Garden View Tea Room at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort
Afternoon tea at Disney’s Grand Floridan Resort and Spa Garden View Tea Room is a relaxing experience while on Disney property. It’s a fabulous experience for mothers and daughters, couples, or a group of girlfriends. During a stay at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, my mother, aunt, and myself wanted to enjoy afternoon tea. We had just arrived at the resort after a long day of flying. The Garden View Tea Room seemed like the perfect respite after a busy day.
The Garden View Tea Room is a popular venue for afternoon tea and is open from 2:00PM to 6:00PM. Priority dining reservations are highly recommended. We didn’t have reservations and the Garden View Lounge was almost full to capacity. Fortunately, the cast members were able to squeeze us in to the last open table, which overlooked the manicured gardens and pool area.
Sitting down in the Garden View Tea Room makes one feel elegant and refined. I loved the Royal Doulton china in the Old Country Roses pattern. The tea cozies are a deep burgundy velvet with gold embroidered Grand Floridian logo.
The Menu:
The Teas – There is a wide variety of tea blends available, including classic favorites and special blended teas just for Disney. We sampled the Garden View Blend, Russian Earl Grey, and an Imperial English Breakfast. Other tea choices include herbal infusions, black teas, which teas, and green teas. Tip: If you’re not a tea drinker but the rest of your party is, coffee and a few other drinks are served. Children can order the magical dark tea – chocolate milk.
Tea Entrees
The Grand Tea – We figured that since we were there, we should go all out and get the Grand Tea. At around $25 per person, it was well worth the full experience. Our first course included a cheese plate and a variety of sandwiches with a duck terrine and savory tart. Second course was a plate of divine scones and jam tarts served with Devonshire cream. The finale included our choice of three desserts: trifle, strawberries and cream, or pasty selections. Since there were three of us, we each chose a different dessert and then shared. These culinary delights, along with the three teas and each a glass of sparkling wine made for a pleasant afternoon.
Prince Edward’s Tea – This tea is priced at around $21 and is a variation of the Grand Tea but on a more savory and manly scale. Instead of sparkling wine, tea goers will enjoy a glass of port.
Buckingham Palace – Priced just at $20, this is the Grand Tea without the sparkling wine and minus the choice of trifle for dessert. You also won’t get the duck terrine, but you will get a more traditional tea.
Sally Lunn Tea – If you’d like the full tea experience but you’re on a budget, this choice may be best for you. Instead of traditional sanwiches, scones, and jam tarts, you’ll be served a Sally Lunn roll, which dates back to 18th century England where these rolls were sold fresh from the streets in Bath. You’ll still have your choice of dessert between the trifle or berries and cream, and of course tea.
For Little Tea Lovers – Mrs. Potts Tea is a fun choice for the younger tea-goers in your party. Instead of traditional tea sandwiches and blends, there are more child-friendly sandwich choices served on the plate. Tea is also a magical dark tea (chocolate milk) and a choice of 2 pastries.
If you aren’t hungry enough for the full tea experience, there are a la carte items and snacks to enjoy.
The three of us enjoyed our time together visiting, the peaceful atmosphere of the Garden View Tea Room, and the friendliness of our cast members who made the experience even that much more magical.