6/24/19 Update: Added two new appetizers, four new entrees, and four new desserts to the review.

We begin our reevaluation of the table service options at Magic Kingdom with a look at Liberty Tree Tavern’s lunch and dinner options.

Liberty Tree’s menu continues to evolve. Back in January, 2019, we saw the number of a la carte appetizers rise from three to seven and the entree count almost double, going from five to nine. It’s been six months since the last round of changes, which means it’s time for Disney to to take a look at the menu and make some adjustments based on what’s working and what isn’t. On the appetizer front, we lose the Smoked Pastrami Hash, Martha’s Mushrooms, and Traditional Boston Brown Bread, all of which had been new additions to the menu that arrived in January 2k19. Now in June, Lobster Fritters and Tavern Fries join the list of appetizers. On the entree front, we add just one in the Portobello Pot Roast with the other main dishes all surviving the cut.Continue reading “Review: Liberty Tree Tavern Lunch and Dinner at Disney’s Magic Kingdom”

We return to Be Our Guest Restaurant for lunch after the most recent menu change and price increase.

No matter what changes Be Our Guest makes to its breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus, or how much time goes by since the restaurant opened, reservations remain among the most difficult to book on property. You’ll want one if you’re planning on dining here because cast typically turn walk-ups away from at least 11:30am through 2pm. You may have luck getting in right at 11am or between 2pm and 2:30pm, but it’s far from guaranteed. If you’re having trouble finding availability, you might have some luck searching for a party of one and either finding overlapping times or by making the reservation and then showing up with more people. While the search above showed no availability for two or more, there were several reservations for one person available. Since there aren’t any tables for one, they should let a couple in with a reservation for just one guest.

Continue reading “Review: New Be Our Guest Restaurant Lunch at Disney’s Magic Kingdom”

We continue to battle the crowds at Disney Villains After Hours at Magic Kingdom. We’re continuing from Part One, where we discussed using FastPass+ before the event and got going in Fantasyland. I also reviewed the overall experience and offered some big picture advice in this post. The following should give you an idea about what you’ll see and be able to do during After Hours, whether you’re attending this summer with the Villains add-ons or later this fall, when everything is “back to normal.”

This is where I’ve been:

1. Meet Mickey at Town Square with FP+: 7:05pm – 7:15pm
2. Enchanted Tales with Belle with FP+: 7:37pm – 8:06pm
3. Splash Mountain with FP+: 8: 8:23pm – 8:52pm
4. The Magic Carpets of Aladdin: 9:03pm – 9:12pm
5. Happily Ever After Fireworks: 9:15pm – 9:35pm
6. it’s a small world: 9:36pm – 9:52pm
7. Journey of the Little Mermaid: 10pm – 10:09pm
8. The Barnstormer: 10:13pm – 10:16pm
9. Dumbo: 10:17pm – 10:22pm

With the official After Hours time beginning at 10pm, I’ve managed to accomplish three attractions in the first ~20 minutes. Before After Hours, it was easy to use my three pre-booked FastPass+, check out the fireworks, and add on a couple of other attractions with nonexistent waits.

Mad Tea Party is actually in operation in this picture with just two or three teacups occupied. We arrived at 10:24pm and were on our way at 10:29pm.

Continue reading “Disney Villains After Hours at Magic Kingdom Walkthrough Part Two”

We return to Disney Villains After Hours after our last post, which provided a nice(?) overview of what to expect from the event, along with some general tips and tricks on how to get the most out of your evening. In this post, I’ll discuss what we did and what you can expect to see as you move about your evening. We are joined by the illustrious Tom Bricker of the DisneyTouristBlog.com. You can pull up his review for a second opinion here. Should we disagree on anything, I would invite you to scroll on back over here for the final word.

Guests with Disney Villains After Hours tickets may officially enter the Park at 7pm with Magic Kingdom typically open until 10pm to day guests. The After Hours event then officially runs from 10pm through 1am. As we learned from the overview, there’s a Villains Unite the Night show at 1am, followed by the Maleficent at Night procession at 1:25am and the Villains Farewell for about a half hour after that, which makes it easy to extend the evening by another hour.

The Villains After Hours ticket will allow you to book FastPass+ beginning around 6:20pm after it’s attached to a My Disney Experience account. Theoretically, you could create a separate My Disney Experience account to attach the tickets and be able to make up to three FastPass+ using just the Villains tickets. Then if you’re using another type of ticket to get in during the day, attached to your regular My Disney Experience account, you could book three more FP+ using that account as well, in essence doubling the number of FP+ you could make from a little after 6pm onward. In reality, that’s probably more effort than most people are willing to go through. But you can make FP+ either with the Villains After Hours ticket or your regular ticket. I booked the above selections to start my evening.

As a reminder, below is a list of the attractions available during After Hours. The first number that I’ve added is the attraction’s priority based on how much time it will save versus visiting during the day. “1” is the lowest priority, while “5” is the highest. The second number is the minimum experience time that the attraction will take, assuming there’s basically no wait to board or for the show to begin. For example, that means Jungle Cruise is an above average priority that will take about 12 minutes during After Hours. As you plan out what you want to accomplish, add up the total experience times to make sure it’s reasonable:

Continue reading “Disney Villains After Hours Walkthrough Part One”

We’ll consider Disney Villains After Hours at Magic Kingdom, the summer version of the popular upcharge event that debuted at the Park a few years ago now.

Disney Villains After Hours is scheduled most Thursdays through the second week in August. It’s the most expensive of the After Hours events with an advance purchase price of $139 and a day-of cost of $144 per person, with no discounts based on age. Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members pay $109 in advance and should be able to buy tickets for non-Passholders in their group. Note that there are no discounts available on the day-of online. You may be able to receive a discount in person if you are an Annual Passholder or DVC member, but there’s no guarantee. So be sure to buy your tickets no later than the day before if you’re looking for a discount.

Here are the current dates for the regular version of Disney After Hours at Magic Kingdom:

Continue reading “Review: Magic Kingdom Disney Villains After Hours”