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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 |
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The table service restaurants around World Showcase Lagoon serve global cuisine, such as Mogador Grouper Tangine, Involtini di Melanzane alla Parmigiana, Puerco en Salsa Verde, Canard à l’orange, Wasabi Shrimp, and Tradisjonell Kjøttkake. But will your kids eat any of those foreign foods? |
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There’s a kid-friendly (and cheaper) alternative. It’s a “yestaurant”—the Liberty Inn at the American Adventure pavilion. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 Colonial garden room on the left side of the American Adventure pavilion. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2015 Entrance to the Liberty Inn |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2006 Historical banners on the side wall, as you walk to the order stations |
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You’ll find a patriotic menu of fast food favorites, such as Southern Fried Chicken Sandwich, Macaroni & Cheese, All-Beef Foot-Long Hot Dog, and Fried Shrimp Basket, just to name a few. The Liberty Inn’s menu items are all easy to pronounce. Okay, maybe Tradisjonell Kjøttkake at Akershus is also easy to pronounce—if you’re Norwegian. How about the All-American Burger? Go ahead with that selection. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Place your order. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2019 Look for temporary special items. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2009 Visit the condiment bar. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2015 Bring your food to the spacious dining room. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Admire the large, bright, clean dining room. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2019 Modern skylight, contradicting the Colonial era theme |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2009 Fountain (or planter, depending when you visit) in the dining room |
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There’s plenty of seating indoors in air-conditioned comfort. But if not raining or oppressively hot, you might want to sit outside. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 Indoor seating |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Outdoor seating |
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In a park that offers delicious specialties from around the world, you just ate a hamburger. But that’s okay. After all, this is the American Adventure pavilion—and what’s more red, white, and blue than an All-American Burger served on a paper plate with french fries, accompanied by a paper cup of genuine Coca-Cola over ice? |
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Liberty Inn was an opening day counter service restaurant when Walt Disney World’s second theme park, EPCOT Center (now Epcot), premiered October 1, 1982. It was the only eatery at the American Adventure pavilion. Originally, it had a open-air dining patio, which was later replaced by an enclosed dining room with a skylight. Most other World Showcase pavilions in 1982 had table service restaurants—but not all of them. Canada’s Le Cellier, which is now a pricey steakhouse, was originally a cafeteria; it became a table service restaurant in 1995. Despite the popularity of Chinese food, the China pavilion opened in 1982 without a restaurant. That was fixed in 1985 with the addition of the Nine Dragons Restaurant. Over the years, Epcot lessees and Disney invested in additional table service restaurants and improved the existing ones—especially at Mexico, Italy, Japan, Morocco, and France, where the restaurants are operated by lessees. But, somehow, the Liberty Inn remained much as it was for almost 37 years. The United States was represented by basic American fast food. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2009 Liberty Inn menu in 2009 |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Liberty Inn menu in 2013 |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2015 Liberty Inn menu in 2015 |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2019 Liberty Inn menu in 2019 |
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The menu at Liberty Inn changed from time to time, although there were always hamburgers. Liberty Inn closed July 7, 2019. Its replacement, a new counter service restaurant with an unwieldy name—Regal Eagle Smokehouse: Craft Drafts & Barbecue—opened February 19, 2020. |
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Artist Concept Only © Disney Artist’s rendering of Regal Eagle Smokehouse: Craft Drafts & Barbecue |
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The Walt Disney World website invited guests to “step inside a smokehouse celebrating the regions of American backyard barbecue and craft beers. Join us for a delicious meal as our pit master uses techniques from classic barbecue regions to smoke our selections over oak wood.” There was an increased emphasis on craft beer, American wine, and at least one regional cocktail. The restaurant’s name put Craft Drafts ahead of Barbecue. A huge smoker prominently sitting in front of the restaurant makes it clear this isn’t barbecue meat from a food factory a thousand miles away. This barbecue is the real deal, with a choice of four house-recipe regional barbecue sauces. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2024 Regal Eagle Smokehouse, where Liberty Inn used to be |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2024 “Sam’s Centennial Cook-Off: A Salute to All Cook-Offs but Mostly Barbecue” |
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The restaurant’s name refers to Sam the Eagle, the patriotic Muppet who delivered the memorable line in MuppetVision 3-D about “a salute to all nations, but mostly America.” |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2024 Dining room |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2024 Regal Eagle Smokehouse menu |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2024 Sliced Texas Beef Brisket Sandwich |
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Regal Eagle Smokehouse is a significant improvement over Liberty Inn. Finally, the focus is on regional American cuisine—even if it’s still not a table service restaurant. |
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© 2024 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated March 15, 2024 |
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