Gaston and his Tavern in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World
A statue of Gaston and LeFou stands outside of Gaston’s Tavern in Fantasyland in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom.
Part of one of the (relatively) new additions to Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World is Belle’s Village, complete with Gaston’s Tavern, where you can get snacks and drinks, including something called LeFou’s Brew. We have walked in there before to see the antlers that Gaston uses in all his decorating, but we never have tried the brew. Several people like it, from what I have heard, but I will just stick with good old Coca-Cola.
Anyway, it is easy to find Gaston’s Tavern, thanks to this statue of Gaston that stands out in front of the tavern. If you are wondering how the statue came to be there, the plaque in front of it will tell you. It is hard to read from the photo above, so here is a better view:
Wasn’t it nice of Gaston to give the village a statue of himself in tribute to himself? That just about fits his character. Unfortunately, when we were there during our December trip the real Gaston wasn’t around. I’m guessing that because we got there pretty early in the day, he was probably still sleeping in after a big night in the tavern with his posse.
Even though we didn’t find Gaston there, I was delighted that we didn’t find any other people there, either. The last time I tried to take this photo, people were everywhere, including sitting on the stone ledge all around the fountain. As I mentioned above, we were there pretty early, and most of the people in the park hadn’t made it back this far yet. While others were running off to ride one of the Mountain attractions (Big Thunder, Space, Splash) or the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, we had Fastpasses for most of those so we went the unconventional route and headed to the Little Mermaid ride (officially known as Under the Sea: Something something Little Mermaid something). But because there weren’t any people here, we stopped for a quick photo or two, and even then we were still able to walk right on The Little Mermaid. Or actually her ride; we didn’t walk on her.
Of course, Gaston has such a great reputation that everyone wants to be like him. Including us. So we (except for the photographer, which was me) all did our best Gaston poses along with his fountain. See if you think we measure up to his level:
Pretty good, I would say! I’m just glad they are all on my side.
A wise warrior is better than a strong one, and a man of knowledge than one of strength. - Proverbs 24:5
About the photo:
As I mentioned above, this was a quick photo (or three) as we were passing by. It was quite overcast that day, and there was even some mist falling at times, so the light wasn’t all that great. Thanks to some processing with Photoshop and the Google Nik Filters, I was able to make it look more interesting than it started out.
Here is a before-and-after version showing how bland it was before, compared to how it looks now:
Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Photoshop. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10
Lens: Olympus M.Zukio 25mm f1.8
Date: December 21, 2016
Location: Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Florida
