Having afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian Resort is a real indulgence, and one which I really enjoy!

Afternoon tea is served in the Garden View Tea Room, which is located at the far end of the Resort’s lobby. Reservations aren’t essential but recommended as it can be full some days.

Check out these two friendly faces in the tiled floor at the entrance to the Tea Room!

There’s a lovely relaxed atmosphere, and if you’re lucky you’ll hear the pianist playing just outside in the lobby. Although it feels a little semi-formal, you’ll find a mixture of “ladies who lunch” looking quite dressed up, and park-goers in shorts and t-shirts. Large arched windows line the back walls, with views over the perfectly manicured gardens.

We usually fit in a visit here most trips, and normally book in advance. However on this occasion we had no reservation, so decided to chance it after a morning at Magic Kingdom. The Cast Member at the podium said she had nothing available when we arrived just after 2pm, but to try back in 30 minutes and she’d try to fit us in, which she did.

The tables are laid out very nicely, with a fresh flower arrangement on each, and beautiful bone china cups and saucers. I’m sure the china design is exclusive to the Garden View Tea Rooms, but can’t find reference to it anywhere.

You can choose from a variety of set menus, or a la carte offerings. Be warned that it’s not cheap here, with a pot of tea costing $6.29 per person! It can work out more cost effective to opt for one of the set tea menus, which include a pot of tea.

There are a large number of teas to choose from, including two custom blends made exclusively for the Tea Room.

DH chose:

Mad Hatter – A blend of passion fruit, pomegranate, and vanilla for a clean and sweet finish. Perfect with decadent desserts and companions.

I opted for plain old English Breakfast!

Imperial English Breakfast – Elegant and refined smooth sweetness. A blend of Ceylon and China Black Teas.

Served up in a tea pot, complete with tea cosy, it’s proper leaf tea that you need to use a tea strainer with.

I went for the a la carte option and had a bowl of strawberries and cream, followed by a pastry.

Here are the mouthwatering array of pastries that were available that day. The choux pastry swans are always available, but contain different flavors of cream each day. That day’s was amaretto, which I don’t like, so I was very disappointed not to get my favorite swan that day.

I had this cake instead, which was nice enough, but no replacement for the delicious swan!

DH had the Sally Lunn Tea:

Sally Lunn bread dates back to the 18th century where it was baked fresh, then sold on the streets of Bath, England, by the creator. Here at the Grand Floridian, we have carried on the tradition of this sweet yeast bread served lightly toasted with apricot preserves. This is followed by a choice of either trifle or strawberries and cream along with your choice of tea.

Not being a fan of strawberries (this works in my favor when I buy them at home!) he had the trifle.

Kids are not left out and can have the Mrs Pott’s Tea:

For the younger “tea lover” in your party, we offer a different variety of tea sandwiches: tuna salad, ham and cheese, and peanut butter and jelly on white bread. We serve our Mad Hatter tea, followed with a choice of two pastries.

Our DD just requested apple juice, which much to her delight was served up in a proper tea pot, cup and saucer!

Unlike previous visits, service wasn’t great on this particular day. After bringing our tea we had a very long wait before getting any food, by which time the tea had gone cold. When our server finally reappeared, she explained that there’d been some sort of problem which she had to get her manager to sort out. Apologetically she brought us fresh pots of tea, before bringing the first lot of food out. We did have to remind her later that we were still waiting for the trifle and pastry.

While not a cheap dining option, it’s worth doing at least once for the experience, and is an especially nice place to take a break from a busy Magic Kingdom. In the past we’ve spent the morning at the park, caught the monorail to the Grand Floridian, hired a boat on Seven Seas Lagoon, then come here for afternoon tea.

See the full menu and lots more food photos here.

Young girls can attend the My Disney Girl’s Perfectly Princess Tea Party, which is held in the Garden View Tea Room on select days from 10:30am – 12 noon.

Afternoon Tea is served from 2pm to 5pm seven days a week.

To make reservations for Afternoon Tea at Garden View Tea Room, you may book online or call (407) WDW-DINE (939-3463).