Parking/Transportation Situation: General Resort Parking across the street, or Valet Parking available. Monorail service from The Magic Kingdom, The Contemporary, The Polynesian and The Transportation and Ticket Center. (If using Monorail Service, allow approximately 30 minutes transportation time, depending on where you're coming from.) Boat service from The Magic Kingdom or the Polynesian. (If using Boat Service, allow 30-45 minutes transportation time.) Bus service from The Studios, Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney.(If using Disney Bus Transportation, allow 1-1.5 hours transportation time.)
Meals Served: Tea Only
Characters/Entertainment: No characters, but most days you can catch the melodies of the piano player from the lobby drifting in to the Tea Room
Type of Cuisine: Traditional tea sandwiches, desserts and teas
Type of Menu: Choose from one of six tea packages
Atmosphere: Bright Victorian tea room
Dress Code: Theme park casual
Dress Code: Theme park casual
Guests Who Would Enjoy This The Most: Those on a Mother/Daughter outing or "girl's trip", anyone that enjoys a spot of tea!
Level of Difficulty of Getting a Reservation: Moderate
Fun Stuff for Kids: Though kids are welcome here, and there is a kid's option on the menu, I would only recommend this experience to kids 7 and up, or very well mannered younger ones. The tea room is rather quiet and most Guests are looking for a relaxing experience.
Rating of Appeal to Kid-Diners: Are we done yet?????
Rating of Appeal to Kid-Diners: Are we done yet?????
Stand out dishes: Fresh scones with clotted cream and jam, and Strawberry Trifle
Best Use of Dining Plan Point: The Dining Plan is not accepted here
Best Use of Dining Plan Point: The Dining Plan is not accepted here
Experience: Tea at the Grand has been something of a tradition for my Mum and I over the years. We hadn't been in quite a while, and definitely not since I had become a Mamma myself, and moved back to Orlando, so when my Mum said she was coming to visit, and I knew the kiddos would be at camp/daycare, I got a reservation. It can be difficult to book tea, particularly in the winter, since it's a very popular experience, and it is only available from 2-5pm. I managed to get one for about a week out, at 3pm.
We valet parked at The Grand Floridian, and strolled to the back of the gorgeous
lobby, to the Garden View Tea Room. After checking in at the podium, we were walked to a beautiful little table for two, right next to windows which were overlooking the Seven Seas Lagoon and the Polynesian in the distance. I sat on a comfy couch and Mum was in a cushy chair. When the server greeted us, and asked if we had any questions, I asked about one major change since the last time I had been there. There had always been packages that bundled together the tea sandwich and dessert options, but it seemed that you could no longer purchase individual items, like just a plate of scones, or just a couple of pastries. The menu now gave six package options, instead. Well, boy, were we surprised! Since Mum and I both had in mind a nice pot of tea and a scone or two, we had eaten lunch off property, just a couple of hours before. Our stomachs had definitely not emptied enough to be prepared for a minimum of three courses! Again, dear Tinkers, I would take one for the team, and stuff it all down, just for you.
We both decided on the smallest package, The Bedforshire Tea ($30 each). It included each Guest's choice of tea, in an pot holding approximately 4 cups, and three courses of eats. I selected my tried and true favorite tea, Jasmine Green. Mum wanted to try something new, so she went with the Princess Breakfast tea, which has a strawberry-vanilla flavor. The tea came out piping hot, in lovely pots, and my mine smelled as florally and divine as always. Unfortunately, Mum was not a fan of hers, and wished she had gone with the Jasmine Green. We let the server know that she could take the pot of Princess tea away, and assumed that we would share my remaining pot, but Disney being Disney, they replaced her pot with the tea that she preferred.
