Official check-in time for rooms at Disney Resorts is 4pm, but you can check-in early and leave your bags with the Concierge if your room isn’t ready. Or you might get lucky, and find that your room is ready. Which for us, it was!
According to the time stamps on my photos, we left Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort at around midday, got to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village at about 12:15pm, and was in our room by 1:00pm. It was a bit of a whistle-stop as we had to head back to Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa for our Afternoon Tea reservation at 2:00pm!
Afternoon Tea is held daily from 12:00pm to 4:00pm in The Garden View Lounge at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Entering through the main doors of the Resort, you’ll find the lounge situated opposite you at the back end of the lobby.
I am an Afternoon Tea fiend – I love it! And being British I wanted to see what the American (and Disney) take would be on this most British of traditions. We were shown to our table, which was laid out with floral cups and saucers, as well as a sugar bowl.
We were given menus which laid out the different Afternoon Tea selections available, which were all named after British Counties.
They all had the same main components – a selection of sandwiches, scones with cream and jam, and a selection of pastries – as well, of course, your choice of tea. But each selection had something slightly different:
The Yorkshire Tea starts with caviar and accompaniments, and includes two glass of Veuve Clicquot Champagne, as well as two pots of tea, and of course the main selections noted above. $175 for two to share.
The Berkshire Tea was the same as The Yorkshire Tea, but without the Champagne. $150 for two to share.
The Cheshire Tea starts with a selection of fruit and cheese, followed by the main components, and a pot of tea. $50 per person. You can add on a glass of Champagne for $65.
The Derbyshire Tea has the main components, a glass of Champagne and a pot of tea. $50 per person.
The Bedfordshire Tea has the main components and a pot of tea. $35 per person.
For children there is Mrs. Potts Tea which has assorted sandwiches, a jam tart and assorted pastries. They can have tea, or special “dark” tea which is chocolate milk.
We decided to have The Cheshire Tea, and both chose our tea from the large selection available. I can’t tell you what we had now – I didn’t jot it down unfortunately. The Disney menus at AllEars will tell you all you need to know about the teas available. It’s our go-to page for Disney dining options. When our pots of tea arrived, the Cast Member poured our first cup and then placed a tea-cosy on the pot to keep it warm.
The Garden View Lounge » Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
The Cheshire Tea
First Course
Selection of exotic fruits and imported cheeses
The fruit on this plate were kiwi, mango, melon and pineapple, as well as some raisins. The cheeses were Stilton, Brie, Cheddar and one more that I can’t remember or identify. We also had a little pot of honeycomb. Neither of us are fans of blue cheese – I should have thought to say we don’t like it as they may well have substituted it for something different..
Second Course
Medley of Finger Sandwiches accompanied with Berries, Cheese and Lavosh
The sandwiches on this plate were: Egg Mayonnaise, Open Cream Cheese & Beetroot, Chicken Curry, Cucumber & Boursin. There was also a little onion tartlet, a couple of slices of cheese, a piece of lavosh, which is a sesame seed cracker, and a selection of fruit – blueberries, raspberries and red grapes.
The remaining two courses arrived on one of those cake/pastry stands that you always see at Afternoon Tea. There was a plate each with a jam tart, and a scone accompanied by a serving of apricot jam, cream, and lemon curd. The top plate contained a variety of pastries.
Third Course
Buttery Scone and Jam Tart
I do love a scone with clotted cream and jam. The cream wasn’t clotted sadly, just tasted like ordinary whipped cream. But the apricot jam and the lemon curd were lovely. A bit mean on portion sizes I have to say! Especially as the scone is quite large. The jam tart reminded me of when I used to make jam tarts with my mum when I was a little girl – lovely!
The finale is your choice of pastries, strawberries and creme, or English trifle. We both decided to have the pastries which were some yummy macarons, swan-shaped cream puffs, and a huge chocolate-dipped strawberry (obviously not a pastry!)
Finale
Choice of delicate House-Made Pastries, Strawberries and Creme, or English Trifle
Accompanied by your choice of tea (charge for additional pots of tea)
$50 ($65 to add two glasses of champagne) per person
Afternoon Tea in the UK can be expensive, around the £35-£50 mark (and more) so at $125 total, was a good price. We had a lovely afternoon, and the food was good. It is something we would definitely do again.
The Garden View Lounge, Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Bill: $100 + Tax: $6.50 + Tip: $18.50 = $125
TiW Discount: $n/a
Total Paid: $125