FULL REVIEW: The Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
There is a new dining experience in Disney World! The Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience recently debuted at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.
We brought you a first look at the lounge on the day it opened, but now, Disney has invited us back so we could give you a full review of the new Tea Experience! Let’s go.
Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience
First, some logistics. The Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience is an afternoon tea at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa that will run you $79 per person, before tax and tip.
There is a dress code for this experience. Guests are expected to dress in attire that respects the restaurant’s sophisticated and upscale aesthetic. Clothing should be clean, neat, and in good condition, and no swimwear is permitted.
Reservations are also highly recommended, and full payment is due at the time of booking.
Theming
The theme of Garden View Lounge is a light and airy garden-inspired retreat.
It matches the elegance of the Victorian era that you see all around the Grand Floridian.
Both classic and comfortable, this is a great spot to enjoy a proper British afternoon tea experience!
There are a few different seating options, from booths to tables, to a combo of the two. The entire wall of windows gives you a great view out into the courtyard and gardens of the Grand Floridian and provides some great natural lighting in the tea room!
The carpet is whimsical…
…and the colorful chairs look like they’re right out of a fancy tea establishment in London.
Menu
The food here is themed to Disney’s Alice in Wonderland! Whimsical small bites and desserts are the focus.
Adults can choose between the traditional afternoon tea service or the plant-based option. Younger guests can get a special children’s afternoon tea experience.
The menu invites you down the rabbit hole for a very important date! We’re loving these details.
Inside, you’ll see a description of the teas available (all Twinings), as well as the food. Also listed are food enhancements and other beverages you can add to your experience for an additional price.
Make sure to look out for Alice!
The kids’ menu also doubles as an activity book!
Their selections include some foods more catered to young ones.
There is a maze for them to complete…
…as well as some coloring, a word search, and a spot-the-difference game.
The Tea
Before anything, we were given rose-infused towelettes to wipe our hands with. Fancy!
Then, it’s on to choosing the tea you would like, which is obviously a vital part of this experience! You get to choose one tea, for which you will be given an individual pot.
You then have the option to switch to another tea after finishing the first pot. It’s basically as much tea as you can drink!
All of the teas are brought over for you to smell as a Cast Member walks you through their recommendations based on what you like.
We were recommended the Orangery of Lady Grey, which is a light and fragrant black tea with bright citrus notes of orange and bergamot. It’s a refreshing twist on a classic Earl Grey inspired by sunlit English orangeries.
This was delicious! It’s very light with a hint of orange that’s not overwhelming. By adding some of the raw sugar for a bit more sweetness, it was perfect!
We also decided to get one of the non-alcoholic specialty teas you can add on. We got the Curiosi-Tea, which is a Twinings Refreshers Strawberry Raspberry Herbal Tea with a touch of shimmering magic for $7.29.
This is a great option for non-tea drinkers! It was very similar to a Starbucks Refresher.
The drink is super light and a gorgeous color, with a pretty swirl of shimmer to the drink! It has a touch of sweetness, but not overly so, and it was very refreshing.
We were also fortunate enough to meet Stephen Twining, a 10th-generation Twining who has been working for the company since 1985. He was super passionate about tea and said his favorite on the menu is the Exotic Mango & Ginger!
The Scones
For the food, we began with the Orange-Cranberry Scone.
It’s served warm with a couple of different butters and orange marmalade.
The scone was delicious! It was super moist and had a nice texture contrast from outside to inside. It was very fresh, and the orange marmalade really enhanced the flavor of the scone.
We highly recommend these!
The Savory Food
Next up, we got our tower of eats and treats! Everything is so wonderfully themed.
Starting with the savory stuff, we tried the Footman’s Feast first. This is a Wonderland Salmon Crisp with a salmon rillette on a miso brown butter crisp.
The bottom is crisp like a Rice Krispie Treat, but savory. The salmon on top was smoked and very tasty!
Next, we dug into the Curried Chicken Salad Playing Card Tart, which is a savory curried chicken salad filling topped with cherry gelée. This was a nice mix of sweet and savory, and we enjoyed the flavor — the curry flavor wasn’t overpowering. The pastry was flaky and really topped off this dish!
Moving on to the Tweedledee Egg Salad Sandwich, which is a traditional egg salad on beet bread. We couldn’t really taste the beet flavor, but we thought the egg salad was great!
Finally, we tried the Caterpillar Cucumber Roll, which is a combination of butterfly pea-infused cream cheese and cucumbers on pumpernickel. This didn’t have a ton of flavor; it was pretty mild. We liked the egg salad better!
The Sweets
Now, let’s try the sweets!
We started with The Matcha Mad Hatter — a sponge cake with apricot jam and yuzu buttercream. This was light and fluffy with a hint of sweetness from the apricot. We enjoyed the flavor of the matcha as well as the lemon buttercream!
Next, we tried the Tea Party Tart, a vanilla tart with coffee custard and chantilly cream. The custard inside had that slight flavor of coffee. The tart had a crumbly texture, and overall, we liked this one!
Moving on to the Flamingo Croquet Choux filled with passion fruit cream and a raspberry crunch! This was very tart with a heavy passion fruit flavor inside the cream puff. It’s very cute, too!
Finally, we tried the Painting the Rose, which is an Earl Grey-flavored teacake painted tableside. Strawberry jelly was added on top to paint the rose red, which is fun!
The cake had a prominent Earl Grey flavor that was unique. It was an interesting dessert that we enjoyed!
Out of everything we ate, we liked the scone at the beginning the best.
Overall
Overall, we think this whole experience was very fun and whimsical! If you’re an Alice in Wonderland fan, you should get a kick out of the themed food.
We think this spot would be perfect for a girls’ day, a bachelorette party group, or just anyone who wants to have a relaxing afternoon filled with tea, eats, and sweets.
The kids’ menu also has a bunch of cool options we think kids would really enjoy!
So, if you’re looking for an elegant afternoon tea experience in Disney World, this is the spot!
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