It is rather appropriate that the Liberty Tree Tavern
is located in Liberty Square (i.e. that part of this WDW theme park which pays
tribute to some of the more combative periods in American history). For there’s
quite the battle going on behind-the-scenes in regards to this Magic Kingdom eatery.
Long story short: After the Liberty Tree Tavern stopped
offering character dining in early January of this year, that restaurant initially
experienced a significant drop-off in business. We’re talking upwards of 100
empty seats per night. Which roughly translates into a $250,000 loss in both the
month of January & February.
Which is why Magic Kingdom managers then went to Team Disney and said “We clearly made a mistake here. We need to
bring back Goofy’s Liberate Your Appetite Character Dinner ASAP.” They requested
that thieir theme park be allowed to amend its global character bid so that there’d
then be enough zoo crew members on hand to handle all of the MK’s meet-n-greet,
parade, entertainment & character dining obligations by Easter weekend.
Not so fast, said Team Disney. Given the
huge surge in attendance that The Walt Disney World Resort has experienced over
these past three weeks (EX: Historically, during the third week of
March 32,000 – 38,000 Guests visit the Magic Kingdom on weekdays.This past week, 52,000 – 57,000 people showed up), every sit-down restaurant
at that theme park was suddenly doing turn away business. Including Liberty
Tree Tavern.
So those 100 empty seats per night that this Liberty Square
eatery experienced during January & February? They’re gone now. What’s
more, because people are no longer lingering over their meals to make sure that
they catch all of the characters that appear at Goofy’s Liberate Your Appetite
Character Dinner, this restaurant is now turning tables faster and actually
serving more guests per evening than they did at this same time last year.
So if you were to compare the Liberty Tree Tavern’s
revenues for March of 2009 to those from March of 2008 … This restaurant is now
actually making more money and serving more customers than it did a year ago this
month.
Which is why Team Disney’s sharp pencil boys are now saying “Forget
about January and February. Look at the business that the Liberty Tree Tavern has
done so far this month. Based on March’s table turn rate as well as this
restaurant’s above-average earnings, there’s no reason now to bring character
dining back to this Magic Kingdom eatery.”
And given that – from now through September – there really
won’t be any slow periods, attendance-wise at the Magic Kingdom … The
accountants do have a point. Why waste money on hiring additional zoo crew
members when Guests will still be lining up outside of the Liberty Tree Tavern
for the next six months anyway?
I mean, people gotta eat. Especially during those two
weeks around Easter, when so many people pour into the Magic Kingdom that the
Diamond Horseshoe temporarily re-opens as a table service restaurant. Serving
the exact same menu as the Liberty Tree Tavern as well as making use of some of
that restaurant’s staff.
So what’s going to happen now? I’m told that Magic Kingdom
management are still determined to bring character dining back to this Liberty
Square eatery. The new plan seems to be to try & have Goofy’s Liberate Your
Appetite Character Dinner up and running again by September. Which is
traditionally the start of slow season at The Walt Disney World Resort.
Of course, the accountants will continue to argue that –
during the busier times of the year – the Liberty Tree Tavern doesn’t need
character dining. That – if anything – Goofy’s Liberate Your Appetite Character
Dinner actually cuts into this restaurant’s profit potential during periods of
peak attendance.
Mind you, this battle isn’t over. But – for now (especially
in this economy, where every penny counts) – it looks like Team Disney’s sharp pencil boys
have the upper hand. So the earliest that character dining will return to this
Magic Kingdom eatery is six months from now.
But know this: The Liberty Tree Tavern managers are still
determined to resurrect Goofy’s Liberate Your Appetite Character Dinner. But
now … Well, we’re no longer talking about a matter of weeks. But – rather – a period
of months.
So my apologies if I got any JHM readers’ hopes up here. But
this is kind of a fluid situation, folks. Which makes it something of a challenge to report
on. And – to be honest – if it hadn’t been for that unexpected surge of
attendance that occurred over these past three weeks … We’d probably be
talking about a very different outcome here.
Your thoughts?