Happy Fourth of July! Independence Day is one of my all time favorite holidays. I love history, summer, picnic food, fireworks, and showing patriotism! I host our family picnic because I am the Hostess with the Mostess after all. Or more realistically because we can see the fireworks from my house. Either way it is a good time and I can always count on my husband and brother-in-law to blast The Golden Dream from The American Adventure while the fireworks go off. It always adds excitement!

I am an American history buff and have always loved Liberty Square in the Magic Kingdom. While I was getting ready for our Fourth of July festivities I kept thinking about The Muppets and their Great Moments in American History performance about the Declaration of Independence. I have been singing the theme song all weekend and as always wishing I could be there. With the holiday here, I wanted to share why I love Disney’s colonial America and hear your favorite things about it too! Do not forget to vote at the bottom!

 

5. Ye Old Christmas Shoppe

My family loves Christmas so we cannot visit Disney World without stepping into the Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe. We really enjoy walking through the store, taking a peek at the new decorations, and fulfilling a family tradition by picking out a new ornament. Visiting the store is always fun for us but it is not the only reason I love it.

I spend a lot of time learning about and studying Disney Imagineering. To me it is one of, if not the coolest things to discover at Walt Disney World and the Christmas Shoppe is a great example. A cast member once asked me if I knew why the three store entrances were different. I just figured it was a design decision to make the area look larger with the illusion of more stores or something like that. I was young at the time and had not learned yet that everything an Imagineer touches has a story, even a store.

The cast member went one to tell me that each storefront represents a different story. One storefront is a woodcarver’s shop, the other a Pennsylvania family’s home, and the last one a music teacher’s shop. He even went into detail on how this all came about. Such a deep history for a little Christmas Shoppe and I loved every minute of it!

 

4. The Haunted Mansion

Bear with me Haunted Mansion fans!! I feel like I need to put out a small disclaimer on why this one made number four. The Haunted Mansion is my favorite attraction in all of Walt Disney World, so normally this would make number one on any other list. However, we need to remember that this countdown is about Liberty Square and ALL of the things that help make it amazing.

The Haunted Mansion is the best. I believe most of us can agree that we can ride it a million times and never get tired of it. It is such a unique attraction with a really interesting history. There is so much to discover and talk about that I have it on my list for its own countdown in the future.

I know that each Disney Park has their own version of a Haunted Mansion and they all reside in different lands. But I cannot imagine our Haunted Mansion in a better place than Liberty Square. It fits perfectly into this small American colony by offering dramatic beauty from far away but an eerie excitement up close.

 

3. Mmmm Food!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mmmmmm food, one of my favorite things about my Walt Disney World vacations. And it just so happens that three of my favorite eateries are in Liberty Square. I LOVE Thanksgiving and all of the food it has to offer. It might be my second favorite meal of the year, behind ‘Ohana obviously. Liberty Tree Tavern offers the amazingness that is Thanksgiving everyday. Yes, what you heard is correct. Thanksgiving. Every. Day.

But for some reason if you do not want Thanksgiving every day (ridiculous statement but I will entertain the thought for the sake of the transition) you can visit Columbia Harbour House and feast on scrumptious seafood. I am a big seafood fan so we eat here a lot which gives me the opportunity to really take in the decor and details. This place is filled with all sorts of treasures and stories that would excite any buccaneer!

So we can have seafood for lunch, Thanksgiving for dinner, all we need now is dessert. My vote is to visit Sleepy Hollow for a Vanilla Ice Cream Churro Sandwich. Yes it is real. Let us just take a moment and feast our eyes on its beautiful cinnamon sugary goodness.

In my opinion the combination of flavors here are absolutely wonderful and you cannot go wrong. But this is a fairly new dessert, so Topher went and checked it out. Read his review here! Sleepy Hollow has always been a go-to place for yummy treats. Overall, Liberty Square has got game on the food offerings! There is even a little place behind Sleepy Hollow next to The Hall of Presidents (my parents will most likely already be there) where you can take your sweet treat and sit in rocking chairs and enjoy colonial America.

 

2. Imagineering Details

As I mentioned above, I love learning about Imagineering details and Liberty Square is full of them! The Ye Old Christmas Shoppe was just one example of many. If you are interested in the details as well, all you have to do is strike up a conversation with a cast member, take a tour, or buy an Imagineering book. Almost everything I first learned came straight from the cast members in conversation. One day I had a fantastic chat with a woman who showed me all of the little historical tidbits hidden in Liberty Square.

We talked about the Liberty Tree holding 13 lanterns for the original 13 colonies, planting red, white, and blue flowers in the flower beds, the building facades each matching a different year in history, Paul Revere’s lanterns and minutemen rifles are found in the windows. I mean the list goes on and on. It is a treasure trove of interesting and historical Imagineering details. Next time you are in Liberty Square I encourage you to take your time and try to find all of the fun little hidden gems placed there just for you!

 

1. The Muppets Present Great Moments in American History

“Great moments in history but just the American parts!” The song is stuck in my head and I have been singing it all weekend. I cannot express to you how much I love this show. When it debuted last year I was so pleased because I felt that it was extremely well done. Everything about it is great, it is not too long, not too short, the jokes are amazing, the Muppets really shine, and it is just what Liberty Square needed.

I actually did not think Liberty Square needed anything because I already loved it. But when I saw this show I felt like it completed something. We already had the history, the delicious food, the amazing popular attraction, but we did not have simple fun. And the Muppets give us a taste of history in their own little quirky way that just gives us fun and laughter. Every time I am walking through Liberty Square I stop and watch the show even though I have seen it tons of times. I still love it and right now it is my favorite thing. I hope Disney will continue to let the Muppets present American history to us for years to come.

 

Those are my favorite things about Liberty Square! Now what about you? Did I mention any of your favorite things? Take a second and vote below! If you have a different favorite that you would like to share please vote “Other” and comment because I would love to hear it!! Happy Fourth of July!!

 

Here is your Extra Magic Tip: On July 3rd and 4th you can stop by Sleepy Hollow or the Liberty Bell for special Photopass magic shots!

 

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Cassie Calkins