Haus Vaterland metres deep, panoramas, and lighting effects, and served appropriate food; it was an early example of modern theme dining or experiential gastronomy. While the main shows took place in the ballroom, each theme restaurant also had musicians of the appropriate origins on staff to complete the dining experience, including at least six dance bands. A central kitchen occupied the entire top floor, connected to the different dining establishments by pneumatic tubes, through which orders came up, and dumbwaiters, by means of which food was sent down and dirty dishes sent back up; conveyor belts at kitchen level transferred the dishes
Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room tables. There is no menu; dishes are selected by the restaurant and change daily. "Travel Holiday" in 1993 recalled that the "tables were set with steaming bowls and platters of tasty Southern food". Jeff Gordinier of "The New York Times" noted in a 2015 article: "it’s no secret that visitors mad for 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil' make a beeline for Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room for fried chicken, candied yams and macaroni and cheese". The guests sit at the table and pass the dishes around to one another in the style of a family. There are usually