- “"From this Gateway stirs a new nation waiting to be born. Thirteen separate colonies have banded together to declare their independence from the bonds of tyranny. It is a time when silversmiths put away their tools and march to the drums of a revolution, a time for gentlemen planters to leave their farms and become generals, a time when tradesmen leave the safety of home to become heroes. Welcome to Liberty Square!”
- ―Entrance Plaque
Liberty Square is a themed land at Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Themed after colonial America, replicas of both the Liberty Bell and the Liberty Tree can be seen here. One of the most popular attractions in the Magic Kingdom, the Haunted Mansion can be found here, placed to evoke New England's history of ghost stories with authors like Edgar Allen Poe and Washington Irving. The centerpiece of the land is The Hall of Presidents, an American History show featuring an audio-animatronic figure of every President of the United States. It has a long waterfront on the Rivers of America and the Liberty Belle Riverboat steamboat departs from a landing here. It affords excellent views of the river and Tom Sawyer Island in adjacent Frontierland.
Development[]
Liberty Square was adapted from a Disneyland concept called Liberty Street, which would have extended from Main Street USA and featured exhibit attractions on the signing of the Declaration of Independence and what would become the Hall of Presidents, then titled "One Nation Under God". As the technology wasn't there at the time to prove satisfactory to Walt, the concept was shelved for the time being. With the construction of the Magic Kingdom, the concept was revitalized to coincide with the American Bicentennial which was coming closer and New Orleans Square being seen as unnecessary with Florida being closer to the real thing.
Design[]
- Liberty Square begins an architectural progression through history and geographically across the United States. This progression begins with the Haunted Mansion (1670's or 1680's, upstate New York) and travels clockwise around the Rivers of America into Frontierland terminating at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (1880s, Arizona).
- Find the replica of the House of Burgesses and look upstairs in the window to find Paul Revere's lanterns signifying "Two if by sea".
- The Liberty Tree is an actual 100-year-old oak found on the property and transplanted, with a younger oak grafted into the base.
- The Liberty Bell replica was cast from the mold of the actual one in Philadelphia. It is the only one ever cast from these molds.
- The Liberty Bell was placed in Liberty Square in 1987 to commemorate the U.S. Constitution's bicentennial.
- There are architectural representations of each of the original Thirteen Colonies.
- The state flags of each of the original 13 states, as well as the American one, fly in a plaza in the center of Liberty Square.
- A number of design choices throughout the land were made for the sake of authenticity to the period.
- Hinges on windows are designed to look like leather ones used during the Revolution to save metal for the war.
- With the exception of those found in restaurants, there are no bathrooms in Liberty Square, reflecting the lack of indoor plumbing.
- A brown path on the pavement was once a cobblestone street path to partially invoke that period element, as a full cobblestone treatment was deemed too costly. When the cobblestones were replaced in the 1990s for safety and maintenance reasons, a popular myth began circulating that the brown path represented human waste dumped from chamberpots into the streets.
Attractions[]
Current[]
- The Hall of Presidents (1971-)
- The Haunted Mansion (1971-)
- Liberty Belle Riverboat (1971-2020, 2021-2025)
Former[]
- Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat (1971-1980)
- Mike Fink Keel Boats (1971-1997)
Entertainment[]
Former[]
Restaurants[]
- Columbia Harbour House
- Sleepy Hollow
- Liberty Tree Tavern
- Liberty Square Market
Former[]
- The Fife and Drum Refreshments (1972-1987)
Shopping[]
- Memento Mori
- Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe
- Liberty Square Portrait Gallery
Former[]
- Yankee Trader
- Olde World Antiques
- Silversmith
- Heritage House
- Mlle. Lafayette's Perfumerie
Meetable Characters[]
Normally, the characters meetable on Liberty Square include:
- Merida - Liberty Square Gazebo
