PHOTO VIA WALT DISNEY WORLD
The Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience (Website) at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (Website) is returning on March 19, more than six years after closing during COVID. Reservations opened on February 19 and sold out for the foreseeable future within ten minutes after going live. According to our friends at Walt Disney World, this is the last resort dining location to reopen post-pandemic, and the team is keeping it simple for now, focused on meeting guest expectations before making any additions. Don’t expect Alice or the Mad Hatter to wander through; character appearances aren’t planned for the experience, but you can find them at EPCOT if you need to.
The venue hasn’t just been sitting idle during the closure, though, and has undergone a substantial renovation. Disney Imagineer Suzanne Szak told Orlando Shine that the biggest updates include a fancy new carpet with new hidden Mickey’s, and the addition of lots of stained glass, both of which incorporate wrens and sparrows, and tie back to the lobby carpet and ceiling. There’s also plenty of Alice in Wonderland theming running throughout the room. We haven’t seen the photos yet, but we hear an embargo on those images is expected to lift next week.
Disney partnered with longtime partner Twinings of London (Website) on the tea program for the refreshed venue, with a Florida-forward angle baked into the menu, the venue-exclusive “Orangery of Lady Grey,” a black tea with citrus notes made specifically for Walt Disney World. Other offerings include London Strand Breakfast, Spicy Chai, Nutty Chocolate Flavoured Assam, and a caffeine-free Blackcurrant and Lavender herbal blend. For something stronger, there’s the Mint Tulip (whiskey, peach mango tea, mint) and the Mar-TEA-ni (Irish gin, Earl Grey, lemon, honey), plus champagne and sparkling wine.
The meal opens with an Orange-Cranberry Scone served with traditional accompaniments, including a Florida orange jam. From there, a three-tier tower covers savory and sweet. The Caterpillar Cucumber Roll features butterfly pea-infused cream cheese, cucumber slices, pumpernickel, and edible flowers. The Footman’s Feast is a salmon rillette on a miso brown butter crisp with crème fraîche.
The children’s menu has six items and features savory bites like a cheese toastie, a turkey wrap, and a sunflower seed butter and jelly bun.
Reservations (though already tough to get) are available through the My Disney Experience app. The lounge is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
