Join Us for the Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience Reopening!
You are cordially invited to join us at Garden View Lounge for afternoon tea! (Virtually, of course.)
With new flair and flavor, this enhanced experience finally reopened its doors to guests today.
Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience
We had the absolute pleasure of sitting down once again for tea service at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa–a return we’ve been looking forward to.
Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience
So…what do we think? Is it worth a visit? Let’s dive in!
Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience: Review
Décor
The lounge reopened with new, whimsical touches inspired by Alice in Wonderland (it is a tea experience, after all).
Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience – Review
The floor-to-ceiling windows provided plenty of natural light—exactly what one would expect to see and feel during afternoon tea.
Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience
The updated décor still captures the Grand Floridian’s Victorian elegance through its furniture and stained-glass windows.
Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience
But that’s enough about the theming. Let’s check out the menu!
Menu
The menu boasts premium tea service options–traditional tea service, plant-based tea service, and children’s tea service–which include light bites, and of course, tea! So when we say there’s something for everyone–we mean it.
The afternoon tea service is prepaid with gratuity included (no discounts apply), but you can order tea service enhancements from the table, like tea-based cocktails, specialty teas, wines, champagnes, seasonal cheeses, and caviar.
Enhancements, Cocktails, Sparkling Wines, and Non-Alcoholic Beverages: Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience
Our Experience
We started by freshening up with these rose water towelettes. (How else would one expect to begin such an elegant experience?)
Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience
Our first sip was the Mint Tulip we ordered as an additional item, priced at $19.50. It comes with Old Forester 1870 Original Batch Straight Whisky, Twinning Refreshers Peach Mango Herbal Tea, and Mint.
The mint is the heavy hitter in this cocktail, while the peach mango herbal tea provides a subtle flavor. The Old Foresters is smooth and blends nicely with the rest of the drink. We appreciate the mint garnish, which elevated the experience for us!
Mint Tulip: Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience
The Orange Cranberry Scone was our first bite, which accompanied our afternoon tea. It’s buttery, flaky, and delicious. When we think of scones, we typically think of dry bread, but this was anything but!
Orange Cranberry Scone: Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience
We received a tray of Devonshire cream, orange marmalade, and whipped European butter, which we used generously on our scone!
Butter Tray: Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience
We upgraded our experience with the Seasonal Cheese Selection for $21. The selection included Parmesan cheese crisps, Stilton cheesecake, Purple haze goat cheese, truffle brie, Comte cheese with a quince paste, and brûléed figs.
Seasonal Tray Selection: Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience
The cheese crisps were the star of the show! Light and flavorful–a perfect addition to afternoon tea.
Seasonal Tray Selection: Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience
And our tower has arrived, filled with our afternoon tea bites! How amazing does this look?!
Tower: Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience
We started with the Tweedledee Egg Salad Sandwich, which is delicious, providing the perfect amount of mayonnaise and seasoning.
The Catepillar Cucumber Roll is good, giving us a more refreshing option for our palate.
Tower: Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience
The Footman’s Feast: Wonderland Salmon Crisp is impressively filling considering its petite size. It’s very creamy and smooth–a great option for salmon-lovers!
Next up is the Curried Chicken Salad Playing Card Tart. Curry fans will love this one, as the flavor isn’t subtle by any means. The pastry shell, on which the curried chicken salad rests, is good and crunchy, balancing out the creaminess of the salad.
Tower: Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience
Moving onto the sweeter items–the Flamingo Croquet Choux has a soft, raspberry outer shell and a creamy, plentiful filling. The wings and head are made of edible chocolate.
Painting the Rose has a unique taste that we found hard to pinpoint and describe. It’s certainly one you’ll have to try for yourself!
The Matcha Mad Hatter features that strong, signature Matcha flavor. So keep that in mind if you’re not a fan.
Last up is the Tea Party Tart, which is our favorite of the desserts. Overall, the details on these sweets are impeccable.
Tower: Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience
We enjoyed their tea selections, like the Redbush Caramel Velvet Tea! You don’t have to be a huge tea drinker to enjoy this experience. They have some tamer options–like the caramel-infused tea we tried–which really do pair well with the bites that accompany them.
Tea: Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience
As a parting gift, we received these cards, commemorating the teas we selected during the experience. (This was a very nice touch!)
Tea Gift: Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience
Overall, we highly recommend giving afternoon tea a try! We enjoyed our finer experience, despite not being the biggest tea drinkers.
They’re open Wednesday through Sunday from 11AM to 4PM.
Tea Service: Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience
Here’s a video capturing our experience–take a look:
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So book a table at Garden View Lounge to enjoy afternoon tea for yourself! And we’ll keep bringing you along on all of our adventures, so stay tuned to MickeyBlog.com.
