. We talked in length about how we can go about getting great food everywhere on site just by talking with the chef. I told him that we're aware of this and it's one of the reasons we choose to take all of our extended holidays in Disney but if food is gone from the menu (and therefore the kitchen) they can't make accommodations. I also stressed that while the kitchen can "doctor" the platter so my husband can eat it we wouldn't end up with the same $$ for his meal --- good for those on the dining plan not so great for those of us who are OOP. He told me that we're not the only ones expressing concern over the cost of a meal they don't want to (or can't) eat. Mentioned that while there is always some push-back over changes this has caught them off-guard, they had no idea the pot roast and turkey dinner had such a wide following. He agrees that going to such a large, heavy meal mid-day might be cost effective and easier for the kitchen to handle what is closer to an all-day menu, it's not necessarily a great idea in a Florida theme-park.

Did i end up with the feeling that the menu might change to be closer to what it was before? No, not one bit. Did I end up feeling that Disney does take our concerns seriously and listen to all our comments? 100% YES. By the end of the call he had helped me select a restaurant that will be better suited to our MK day and left me feeling that Disney magic.

Sorry i was so wordy, just wanted to let everyone know that they are in fact reading all of our e-mails.

 

[kittylady1972]

This is what I get for not reading the Restaurant threads earlier in my trip planning. I read about the LTT change just two days ago...and like many was very sad. I had a lunch ADR here for Thanksgiving week...for ELEVEN people...that I cancelled! I was there for the pot roast and the dessert, but DH and I usually split both. I didn't want to have to order from the kids menu. The limited menu just didn't appeal to me.

We have now snagged a lunch reservation at Whispering Canyon instead. I'm good with leaving the park for a bit, since we plan to spend all of the previous day at MK and then were coming back a second day to finish up stuff and have lunch before leaving. Now we may even skip MK and do something else, but if we do go back it will be easy enough to catch the boat over to WL for lunch. We haven't been to WCC in a LOOOOONG time...like when kid #2 was an infant maybe and now she's 14...so we have no real memories of it. We have two other little ones with us (ages 2 and 4) this time who also might enjoy some of the antics. My kids know nothing about it.

If that doesn't work out, we'll also be fine with either CHH (which I love) or somebody else mentioned the pot roast might be available at Contempo Cafe? My parents will be staying at BLT so that might be an option as well.

 

[Donald - my hero]

If that doesn't work out, we'll also be fine with either CHH (which I love) or somebody else mentioned the pot roast might be available at Contempo Cafe? My parents will be staying at BLT so that might be an option as well.

Several of the resort CS have a pretty decent pot roast that makes a nice change from the typical fare. We have to make a trip to POFQ for hubby to get that one, he loves the cornbread they serve with it too.

 

[crc76]

A little confused about what the AYCTE meal consists of at dinner. About six weeks back, I had read that it had been changed, substituting pot roast for the prime rib and ham for the pork. The turkey remained the same. Now, it appears that it is back to the original platter but with a different dessert? Do I have it correct?

Has anybody been able to confirm that this change did not happen? Was going to skip LTT at dinner because of the change above, will add it back in if it is still prime rib, pork, and turkey.

 

[BigAlsGal]

We cancelled both our upcoming LTT reservations. I'm sure they'll find no problems filling my spot but I just don't want that much food at noon.

 

[Katedisneylover]

This a copy of a post I just made, the place has just collapsed, the staff seemed either to not care or just be completely overwhelmed, worst Disney staff interaction I have ever had:


So we'd had LTT booked since 180 days out and planned all our fastpasses around it for the day, was really looking forward to it.
THEN they changed the menu and took all the good things away, apart from the toffee cake. We thought about cancelling but we were on DDP so decided to stay with it and give it a chance.and
Turned up to our reservation yesterday to about 100 really annoyed looking people waiting around - bad omen, went to check in realising that they were way behind, we checked in to be told to expect AT LEAST a 30-40minute delay in seating us but we had to stay in the holding pen.

This was too much time for us so we said we would like to cancel, to which their frankly awful front of house lady gladly told me she would charge me a no-show fee for cancelling my ADR last minute! She argued that it was my fault they were late, for at least a few minutes, because the menu change has affected them too and I should have anticipated disruption to my ADR time. Thankfully after asking for a manager he quickly agreed that 40 minutes past ADR time was ridiculous and let us go to CHH for a lovely quick service meal with no charge.

Sad to say I will never be going back there. And I hope Disney does some better front of house training soon

 

[eastendlights]

I am really annoyed about these changes as well. We have eaten there 3 times a trip for most of our 16 trips-two lunches and a dinner. The lunches were one of our favorites-the Liberty Boys sandwich, fish and chips and pot roast especially. The ridiculous push to homogenizing all the menus and forcing mostly buffets and AYCTE at TS restaurants is just another cash grab in a long and seemingly endless line.
I have four ADR's (three for lunch and one for dinner) for our upcoming Feb/Mar trip as we will be there for 13 days. I will be canceling at least 3 of them if the menu does not change and sending an email.

 

[Dis703]

I just wanted to come back and share that I also got a call back on the email I sent about my disappointment with the changes at LTT as well as my upset about no longer taking ADRs at The Plaza. I got an email response at first telling me that they forwarded it to another department that was more suited to handle my inquiry and then I got a phone call a little over a week later. The CM didn't indicate that he was aware of any other complaints about it, but he did agree that the pot roast was one of his favorites and he didn't know why they would have removed it.

I shared my disappointment that the changes in LTT and the lack of ADRs at the Plaza just removed the two non-buffet TS options at MK from our options. We don't want buffets or AYCTE for every single meal for both cost and quantity reasons. Like with everyone else they said they want to hear this information and will share it with the appropriate people.

It was nice they called instead of just sending the standard email response.