The first course was a beautiful plate of fruits, cheeses and tea sandwiches. The egg salad sandwich was yummy. I personally don't love cucumber sandwiches, so that one was not my favorite, and since I don't like curry, I didn't try the chicken curry one at all. There was also a small onion tart, which was sweet and buttery. The final sandwich on the plate looked like an open faced sandwich of mango and cream cheese. Since that didn't make much sense, I asked the server what the yellowy-orange slices were, and she said beets. Ok, that sounded reasonably good. Mum had already bitten into hers, and I asked her if it was good. She gave me a sly look, and said, "Mmmmm....." Alright then, weirdo. It wasn't until I bit into the sandwich that I realized that my dear mother would actually punk her own daughter. The "cream cheese" was actually one of my most hated substances on the planet... goat cheese. As I searched for a way to remove the grossness from my mouth, Mum sat there, shoulders shaking, giggling and snorting away. Cloth napkins. Nice. No choice but to swallow down the vile slime. Ha. Ha. Slow clap, Mum. Well played. Luckily, the berries and grapes were far tastier. By the time we finished Course One, we were full. Then came Course Two.
Next was my favorite, a fresh Golden Raisin Scone, and a Strawberry Jam Tart, accompanied by sides of Devonshire Cream, apricot preserves and lemon curd. Yum, yum, and yum. The tart was too sweet for my liking, but the scone was divine. Course Two was ending, and I was about to explode. Then came Course Three.
Course Three allows for your choice of Strawberries and Cream, Trifle, or Pastries.
Mum went with the berries, and I picked the Trifle, which was basically the berries and cream, plus layers of vanilla sponge cake and a custardy cream. Delish? Yes. Filling? Oh man. BY the time the check came and we had polished off our tea, we were blissfully stuffed.
It was so nice getting to do something with just my Mum, especially something that has become a bit of a tradition for us. I had considered bringing D for this tea, as she would have loved "acting like a grown up" by sipping from a tea cup with her pinkie raised, and blotting the corners of her mouth with a napkin, but I'm glad I didn't this time. She would have been bored silly fifteen minutes in, and I don't believe our fellow tea-sipping patrons would have enjoyed her off-key rendition of "Let It Go" that she breaks in to whenever bored. There is a kid-friendly tea option held in the mornings in the Tea Room, called the "Perfectly Princess Tea Party", but with the price tag of $335 for one adult and one child, (granted, it includes a Disney princess doll and an assortment of other gifts, but still...), I think we will hold off. Maybe next year we will make it a three-generation event.
Will we be back: Absolutely! I truly love this experience. Next time, I will come hungry, and I think I'll shoot for a Christmastime visit, so that I can enjoy the holiday scents and scenes at The Grand.
We valet parked at The Grand Floridian, and strolled to the back of the gorgeous
We both decided on the smallest package, The Bedforshire Tea ($30 each). It included each Guest's choice of tea, in an pot holding approximately 4 cups, and three courses of eats. I selected my tried and true favorite tea, Jasmine Green. Mum wanted to try something new, so she went with the Princess Breakfast tea, which has a strawberry-vanilla flavor. The tea came out piping hot, in lovely pots, and my mine smelled as florally and divine as always. Unfortunately, Mum was not a fan of hers, and wished she had gone with the Jasmine Green. We let the server know that she could take the pot of Princess tea away, and assumed that we would share my remaining pot, but Disney being Disney, they replaced her pot with the tea that she preferred.
Next was my favorite, a fresh Golden Raisin Scone, and a Strawberry Jam Tart, accompanied by sides of Devonshire Cream, apricot preserves and lemon curd. Yum, yum, and yum. The tart was too sweet for my liking, but the scone was divine. Course Two was ending, and I was about to explode. Then came Course Three.
Course Three allows for your choice of Strawberries and Cream, Trifle, or Pastries.
It was so nice getting to do something with just my Mum, especially something that has become a bit of a tradition for us. I had considered bringing D for this tea, as she would have loved "acting like a grown up" by sipping from a tea cup with her pinkie raised, and blotting the corners of her mouth with a napkin, but I'm glad I didn't this time. She would have been bored silly fifteen minutes in, and I don't believe our fellow tea-sipping patrons would have enjoyed her off-key rendition of "Let It Go" that she breaks in to whenever bored. There is a kid-friendly tea option held in the mornings in the Tea Room, called the "Perfectly Princess Tea Party", but with the price tag of $335 for one adult and one child, (granted, it includes a Disney princess doll and an assortment of other gifts, but still...), I think we will hold off. Maybe next year we will make it a three-generation event.
Will we be back: Absolutely! I truly love this experience. Next time, I will come hungry, and I think I'll shoot for a Christmastime visit, so that I can enjoy the holiday scents and scenes at The Grand.
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