Saturday, May 22, 2010

Tea Time!

Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Say Please Tea Set
While I was playing tea party (sorta anyway, she's only 13 months old) with my daughter this morning, I was thinking ahead to when Tink will be old enough to join my mom and me for afternoon tea at the Garden View Lounge at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa.  And while it's not important to the story, her tea set is as cute as a button.

Afternoon tea has been on our must do list since at least 1997.  Usually it's just my mom and me.  Although we have allowed my dad, brother, mother-in law, and assorted friends to join us on occasion.  We always get the Buckingham Palace.  (This used to be known as Tea for Two but you could get it for any number of people.  I think that confused people hence the name change.)  With this, you get a choice of tea per person and the hot teas are served in lovely tea pots.  The first course is a plate of tea sandwiches, followed by a scone and jam tart, and for dessert, a choice of strawberries and cream or two (or is it 3?) items from their pastry selections.  I am a strawberries and cream girl and Mom always goes for the pastries so she can get a cream puff swan.  If you are looking for more or less food or less sweets, the menu can accommodate since it includes everything from ala carte Sally Lunn bread to the Gentleman's Tea platter which is mostly meat and cheese based.  The tea list offers 20+ selections and my personal favorite is the Garden View Blend.  If someone in your party isn't a fan of tea, a full range of non-alcoholic beverages is available as well as wine and beer.

We've seen countless little girls (and a few young gentlemen) enjoying tea time with Granny at the Garden View Lounge over the years.  Not too long after my mom found out her first grandchild was a girl, she exclaimed, "We can take her to tea!"  The Mrs. Potts Tea combination is just right for the littlest tea party guest serving chocolate milk, kid-friendly sandwiches, and two pastry selections.  I think we'll take Tink once she's about three years old.  Never one to miss an opportunity, Disney has begun offering the "My Disney Girl's Perfectly Princess Tea Party" in the last few years.  Princess Tea Party

Well before celebrating birthdays at Walt Disney World was a big promotion, my family went one April to celebrate my and my father's birthdays.  Of course, I wanted to go to tea.  That was the one and only time my brother has darkened the door.  Even after all the goodies I've mentioned above, they gave us cupcakes for our birthdays.  I've said it before, but never pass up cake from the bakery at the Grand Floridian.  Yum!

Most of the pictures in this post are from a tea party the day before my wedding.  I invited all the ladies who had travelled to join us for the big day.  Not quite everyone had made it into town yet, but we had a fantastic time.  I called it my Mad Hatter Tea Party.  (Yes, I think Disney does that too, but I couldn't afford the whole shebang.)  I asked all the ladies to wear a hat and a prize would be awarded to the best headdress.  My aunt won hands down with her crab cap covered in treasures from her home at the Gulf Coast and adorned with pictures of her granddaughters.  My mom looked regal in her pink tiara, which was the make your own hat of its day at the parks.

Afternoon tea at the Garden View Lounge is always a welcome respite from the chaos of the parks.  The men in the family don't generally join us for tea but are happy to eat elsewhere and then meet us in the lobby at the Grand Floridian.  Ridge has had more than his share of naps on the comfy chairs there. 



Garden View Lounge is located at the back of the ground floor of the Grand Floridian Lobby, overlooking the garden and pool.  Tea is served from 2:00 pm until 4:30 pm daily.  Reservations are available but rarely required.  (I always make an ADR just in case.)  The Buckingham Palace is around $20 per person plus tax and gratuity.  Mrs. Potts Tea is $10.50 plus plus.

2 comments:

  1. Oh my god I really MUST do this on our next trip, it sounds divine! And hopefully my Tink will be old enough to appreciate it too - P.S. My Tink also has the fisher price singing teaspot set, she loves it!!!

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  2. You'd love it.

    Don't you love the teapot? I got that for Audrey for her first birthday. It's a great set.

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