Friday, September 23, 2011

Afternoon Tea At The Grand Floridian

The Garden View Lounge at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Orlando is a wonderful place to take tea in the grand British tradition.  On my recent trip I shared this afternoon tea experience with my daughter-in-law.

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The grounds at this resort are gorgeous and meticulously maintained.  The minute you walk past the antique car and carriage at the entrance and into the magnificent lobby, you know that this will be special.

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A musician was playing the grand piano when we arrived and later a band, dressed in formal attire, played from the second floor of the lobby.  Our reservation for tea was at 3:40. We did a little shopping when we arrived and I bought my granddaughter a lovely Tinker Bell doll.  I can’t wait until she is old enough to join us for tea.

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The servers are attired in Victorian style costumes and the china is Old Country Roses by Royal Doulton.

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I chose Darjeeling tea, although I was tempted to try the mango scented Tung Ting oolong.  Jessica drank hot chocolate.  We both had the Buckingham Palace tea.  I forgot to take a photo of the delicious raisin scone, served with Devonshire cream and raspberry jam.  The sandwiches included cucumber, egg, shrimp, chicken curry, onion tart, and my favorite pear with gorgonzola cheese.

There are quite a few choices on the menu including the Princess Kate Tea: 

A Spring tea served with a classic dish of potted shrimp followed by a medley of cheeses, an array of seasonal fruits, and cheddar cheese biscuits. A scone, jam tart, and a selection of delicate pastries is accompanied by a glass of Veuve Cliquot champagne and your choice of tea.

There is also what I called the “manly”  Prince Edward’s Tea:

A delicious array of duck and cherry terrine, chicken and pork roulade, country pate en croute, and English Blue Stilton, the "King" of English cheeses. Served with marinated fresh berries, and Cumberland sauce. We then offer our delicious fresh-baked scones served with rich Devonshire cream. Your choice of our tea with a glass of our Fonseca Bin 27 Character Port.

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I’d taken a couple of bites of my English trifle before I remembered to take a photo.  It was good, but sadly it seemed to be missing the sherry that I could taste in the dessert on my previous visit.

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It is just as well that we weren’t staying at the Grand Floridian, or I’d be at the Garden View Lounge every afternoon taking tea, which certainly wouldn’t help with the vacation diet pitfalls.

P9173563 Something odd that we noticed while walking by one of the pools, was the ducks swimming with the guests.  Maybe the staff just can’t keep them (the ducks) out of the pool.  I thought the ducks would prefer the Seven Seas Lagoon.

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This is a beautiful Victorian style resort and is a quick trip by monorail from the Disney World theme parks.

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10 comments:

Red Rose Alley said...

What a wonderful place to visit, and that cherry dessert looks glorious! It's nice to get away and spend the day with family. Thanks for sharing the beautiful photos.
~Sheri at Red Rose Alley

Antiques And Teacups said...

How wonderful! If I were to go there I would certainly be an afternoon tea devotee as well! Lovely places.
Ruth

Bernideen said...

I think I remember you went here last year! |How wonderful!

Ginger said...

I love having tea at the Grand Floridian. I can't remember how old your Granddaughter is, but they do have a kid's tea. We took my then 2 year old son and bought a pot of a berry fruit herbal tea for him and let him share the food from my Buckingham Palace tea. Since it's Disney they are used to kids and no one paid us any attention.

Robin said...

Your pictures are lovely. I hope that I get to create this special memory the next time I visit Disney!

Lavender Cottage said...

You two ladies look lovely for tea at the Grand Floridian.
Don't know that I'd want to be swimming with ducks myself, but maybe others find it a thrill.
Judith

Angela McRae said...

What a wonderful teatime experience! It really looks like they go out of their way to keep up the standards so it is always elegant and impressive. Glad you got to enjoy it, and look forward to the day Madison will be joining you!

Marilyn Miller said...

What a very fun tea. I can just imagine you will love it when your grand daughter is old enough for tea parties.

Barb's Tea Shop said...

Enjoyed your pictures! What a lot of fun. Looks like a must-go-to destination when at Disney World. Only thing better would be when your granddaughter can join you!

Yellow Rose Arbor said...

I've been browsing your blog and so glad I found this post! I love The Grand Floridian and the tea room there! We had tea there last year on my 70th birthday! I posted about it in May 2010, maybe you read it!

This post brings back many lovely memories!

I didn't see any ducks swimming in the pool tho! LOL!

Katherine

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